DVD REcordin Problem

[pepegot1]

Please help! I just switched to Comcast cable with a cable box and DTA's. I have the basic setup and two DTA's and a cable box. I tried to record a program on my JVC DR M10S recorder and had this problem: The first 2 minutes of the program recorded well and then the rest of the hour was blank. Is this the result of Comcast not allowing you to record cable programs from the cable box? Are they sending a flag every so often to defeat the copying process? I never had this problem before Comcast forced us to use DTA's and cable boxes. I did not need the DTA'a and cable box, for Comcast recording, prior to the switch to DTA'a and the cable box. Everything was fine then.

[usually_quiet]

Is this a regular problem or just a one time glitch?

If you are attempting to record a paid on-demand movie, or premium channels like HBO, those could be marked "copy never", and would not record.

I just have Digital Starter SD service, nothing extra. I have been recording from a standard SD Comcast cable box (not a DTA) for over a year now, and have had no problems recording anything from that source. Comcast could legally use "copy once" on all its cable-only channels, which would not record with the type of discs I normally use, but so far I haven't seen it My DVD recorder definitely responds to copy protection flags.

One recording failed about three years ago when I still had Comcast analog service and no cable box because my DVD recorder briefly detected a copy protection flag on a local station. I guess that once in a while mistakes will happen.

[pepegot1]

For timer recording only. I can record on the fly.
I tried it again and got a little video-a minute or so of an hour program. The rest, all black screen. Inspection of the DVD shows all the vobs and supporting files are there and in tact. Before, when I could record Comcast directly from the wall-no cable box-all was well.
Equipment: Analog TV, Comcast-Cisco cable box, with analog output, and a JVC DR M10S DVD recorder.
It appears Comcast has modified the signal so as to not allow recording or the JVC cannot handle the new signal.
I can view the TV on L-2 and the recording is working but, little video makes it to the DVD. The recorder is set to L-2, also.
There must be something in the DVD data that precludes display.

I would appreciate any help that you can give. Does anyone have knowledge of Comcast?

[jman98]

Note that Comcast, like most or maybe all of its competitors, pays rock bottom wages to most of its employees. The turnover rate for people working there is unreal. Consequently my experience is that about 90% of the employees are grossly incompetent so you get what you (don't) pay for. There's an old saying that you should never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence. Comcast has been known to put "copy never" flags by accident on TV shows from the Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) even though legally they cannot do so. Some pay channels offer free previews and Comcast will sometimes fail to make them available to non-paying customers for days during the preview period (they done this with NHL Center Ice where I live multiple times). Since you refuse to tell us what you are trying to record, all we can do is tell you that some premium content can be marked "copy never" and Comcast does make mistakes and prevent you from recording what you should be able to record.

[edDV]

I have no problem analog recording any channel from DTA's or cable boxes with computer tuners (ATI 550/650 or Hauppauge PVR-350/HVR-1600).

Digital SD/HD recording via IEEE-1394 is possible from most channels (not Premiums or On Demand). The digital tuners can direct tune 20 or so clear QAM channels (mostly the locals)

[usually_quiet]

If you can record programming from the same channel manually, that rules out intentional copy protection. If Comcast or the company that owns the cable channel did not want it recorded, the copy protection would not be turned on intermittently. It would be on all the time, and manual recording would not work either.

Are the DTA boxes still on and tuned to the intended channel when you find a recording has failed? I don't have a DTA box, so I can't say from first hand experience, but I'm wondering if the DTAs have a timer set that shuts them off after a period of inactivity. Lots of consumer electronics include that feature now.

[pepegot1]

Mia Culpa!!! Everything works correctly when you have the cable box turned on. Something I failed to notice. Now it works just fine. Set timer, turn on the cable box and away we go!.