Failure to record from Comcast feed

[DVD Curious]

Last week I tried to record the F1 race early in the morning (something I have done successfuly in the past) and discover it failed Then I noticed this was also true for other channels plus the inability to view those channels through the DVD recorder.

This is the direct feed from the external cable while it is possible to view and record through the cable box. Comcast maintains this is an issue with the particular stations but if that were true then I would not be able to record through their box.

Are they the ones forcing the Macrovision transmission?

Is this a ruse to compel me to upgrade to a DVR?

Is there a simple way around this issue? If not why buy a DVD recorder?

Thanks.

[jman98]

I am a Comcast subscriber and I record directly via firewire from my cable box to my PC. I have had no problems to do so and in fact I recorded a show yesterday using this method.

Comcast may have by incompetence turned on the "do not record" flag for all your TV channels. It's been reported happening before. If that's your problem, good freakin' luck getting them to understand it and fix it. About 90% of Comcast's employees are complete morons. It's the 10% who aren't who keep them in business. The odds of you reaching someone who is even capable of understanding this problem is rather low, let alone being able to fix it. It is possible to turn this flag on for individual shows or channels, but when everything has it, it's a sign of a mistake being made.

Yes, Comcast would like you to buy a DVR from them, but it's more likely incompetence than due to an actual plan on their part that this is happening. Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

The vast majority of US consumers have shown no interest in DVD recorders, which is why they are disappearing from the marketplace here. Everyone wants a Tivo. Almost nobody wants to keep what they record. To pacify Hollywood, DVD recorders were made to err on the side of not recording something if there was any question about whether the video input could legally be recorded, so they are ultrasensitive to "do not record" flags in broadcasts, whether such flags are by design or accident.