How to get the best possible uncompressed recording?

[GEOLINK]

Hey guys,

I recently got a DVR from Verizon Fios (model QIP7232 2) and have a few recordings on the drive already. What I'm asking is how can I capture (or even transfer if possible) those recordings in the most uncompressed way possible?

I've tried using a Firewire connected to my PC (running Windows 7) and downloading the drivers to no avail as my PC didn't recognize the DVR.

Currently I'm using a Elgato HD to capture TV shows at a 14Mb bitrate. But my problem there is that recordings are in AAC audio format and for some reasons the files get artifacts every time I cut on a wrong frame in VideoReDo. And it's gotten annoying... but I digress.

Does anyone have any solutions?

[Brad]

Buy/borrow/steal a 32-bit Windows machine or a Mac with Firewire and cross your fingers that the channel was flagged as copy freely.

[Cornucopia]

Understand that what gets recorded on the DVR is nothing CLOSE to uncompressed. I'll assume that what you mean is that you want the process of getting it to PC-land to be as lossless as possible.

Those drivers you talked about were meant for WinXP32bit. If you are doing Vista, 7, or 8.x, and especially if you are doing 64bit (more likely) you are OUT OF LUCK. Similarly with Mac - SOL. Even with WinXP32, there were problems, and like vaporeon800 mentioned, you'd still need the "copy once" or "copy freely" flag to be able to receive anything.

Your FIOS DVR is made by a mainstream manufacturer that has licensed certain tech features to allow receiving, recording & replaying modern broadcasts & streams. In order to achieve these features, they have willingly made a "deal with the devil" and have agreed to NOT ALLOW you to transfer off of the DVR. Your dvr is likely formatted with an esoteric or proprietary filesystem, and it is likely encrypted, as are the incoming streams. You are, in essence, locked out of the possibility of portability.

Your only (legal) bypass of this deadlock is if your device supports analog out (which is now getting rarer and rarer as the conglomerates are plugging this hole as well).
If you do have analog out capability, it WON'T be HD, just SD. So, quality will be crap (compared to pristine original digital HD). But for some people, crap titles are better than NO titles.
If you have a system that works at all right now, be thankful.

Scott

[Brad]

Those drivers you talked about were meant for WinXP32bit. If you are doing Vista, 7, or 8.x, and especially if you are doing 64bit (more likely) you are OUT OF LUCK. Similarly with Mac - SOL. Even with WinXP32, there were problems, and like vaporeon800 mentioned, you'd still need the "copy once" or "copy freely" flag to be able to receive anything.

My understanding is that the drivers work for the 32-bit flavors of XP/Vista/7, but I couldn't even get the setup working in XP, personally. I've done captures from a Motorola DVR on Mac myself, so I know that's possible (one guide is here). The Canadian cable system I used had no "Copy Once" channels (just Freely/Never), but from what I read those can only be recorded to actual D-VHS machines and no computer software can deal with them.

[usually_quiet]

From what I recall, if someone has access to an older Mac with a FireWire 400 connection, the FireWire connection on a cable box/DVR could also be recorded with the third-party program Firerecord without installing additional drivers (assuming the connection is not disabled and the channel is not 5C DTCP protected).

[Edit]For what it is worth, I have 32-bit Windows 7 on my HTPC, and installed the right ExDeus drivers for my cable box, but no channel I've tried recently is available via the FireWire out on my Comcast box anymore, which apparently is the typical outcome for most people who try this recording method. (Local broadcast channels were available a year ago.) I am able to use FireWire to change channels and record using HDMI or component video with my Hauppauge Colossus, so it isn't a total bust.