HDTV Tuner & Capture

[Xesdeeni]

So in my case, since I don't really watch a lot of OTA material (except for ABC's Lost , I really don't need to purchase a HDTV tuner/capture card before this year's broadcast flag deadline, right? Actually, I don't think I even understand what deadline is really for.. will the HDTV cards actually be limited or 'encrypted' somehow?

The broadcast flag itself is just that...a flag. The OTA material won't be encrypted, because no current devices would be able to view it. But they will add a flag to the stream. The current devices don't know about the flag, so their functionality will not change. But future device that know about the flag, must obey it.

If the flag is set to "no record," then they must refuse to record. I believe they will allow minimal time PVR-like shifting. I think the number 45 minutes was one of the options mentioned, but I don't know what the final outcome was. But you wouldn't be able to record the broadcast for later at all.

If the flag says "copy once," then you can record it, but it is up to the device to ensure that is the only copy allowed. I.e. you won't be able to make a copy of it and (say) post it on the Internet. The most practical way right now of doing this is to encrypt the recording.

Say the recording device was a digital VCR. You would get a tape with encryped video on it, so you couldn't extract the video. But you could play the video back. It seems you'd also only be able to play it back on the same tape deck on which it was recorded. Otherwise, you could just make a copy of the encrypted data and distribute that (they actually did this with DVDs before CSS was cracked). So if your VCR goes out, you'll lose all your recordings.

My real goal is to somehow get HBO original shows in HDTV onto DVD-R. But doesn't seem possible..

It is, but it's difficult. If your cable company offers HBO-HD in the clear, a QAM tuner like the FusionHDTV QAM or upcoming MyHD MDP-130 can record it. However, most cable companies are encrypting this. There are also a couple of hacked satellite receivers, but they are hard to come by, are extremely illegal, and will probably be locked out soon anyway.

I hope there is a groundswell of resistance to all this copy protection. I'm not trying to pirate or steal things. But I want to be able to record something when I want to record it, and save it for later...even much later. And I shouldn't be treated as a criminal because I want to do so.

Personally, I will do my small part by letting the cable company know that I'd be interested in HD when it comes to my neighborhood, but only if all the commercial HD channels are offered in the clear. I can understand the pay channels, but when my team is on ESPN-HD, I want to be able to record that exciting game and save it for many years. While I can eventually buy the movies and series on HBO, find me a source for any ESPN sporting event! So by recording it, I'm not costing them a dime!

Xesdeeni

[jbenj01]

Thanks xesdeeni et. al. Make more sense, and as I thought, looks pretty bleak. I do have a DVHS player/recorder, but my Comcast box is firewire port is not enabled--waiting for an upgraded box..