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| comcast is annoying http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=20519 |
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| Author: | abigailsweetashoney [ Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | comcast is annoying |
I hope this is the right forum for this gripe. Here goes... So we have two cable boxes to decrypt the content which Comcast encrypts but doesn't own. The box downstairs is their more expensive HD model with coax, hdmi, svideo, and composite output. Very convenient indeed. Since we pretty much only watch Disney and Noggin, I bought some used pvr150's for $10/each (couldn't pass it up), threw one into my SBE, and ran the Comcast HD box's coax output directly to it while leaving the hdmi connected to the tv. I figured I could get some Phineas & Ferb shows (which btw, are absolutely hilarious even for adults) and Dive Ollie Dive! shows (which aren't so much so) for our laptop and phones. RE: http://knoppmyth.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight= Well here comes the complaint. Comcast won't let you do this. The output over the coax port says, "COPY PROTECTION HDMI OUTPUT BLOCKED". So yes I was able to record the P&F shows that I wanted. But after I removed the coax cable to the pvr150 and tried to reconfigure the cable box for hdmi output direct to the tv, the box was uncooperative. It appears that it has shut down its hdmi port. 1) Has this happened to anyone else? 2) Is there a work around without having to purchase a box specifically for myth? 3) We prefer not watching tv thru the myth box via live tv, so that option is out. argh! -abs |
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| Author: | tjc [ Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Yes they certainly are annoying, and rapidly climbing the leader board of corporate sleazebags. Sadly I don't know of a cable (FIOS, Satellite, ...) provider that is much better, or I'd have already jumped ship and started sending up flares to lead others to greener pastures. |
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| Author: | jmckeown2 [ Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:44 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
tjc wrote: ...climbing the leader board of corporate sleazebags.
The only thing slowing them down is that they keep having to add rungs to that ladder. The thing that bothers me more than cable-company douchebaggery is the apathy of the general public. The FCC is going to allow them to encrypt the signal to their digital adapters; and no one screamed. probably because no one knew they could tune clear QAM on their digital TVs. The cable companies certainly wouldn't tell them. they'd rather collect $6 a month on an HD STB. I can't believe ANYONE believes their "Security Measures" have anything to do with stopping pirates. It's all about fleecing the public for every nickel they can get. Silence is acceptance people! Complain to the FCC, complain to your legislators. One or two complaints like mine are simply dropped in the nutcase file. (aka trashcan) It will take hundreds or thousands of complaints to create change. |
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| Author: | abigailsweetashoney [ Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I recommend everyone STAND UP and stop this nonsense. I just wrote a complaint to the FCC and it took less than 5 minutes. http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm |
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| Author: | Martian [ Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
By all means continue to write letters but at the end of the day how many letters does it take to offset a lobbying dollar? The only real way to send a message is with dollars (obviously the lobbyist know this). If people start canceling their subscriptions instead of whining while still writing the check for another $100/month maybe things will change. Seriously, between OTA, DVD / Blu-ray, hulu, iTunes, Netflicks, Youtube, etc... it's not all that difficult to cut the cord err. cable and only pay for the content you truly want to watch. Just think of all the other fun things you could do with the left over money? Me, I bought a motorcycle... Netflicks and Redbox are evidence that there are some crazy smart people out their willing to innovate and give customers what they want and equal evidence that customers are willing to pay for it. It's time to vote with our wallets and give our money to the people who are willing to work for it and earn it! Martian |
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| Author: | tjc [ Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Yeah, sometime between last night and this morning most of my clear QAM channels magically vanished leaving just the "must carry" stuff that the FCC mandates that "thou shall not encrypt". What a bunch of short sighted self defeating dumbassery. I'm perfectly willing to pay for services, just so long as they're not crippled or otherwise rendered useless to me. I was even contemplating their HD upgrade but the mandatory box was a deal breaker. I think the next move may be to order an OTA antenna then call and tell them to take their so called "service" and stuff it. Maybe I'll switch my broadband service over to FIOS at the same time. |
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| Author: | Martian [ Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
tjc wrote: I think the next move may be to order an OTA antenna then call and tell them to take their so called "service" and stuff it. Maybe I'll switch my broadband service over to FIOS at the same time.
Exactly what I did - no regrets so far! |
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| Author: | mihanson [ Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:49 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
tjc wrote: I think the next move may be to order an OTA antenna then call and tell them to take their so called "service" and stuff it. Maybe I'll switch my broadband service over to FIOS at the same time.
Life in FiOS land (at least here) is good. I dunno about clear QAM, but I do recieve 50+ stations in the clear over firewire and that DOES NOT include the locals. PM me if you want to know exactly which ones. |
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| Author: | jzigmyth [ Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Quote: I do recieve 50+ stations in the clear over firewire and that DOES NOT include the locals. PM me if you want to know exactly which ones. Is it possible to record more that one at a time with Mythtv?
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| Author: | mihanson [ Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
jzigmyth wrote: Quote: I do recieve 50+ stations in the clear over firewire and that DOES NOT include the locals. PM me if you want to know exactly which ones. Is it possible to record more that one at a time with Mythtv?With multiple STB's, yes. |
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| Author: | mattbatt [ Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
To answer abigailsweetashoney's first question does the composite or s-video have the same logo thing? If so tell comcast that you need a box with component output because your HDTV doesn't have HDMI inputs. Is there a generic cable card box out there that will give you more options? I think I remmeber reading somewhere that you can force the cable company to give you a box with "firewire out" on it. |
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| Author: | Liv2Cod [ Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:09 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
You can get firewire out, but there is no guarantee you can record it. The cable box will refuse to send HD video to the firewire output if the program is marked with the "copy once" flag -- unless the equipment on the other end acknowledges the copy flag. No linux box is permitted to give the proper response to the "copy once" challenge because it uses encryption and the algorithm is secret. It's only available to equipment makers who sign a licensing contract with the content providers. So to make a long story short, the entertainment industry has found a way to make the FCC-mandated firewire output useless for any purpose at all. It can only be used by authorized licensed devices which respect the "copy once" flag. Did I mention that no such devices exist? The greedy Hollywood lawyers have sued any such equipment makers into oblivion. And that, in a nutshell, is why you can't buy a high-def DVD recorder to timeshift those shows or save those movies for posterity. |
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| Author: | abigailsweetashoney [ Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
mattbatt wrote: ..... you can force the cable company to give you a box with "firewire out" on it.
The one HD descrambler I'm indentured to does indeed have 1394 also. But it's a smart box and knows when more than one output is used simultaneously. Now if I want to pay Comcast for the right to use two outputs they'll gladly enable that feature for a fee. liv2cod >> where can I read more about this firewire requirement? |
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| Author: | Liv2Cod [ Fri Nov 20, 2009 6:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Scroll down to the bottom of the wiki page about firewire on Myth: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/FireWire |
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