We told you that
CableLabs had received a few requests to amend the OCUR spec that dictates what a CableCARD tuner for a PC can and can't do, and as expected the organization that many love to hate has come through -- we, expected it anyways. The first change is the most significant which is that each tuner in an OCUR can be paired with different PCs at the same time. This lets you buy one quad tuner and use it on four HTPCs simultaneously; one tuner per PC (a single tuner can't be shared simultaneous though). When we originally asked CableLabs about changing this they said, maybe, but it'd take three to six months to run through the process. The other change we're glad didn't take forever to become a reality is the one that stated that even
Copy Freely content had to be transmitted securely, which meant that Windows 7 Media Center was the only way to watch any CableCARD tuner stuff, and while there isn't much encrypted QAM content out there marked Copy Freely, MythTV and SageTV fans will have access to at least some premium HD content. This isn't as big a deal as changing the meaning of Copy Once to something less draconian, it is welcomed news for those
who just received their InfiniTV 4 (pictured above) and felt constrained by the old rules. We're sure there could be considerable time between when the change is made official and when the firmware is released to the public, but hopefully Ceton and SiliconDust don't waste any time making it happen.
posted August 15th 2010 7:21PM
Hopefully Tivo will also work quickly to drop the encryption on the Copy Freely files. This means there will no longer be a need at all for .tivo files. Also, transfers to the PC through the web interface would mean you would never need to use Tivo Desktop at all. (Not for view etc.)
@gabmasterjcc It would be nice, but I would imagine it would require an overhaul of their software and we know how quick they are with that.
I would also be happy if TiVo would add .WTV native support so I could use my TiVos to playback my copy freely 7MC recordings.
@brennok
I agree with you, but in honesty if they are actually copy freely they should not use any type of proprietary format. Then Tivo wouldn't have to change anything about their software. Then WMC should only use the 7MC file type for ones that aren't copy freely and something standard for those that are... Same for Tivo... but alas, I dream of a time when companies care about the consumer's interests.
@gabmasterjcc Trust me I agree 100%. Maybe we should all start firing off letters to Cable Labs lol.
Super. That means you can stick an HTPC in one corner of your home and watch premium HD channels on a laptop anywhere on the network. Translation: TV EVERYWHERE :)
Now if only we can get them to allow copy once recordings to playback on any cable lab certified device on the same network.
Oh--- so you can't actually share an individual tuner, although you can share one card across different machines. Certainly a step forward, but still not ideal.
@makryger
You can share an individual tuner across multiple machines, just not at the exact same time (which is only logical). So if you have an InfiniTV, you can assign one tuner to the computer it's installed in, one tuner to your laptop, one tuner to the bedroom, and one tuner to the kids room.
@richard1980
Actually its not that logical. if multiple devices request the same channel to be tuned, it would be logical to use the same tuner across devices.
I assume tuners are still locked to specific PCs, and can't be assigned dynamically as needed as the HDHomeRun ATSC/ClearQAM tuners can do, right?
So tuner 1 is always attached to PC1 and can never be used by another one if PC1 isn't using it.
@andysexton
Actually no. You can pair it with as many PCs as you want, but a tuner will work on one PC at a time.
@BenD Well that's better. Rereading, I guess I misunderstood what you were saying. I think I was just remembering the SiliconeDust description of what they were going to try to do before this requirement change.
Game changer!! One step closer to not needing extenders. After reading the comments I'm confused. Does it work the way the SD ClearQAM tuners work today? The so-called "tuner pool"?
Hopefully the next items to fall are truck rolls and external SDV boxes. The copy once restriction seems like a much tougher nut to crack.
I'm still confused, Ben. Help! I assume that his means that ANY other computers in my house can use one of my Ceton card's tuners to record something that is marked "Copy Once", like HBO-HD? The caveat is that the recorded show still cannot be viewed on any computer but the one that did the recording?
What confuses me is that currently, if I record something that is copy-freely (like a local off of QAM), I can watch that on another PC. I don't see the difference in your second point and this scenario we've always been able to do.
@dmccall
To your 1st question, yes, you can now break the tuners up individually such that up to 4 different machines could each be using one of the Ceton's 4 tuners simultaneously.
Regarding your 2nd question, under the old CableCARD rules, even Copy Freely content was still encrypted so you needed a PlayReady license to decode it. This rule didn't apply to Clear-QAM which is sent unencrypted.
@swoon So you are saying that under the "old rules", there were really 3 levels of recordings?:
* encrypted QAM (copy once)
* encrypted QAM (copy freely)
* unencrypted QAM
We are in an area where locals are clear QAM (I've been able to play those recordings on every computer in the house) and copy-once encrypted QAM (which can only be played on the MC7 computer where it was recorded.).
?So the change is really in the second item in my list?
@dmccall
Yes, that is correct.
@dmccall
There is no direct correlation between encrypted QAM and CCI flags. You can have Copy Freely content delivered via encrypted QAM and Copy Once content via unencrypted (although I've never seen this).
Any idea on how this would work on NAS? Or what if instead of copying the content from one PC to another you just mapped the drives?
Cant wait to make XBMC the gateway for each tv and have Sage do all the DVR backend management of a ceton card. The ball is now in Microsoft's hands I would say. If they dont upgrade WMC, it will soon fall fast. They no longer have the cablecard monopoly.
@S4Rs They still will have a monopoly on everything but copy freely.
So depending on your cable provider, you may not have access to a lot of copy once content. Some cable companies mark nearly everything copy once, meaning 7MC is the only way to play it on a PC.
@S4Rs
Hold your horses. There's still a lot of Copy Once material out there. Currently, WMC is the only software that can work with it. There's also no guarantee that the cable company won't just change everything to CopyOnce overnight and thus someone's investment in another software solution is fairly tenuous if it rides on CableCARD content.
Furthermore, the ball is really in Sage or others' court. MS can license PlayReady so if Sage or anyone else wants to work with encrypted CableCARD content, they can once they license PlayReady.
@swoon Exactly. If MS does end up letting MC die a slow death, I hope somebody else will pick up the DRM licenses from them to carry us through whatever comes post-CableCARD. That will only happen if the business makes sense. By that, I mean that people are willing to buy 3rd party software at a high enough price to justify the license cost.
@swoon @andysexton Not if you have Fios.
Sage will never license PlayReady because I am sure there is some crazy costs associated. There should be no reason though, why a company like Sage cant just use another (probabaly open source) DRM solution.
@S4Rs " Not if you have Fios."
Yet. Don't think things might not change. Other MSOs have changed their setup with no warning.
@S4Rs Forgot to mention: PlayReady is the only approved DRM for CableCARD at this time AFAIK.
@S4Rs
At one time, a term of $10k was said to be the cost to license PlayReady. This is surely much less than the cost to pay engineers to develop a brand new solution.
@S4Rs
That isn't the only problem. Even if Sage did license PlayReady DRM, it would still need to get CableLabs certified, or else it wouldn't be able to initiate a secure channel which is required for Copy Once material (that's right, the DRM's content has to be encrypted again while's its transmitted).
but hopefully Ceton and SiliconDust don't waste any time making it happen" Hey Ben, I found this on Cablelabs site, http://www.cablelabs.com/opencable/specifications/hwecns.html (DRI-N-10.1572-2.doc) seems like Silicondust authored this change.
Got my Ceton today! Hoping Cox can handle it; mandatory truck rollout.
Got my Ceton today! Hoping Cox can handle it; mandatory truck rollout.
I still don't get how this is really an option for someone using MythTV... I'm only going to be able to watch unencrypted channels, a regular Hauppage HVR-2250 can already do that, using multirec I can record 4 channels at once too and its 1/4 the price.
@LowSky
Actually not really. There are plenty of channels on some providers that are encrypted but marked Copy Freely. For example FiOS encrypts everything and marks it all Copy Freely. So on FiOS, Myth would work just like Media Center. On TWC that marks everything Copy Once, then yeah, same as a clear qam tuner.
Well people. This is all and well great for CABLE subscribers, but we still need amcard like this to be incorporated into the likes of DirectTV and DISH Network. I'm watching you Ben and your podcast coments every single episode. Put some more love into to pressuring those big shots tithe Satellite providers so Ceton can do the same thing for those subscribers. Peace....