So DSTV (Multi Choice) Has decided to "Copy Protect" its programs

[mtbgirlz]

Then your PVR harddrive or whatever it is called crashes and you lose all those recordings of your loved ones in featured races

Just happened to me!

[kosmonooit]

Were there is a will there is a way ...

 

And whats wrong with recording some programs you want to archive/keep?

 

Anwyay here's a solution: setup a Multimedia / HTPC with some decent Video I/O ports. Hook up your Decoder to the PC either direct or via a splitter (PC can then Output to the TV/display). Record it to hard disk as avi/mpeg or whatever using a number of ways. Can be done. Even with HD/HDMI/HDCP

 

Let me just explain that a bit more: with HD output via HDMI (or DVI) they have introduced this thing called HDCP - High Def Copy Protection. So you can only hook up the output to a display that has HDCP, that tells the decorder (or DVD/Blu Ray Player) that its a display and not a hard disk recorder. But with a PC you can get s/w that can make the PC look like the display to the decoder.

[pastapouch]

there is a place that can recover it if it is that important. gonna cost you a few body parts though.

[AndreZA]

yaaa, obviously to another machine ... I was thinking way before that phase. Know about someone who managed to get DSTV (3 channels) going through a computer. A genius in IT!

 

We work out of an house with a cottage on the grounds where one of out IT guys live. During the Fifa® 2010 World Cup you would play the games through his computer which is connected to a wireless hub an out server picks it up again. we then watched it through Media player using an IP address.

[GLuvsMtb]

I have no problem with DSTV protecting their rights. If you want a copy of an edition of super cycling (maybe there is a race you did and the camera caught you doing a double sumasault and landing on your wheels again) you can purchase a copy of the show from DSTV. The big problem is not people copying onto DVD's, but people dropping footage on youtube and the like. DSTV is also going the internet route for selling footage, so surely they would want to protect their rights.

 

There is another satelite subscription group in SA - how many of you use them? (Top TV?)

[Capricorn]

cervelo: that's pretty simple if you one satellite decoder card and software that's able to instantiate itself multiple times to be set to process various channels within the same stream. But that requires that the decoding be software based and not done in hardware. This is normally for cheaper satellite decoder cards. If in hardware, then you gonna need 3 cards for 3 streams.

[rouxtjie]

Sorry boys but I am with X-gear on this one, your subscription allows you to record and watch later at your convenience. It doesn't buy copy rights.

 

Yes the package where you can watch one channel and record another two costs alot but hey, the content is great(can you go back to SABC 1,2,3 and eTV), so you get what you pay for.

 

If recording on seperate media(not the PVR's disk) is so important to you, you can always buy a setup that can do that type of thing, but expect to fork out more money for extra devices and cabling.

 

my 2c anyway

[pastapouch]

cervelo: that's pretty simple if you one satellite decoder card and software that's able to instantiate itself multiple times to be set to process various channels within the same stream. But that requires that the decoding be software based and not done in hardware. This is normally for cheaper satellite decoder cards. If in hardware, then you gonna need 3 cards for 3 streams.

And thats exactly what you do...remember , the machine reads the details from your subscriber card, and verify the card. so you can just go and write an interfae to "duplicate the card", and on DSTV you go . The way I undertand this guy did it was to take the stream from the dish , into a TV card... and then runs his software, and alter the decoding that they put in the stream transmitted and reroute the altered stream to the TV.

[bikemonster]

Sorry boys but I am with X-gear on this one, your subscription allows you to record and watch later at your convenience. It doesn't buy copy rights.

 

Please explain the difference in copyright law between recording onto a PVR for the subscriber to watch later and recording onto a DVD for the subscriber to watch later.

[Airborne]

I am recovering from a Knee op.

 

I wanted to record Super Cycling, Miway MTB, Multi sport events etc.. onto DVD so that I can watch it while doing physio in another room. (Physio takes about 30 to 60 Minutes)

 

No I am not trying to rob Multichoice of its millions in profit and sell content or put it on You Tube etc....

 

Just enjoy my fav programs at home in my own time.

 

I already pay a high subscription and have no intention of buying a PVR.

 

Perhaps the question that needs to be asked is why Multichoice made the change without notifying its user base!!!

[rouxtjie]

Please explain the difference in copyright law between recording onto a PVR for the subscriber to watch later and recording onto a DVD for the subscriber to watch later.

You are assuming the person recording the programme has no intent to copy and distribute the material. They,(Multichoice) can control the media the content is being watched from ie. the PVR device. If you allow every tom, dick and harry to record and copy content to other media to distribute to their mates surely they will be breaking copy right laws. Lets take a movie as an example, recording the 8 o'clock sunday movie to watch tonight vs burning copies for all my mates are very different and in my book makes me no better than the okes on william nicol. Yes, I know you mentioned that it will not be distributed but remember once the content is "out" of the PVR device, multichoice have no control over what happens with the content, so in my book they are very responsible wrt to their broadcasting since they are not enabling pirates. As you can see from other posts, its very easy to bypass this, but that is not the point.

 

In la-la land where everybody has noble intentions this obviously wouldn't have been an issue, but this is the real world. Bottom line, if people dont like it, don't get dstv, its their product and their rules

[kosmonooit]

Lets face it: its all about total control for Multichoice, they have the monopoly, the market, they don't want to give anything away, so thats why they try make it impossible to record any broadcast outside of their own gizmos. They have it all wrapped up (at least they think they do) making it very difficult for the lay person to operate outside of their box: and thats the arrogant dictatorial corporate culture that exists and flourishes here in SA.

 

As I said there are ways around it but that will require more boxes and expenses but its all PC / Windows based so easy enough to setup. Lots of forums on the web to help guide. Just get the specs right.

 

As for PC Satellite cards and Smartcard readers, that can use your (legit) Multichoice Smartcard to view and PVR DSTV Content to .AVI or whatever, not impossible but very, very difficult, they closed the door on that and they now marry a Smartcard to a Decoder so you cant use it elsewhere.

[pastapouch]

Lets face it: its all about total control for Multichoice, they have the monopoly, the market, they don't want to give anything away, so thats why they try make it impossible to record any broadcast outside of their own gizmos. They have it all wrapped up (at least they think they do) making it very difficult for the lay person to operate outside of their box: and thats the arrogant dictatorial corporate culture that exists and flourishes here in SA.

 

As I said there are ways around it but that will require more boxes and expenses but its all PC / Windows based so easy enough to setup. Lots of forums on the web to help guide. Just get the specs right.

 

As for PC Satellite cards and Smartcard readers, that can use your (legit) Multichoice Smartcard to view and PVR DSTV Content to .AVI or whatever, not impossible but very, very difficult, they closed the door on that and they now marry a Smartcard to a Decoder so you cant use it elsewhere.

Nothing more than hacking... and there are geniusses out there. Unfortunately I'm not one of them.

[javadude]

You dont need to be a genius to hack, just need to time and patience to research how its done. The fact that hackers are geniuses is a myth, most are a bunch wannabe script kiddies who think they are geniuses.

[pastapouch]

You dont need to be a genius to hack, just need to time and patience to research how its done. The fact that hackers are geniuses is a myth, most are a bunch wannabe script kiddies who think they are geniuses.

hacking into a website is one thing...getting to the electronic workings of eg. a sattelite decoder is quite another.

Additional thought to this. One of our cycling buddies is seriously into astronomy. And went into different sites..exploring the internet for info. and somehow he managed to get into a US VIS(VERY IMPORTANT SITE) He immidiately realised that he was in something where he shouldn't be and went out of the site. Minute or two later he got a phone call about how he managed to get to the site.

[kosmonooit]

I am led to believe one can even crack DSTV without being enslaved by monthly dues .. but thats takes a real propeller head and a lot of perseverance. You wont find anything about that on-line, its all very underground.

 

Setting up a Media PC to record your content is a no-brainer.