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Cable television is obligated to abide copy protection ordered by the copyright owner. In terms of HBO and Showtime, this translates into setting of a Copy Once (0x02) flag set on most if not all of their broadcasts. This means that HDMI outputs from whatever legal device you use to receive such broadcasts will be blocked if the device cannot verify that the device on the other side of the connection will prevent you from recording the content in a re-distributable manner.
There are other ways to record content, but putting aside the technical considerations, doing so would still be a violation of the terms and conditions of use, and it would be as inappropriate to discuss the means by which such things could be accomplished as it would to actually engage in that activity.
I'm thinking of buying something that will record to discs.
So I can build movie library and also favorite series from HBO/Showtime.
Actually, it's more complicated than just the Copy Flag setting.
Yes, cable can be recorded, even premium channels like HBO. DVRs and TiVos record them all day long. And certain products allow them to be transferred to tablets, for off-site future watching.
But.. you can't record them to DVD in HD. There is no consumer DVD recorder sold that allows an HD signal to be recorded in an HD format. So while your TiVo can record Game of Thrones, you can't then record it to DVD to save/view later. You can do it in SD (non-HD) format, but no one wants that.
Yes, that's the one downside of HD. We have a huge collection of VHS tapes (sigh) because we used to tape everything that looked interesting. And now when we DVR shows, the DVR eats them after a while, even if we have the setting on "keep."
I've even thought about grabbing my HD video camera and taping a show so I can keep it-- but that storage is too expensive! We need some taping device that can replace the VCR. However, it seems like the younger TV generation is just not interested in keeping collections of shows--even DVD sales are down.
I'm on Direct TV, not cable, but I've wired the input signal to go through my Magnavox DVR to the television. And I can easily record to disc. BUT the discs are formatted only for the Magnavox player. I can't play them on my computer, and unless someone else has the same DVR, they can't play them on their players, either.
I'm on Direct TV, not cable, but I've wired the input signal to go through my Magnavox DVR to the television. And I can easily record to disc. BUT the discs are formatted only for the Magnavox player. I can't play them on my computer, and unless someone else has the same DVR, they can't play them on their players, either.
It's not recording HD. Magnavox makes an HD/DVD combo, that records HD to the hard drive, but if you burn a DVD, it's actually 480p. When it plays it, it upscales back to 1080, but that's no longer true HD.
Actually, it's more complicated than just the Copy Flag setting.
Yes, cable can be recorded, even premium channels like HBO. DVRs and TiVos record them all day long. And certain products allow them to be transferred to tablets, for off-site future watching.
But.. you can't record them to DVD in HD. There is no consumer DVD recorder sold that allows an HD signal to be recorded in an HD format. So while your TiVo can record Game of Thrones, you can't then record it to DVD to save/view later. You can do it in SD (non-HD) format, but no one wants that.
I don't mind. My cable company makes me pay extra for HD which I don't do.
Oddly, regular broadcast TV comes through free in HD but HBO, etc. does not (unless I pay $10/month more, OR I can see it in HD on on-demand or on HBO GO)
I don't mind. My cable company makes me pay extra for HD which I don't do.
I assumed you were talking HD. If you are not, then yeah, anything is possible.
Let's put it this way, content providers don't care what you do with an SD version of their shows. That should give you some idea of how they feel about SD. Only HD content is worth protecting.
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