Azbox puts "protected content" on programs??

[tvropro]

There are 3 forms of Macrovision. One is simply the AGC and Sync type which was used with video tapes. The second adds colorstriping that messes with chroma (seen on DVD's). These two types will come into play transferring an analog signal (composite, S or component) Then HDMI adds CSS digital copy management system that won't allow anything. There are boxes you can put in line that will remove these 3 types and allow recording. What boggles my mind is why would the AZbox have anything in it for Macrovision in the first place.

If you want to record something bad enough there are ways to do it. PC's usually work the best for getting around a copy protected signal. Setop recorders are harder to go around.

 

[brentb636]

I think you need to try to duplicate the problem. Until you do, we might have to think it's a one-time glitch in the datastream. It's bizarre, Tony, since I always thought that only the digital signal could carry the protection, that analog would always be safer to record.

 

[Mr Tony]

I have no idea and that is what is weird....I had set the timer to go off at 10:59AM this morning. It lit up and prepared a minute or so earlier (like it always does) then at 10:59 the machine tried to record, couldnt, then just shut off

Tried manually to record and got same error

 

[Mr Tony]

I think you need to try to duplicate the problem. Until you do, we might have to think it's a one-time glitch in the datastream. It's bizarre, Tony, since I always thought that only the digital signal could carry the protection, that analog would always be safer to record.

It's happened before and that was on the GDMX channels but that was probably due to an "advanced" showing of a program
http://www.satelliteguys.us/2018599-post11.html

but sports feeds always seem to work just fine

 

[AcWxRadar]

Ice,

I do understand your scenario here. I have gone through the same ordeal with a similar setup, but not quite. I'll detail in brief...

I was using the Coolsat 5K and a LiteOn HD-A760GX HDD/DVD burner.

I was presented with a similar problem and message regarding copy protection. I recorded the program to the HDD and could replay it fine. When I tried to copy it to a DVD, it would not allow this due to some copy-protection system. I Found the same TV program on at a different time and recorded it again and then had NO problem transferring it to a DVD.

My hypothesis was that there were other signals, not copy protection signals, which were triggering the DVD record system to percieve them as such and block this action. Live shows such as a football game or older TV series obviously wouldn't generally have any copy protection signals. Afterall, you can record the superbowl and copy that to a DVD, can't you?

So I believe that it is just a quirk and it simply showed up with your AZBox and not with the CS8000 through some unknown anomaly. I don't think that there is actually a copy protect signal involved, but the DVD recorder / burner perceives it as such.

I am not using that same method with my AZBox. Currently, I am recording to my internal HDD in the AZBox Premium and then I FTP it wirelessly to my PC. I clean the program of all commercials and leading and trailing garbage, convert the video from *.ts to a standard DVD format with freeware software and then burn it to a DVD with my PC.

Only dilemna I am having right now is a stack of DVDs (SONY DVD-RW discs) that my ACER laptop and my Gateway media center PC are both telling me that they are not a valid DVD media!

I have hundreds of movies recorded on these very same discs from the past and never had this problem before. Now I have a whole stack of 50 DVDs that I can't seem to do anything with. AHHH Fudge!

RADAR

 

[Mr Tony]

I was presented with a similar problem and message regarding copy protection. I recorded the program to the HDD and could replay it fine. When I tried to copy it to a DVD, it would not allow this due to some copy-protection system.

never ran into that. As long as it was recorded on the hard drive, it would copy to the DVD recorder part everytime

My hypothesis was that there were other signals, not copy protection signals, which were triggering the DVD record system to percieve them as such and block this action. Live shows such as a football game or older TV series obviously wouldn't generally have any copy protection signals. Afterall, you can record the superbowl and copy that to a DVD, can't you?

this was a football game

I am not using that same method with my AZBox. Currently, I am recording to my internal HDD in the AZBox Premium and then I FTP it wirelessly to my PC. I clean the program of all commercials and leading and trailing garbage, convert the video from *.ts to a standard DVD format with freeware software and then burn it to a DVD with my PC.

with it being a high bitrate feed I couldnt record it to the Western Digital HDD I have attached (but was turned off at the time).

 

[Mr Tony]

Damn this gets weirder tonight

Wanted to record a HD feed on C-Band...hit record and "protected content" shows up....dang it.
Tried my Polaroid DVD recorder/Hard drive. It records but I cant hit stop. Says "macrovision encoded" and the only way to stop the recording is to unplug the unit....grrr.....even if I change channels it wouldnt let me hit stop. Unplugging the unit doesnt save the recording

Now back to the accurian I change channels to something else and hit record. Record shows up on the screen. Switch back to my feed and it still records. Recorded 5 minutes or so. Hit stop waited 30 seconds then tried again. It recorded on that feed.

Now here is the weird part.....if I let the unit sit on that channel for more than say 90 seconds if I hit record I get "protected content" and it wont record. But if I change to a different channel (even a channel that isnt active) and go back then it records. Or if it sits on that channel for 30 seconds or a minute I can record still.

 

[turbosat]

Curioser and curioser. Maybe its the HD content that's triggering it-wasn't BBC threatening to do something with their HD content that's broadcast OTA, not too long ago? They wanted to limit or deny copying of HD programming because of the costs to produce it, something to that effect.

 

[tvropro]

Is it enabling CSS or analog macrovision? When it does it try recording that channel to a VCR and see if it's putting a messed up signal on a tape in analog mode using composite out.

A bit is getting turned on in the AZbox. Some dvd players you can turn the bit off with a code so there may be a way to do that. You can also use one of these:

Sima Copy Guard Enhancers CT-200 ATX-500 CT200 ATX500 CT2 CT-2, makes any device VCR friendly and DVD recorder friendly, CGMS off C.G.M.S Off for dvd to dvd recording

 

[Mr Tony]

Well I found a workaround for it

Couldnt sleep last night so I got up to watch TV.....nothing really on at 2:30AM
then I remembered...hey...ESPN was having that college basketball marathon and there is a game from Hawaii on at 3AM. Lets find the feed

Found the feed and its 4:2:2 so have to use the azbox. Tried to record it and, yep, protected content on the dvd recorder.

Here is the workaround. I switched channels to Daystar and hit record. It started recording. Then flipped back to the Hawaii feed and it recorded the whole time (3 hours).
So as long as I dont start the recording on the "copy protected" channel it will still record if I go back to it. Played it back this morning and it plays just fine through the component cables to the HDTV.

 

[Mr Tony]

Is it enabling CSS or analog macrovision? When it does it try recording that channel to a VCR and see if it's putting a messed up signal on a tape in analog mode using composite out.

when I used the VCR that time (for a different show) I do get the messed up signal...where the pic looks real good then started rolling and tearing etc due to the macrovision

that hookup was

azbox----red/yellow/white cables---vcr---red/yellow/white---tv

 

[tvropro]

when I used the VCR that time (for a different show) I do get the messed up signal...where the pic looks real good then started rolling and tearing etc due to the macrovision

that hookup was

azbox----red/yellow/white cables---vcr---red/yellow/white---tv

Then it's turning on both analog and digital copy protection. That bites, now were going to have to use one of those boxes just to record certain stuff. I hate the ones behind this technology .

I never thought they enabled it on the 4D until one day HITS was wide open. I figured I'd do a channel step through with generics to tape for archive sake. Everything worked till I hit the porn channels they pulled the macrovision crap

EDIT Just read your other post I guess If you trick the recorder like you did it stays open. Cool!

 

[adm22]

Have had problems with macrovision also. sometimes it just turns itself on. Although when I have had it on it is on for everything. Rebooting the AZBox will sometimes get rid of this (and sometimes not). I could detect no pattern for why or when it turned on.

A macrovision stripper allows the signal to be recorded on an external hard drive recorder like th one I think you mentioned having. Betamax VCRs seem to be uneffected by it, although the tapes they make have the macrovision embedded in them like a recessive gene.

 

[Babadem]

I think I should connect a HDD to my AzBox Elite to see if I can duplicate these issues raised here.

 

[14karat]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones - I managed to acquire an old DVD recorder that strips the mvision encoding. Also have a couple of mvision strippers for that as well...
BUT, that being said, y'all may as well get ready for this on OTA setups too... by going digital, this opens the door for preventing recording OTA as well...
I really think the PVR folks (Tivo, etc,) will get behind the push, so only their PVRs will be able to record and you won't be able to save to DVD...
Mark my words... coming soon to an OTA antenna near you...

 

[Mr Tony]

EDIT Just read your other post I guess If you trick the recorder like you did it stays open. Cool!

yeah it worked last night for the wrestling just fine and the Hawaii bb game it worked too as long as I started on a different channel

One thing I noticed is if I recorded a program (wrestling) and stopped it if I hit record within a minute or so it would record fine. If it sat on the channel for more than 90 seconds it was like the macrovision "reset" then I got the "protected content"

 

[Mr Tony]

I think I should connect a HDD to my AzBox Elite to see if I can duloicate these issue araised here.

This isnt a HDD attached via the usb port. That works fine (just has issues with the high bitrate feeds)

This is a hard drive/dvd recorder attached via the red/white/yellow cables

 

[Babadem]

This isnt a HDD attached via the usb port. That works fine (just has issues with the high bitrate feeds)

This is a hard drive/dvd recorder attached via the red/white/yellow cables

Oh, ok........I must have misunderstood the issue at hand. Thanks for correction.

 

[tvropro]

yeah it worked last night for the wrestling just fine and the Hawaii bb game it worked too as long as I started on a different channel

One thing I noticed is if I recorded a program (wrestling) and stopped it if I hit record within a minute or so it would record fine. If it sat on the channel for more than 90 seconds it was like the macrovision "reset" then I got the "protected content"

Seems like a pain. I think a macro scrubber box is the best bet. Going to need one to record OTA next

 

[Babadem]

OK this is weird but not the 1st time I've seen this happen with the azbox

wanted to record a CFB game since I wont be able to see the whole game right now. No biggie I'll just record it. Its in HD so I have to use the azbox. Hooked up my dvd recorder/hard drive that I use to record most programs through a/v cables.

When I try to record, on the dvd recorder/hard drive I get a "protected content" message and it wont record. If I set up a timer on the recorder, it does the same thing. I hooked up the Coolsat 8000 and tried it and the recorder works just fine. Its recording the game right now

This is not the 1st time I've had the azbox "block" a recording to an external recording device. I could try the hard drive that is attached but its a higher bitrate feed so it wont record right.

Anybody else have an external recording device (not a hard drive you hook to the USB port but using the A/V or component cables) and run into this?

Your answer could be at the bottom of page 93 of the AZBoz Manual, even though it talks about Video Cassette recording.