Charter Spectrum and the Channels DVR with a Cable Card

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#11

I'm in Wisconsin which has been a Charter market from the begining. I am able to record and view all channels that I subscribe to including premium channels such as HBO, Showtime, etc. I have a HDHomerun with the cable card and it works just fine with DVR for me. I don't know if this is relavent to DRM or not, but Clear QAM is not in my area, only QAM hence the cable card.

I found this link which explains DRM and QAM differences:

https://getchannels.com/faq/#what-is-the-difference-between-encrypted-channels-and-drm-channels

#12

I have Charter Spectrum in DFW (Texas) and I’m receiving most channels DRM-free (for now at least). Notably BBC HD and CW are DRMed (but CW is available OTA). All premium channels are DRM of course.

A tuning adaptor is supposed to allow for DRM channels to come through but I haven’t had any luck getting it to work.

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#13

I have Spectrum (formerly Oceanic Time Warner) in Honolulu, HI. I set up an HDHR Prime with a cable card and tuning adapter (graciously provided by Oceanic for free). All but twenty-some-odd channels are protected with DRM. The latest HDHR view app plays all channels, including DRM in Windows 10, and on the Xbox One. The HDHR DVR, however, still does not support DRM channels.

Spectrum took over Oceanic a few months ago. So far they have made no changes, but I have heard that they will no longer support the existing whole home DVR, and that they will introduce a completely new solution in 2018. I’m hoping that the new solution will involve less DRM…

#14

Just wanted to provide a positive report from Bradenton, FL: Legacy Bright House (now Spectrum) working pretty well over here, at least shortly after initial scan. There are some common channels DRMed but all of them also have a secondary channel that isn't DRMed. For example, Headline News HD (HLNHD) is not DRMed at channel 20 but is DRMed at channel 500 something. I'd say less than 10% of channels are DRMed and of those, TV Everywhere has me covered already. (Just checked, i've got 535 channels, of which 61 are DRM.)

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#15

5 months later and I am shocked how rock solid the CableCard setup has been. Haven't had to reset the tuning adapter once!

#16

I currently have a Tivo Bolt hooked up to my Spectrum Cable Card and Tuning adapter. I'm trying out Channels Plus DVR and my setup is OTA antenna hooked up to SiliconDust Quattro hooked up to my Synology NAS. Everything is working good but the picture quality on both the OTA and TVE is subpar, seems to be 720P whereas my Tivo is doing (I believe) 1080i.

My question is this. I'm looking to pick up a SiliconDust Prime and add it to the mix. I'll move the cable card to the SD Prime and also use the Tuning Adapter. This will allow me to remove the Tivo entirely and kill the monthly guide fee. Will the picture quality improve to at least the same as the Tivo if the source is now coming through the cable card?

#17

Most HD OTA content is 1080i, but a few networks broadcast in 720p. TVE is low– to mid–bitrate 720p or 1080p.

With the Prime, it's the same as OTA: HD channels in either 1080i or 720p. You may want to double check which channels have DRM, though. Channels does not support DRM cable channels, which TiVo has no problem displaying or recording.

#18

Thank you, appreciate the info. When I input my Spectrum credentials into Channels for TVE I notice that most of them are unavailable to view, including locals. I was hoping that by using the Prime+Cable Card+Tuning adapter that the blanked out channels would be available. Is this not the case?

#19

I only use TVE with Spectrum. You should only be missing some locals depending on the area. Mainly CBS, PBS AND CW. and sub channels ( I use an Antenna for those). I think most cable channels should be there except Nick. You might need to rescan individual channels.

#20

Just because a channel is in your subscription package does not necessarily mean TVE access is included. While the channels that you cannot receive via TVE may be available through your CableCARD, they may also be flagged with DRM, making them unviewable in Channels.

#21

I'm guessing there is no way to know if a channel blocked out by TVE would also be blocked out with HDHR Prime short of actually doing it? It's a serious PITA to have Spectrum remarry the cable card to a new device (and then possibly put it back in the Tivo). Wish it was simply plug 'n play....

#22

Not that if Spectrum in your area uses DRM then most channels via the PRIME won't work with Channels.

#23

So you are saying Spectrum makes TVE deals based on the area and if you have TVE access then you won't have DRM if you get a prime?

#24

No. For instance, in my area, many Discovery network HD channels were marked with DRM (Cooking Channel, DIY); I could get the SD versions without DRM, but the HD channels were flagged. With TVE, I get the 1080p streams. Those DRM flagged channels were unavailable to Channels.

With DirecTV, my package includes the PAC12 networks with their receivers. However, DirecTV does not include TVE access to those channels.

TVE agreements are secondary/additional to your subscription package. Just because an operator includes a certain channel in your lineup, does not mean that you will also have TVE access to that channel. Conversely, just because a channel is not available to you via TVE, it may be in your subscription if you use their cable feed/CableCARD.

DRM is a completely separate matter. The OP hasn't run into those issues because TiVo's hardware and software are CableLabs certified. However, Channels' software is not, so it can not access the DRM channels, even if you subscribe to them.

#25

Ok my question is Spectrum TVE access should be the same across the board regardless of DRM, but the OP isn't getting them

"Thank you, appreciate the info. When I input my Spectrum credentials into Channels for TVE I notice that most of them are unavailable to view, including locals"

#26

Right. Just be you subscribe to a cable channel, that doesn't automatically mean you get TVE access to that channel. TVE agreements are separate from from cable package. That's why I used the PAC12 example: it is a channel I subscribe to and receive via DirecTV, but those TVE channels come up as Not Authorized.

#27

It's possible Spectrum has different TVE agreements depending on your region (i.e. depending on who the original provider: Charter, TimeWarner, BrightHouse, etc). I'm not sure though.

#28

Correct I talking about Spectrum specifically

#29

Could be. When I sign in it just says Spectrum and get access to all content. I don't know about other areas when you select Spectrum if it just doesn't authorize.

#30

My service area is Austin and it used to be TIme Warner before Spectrum bought them out. It baffles me that a channel I subscribe to, pay for and has been filtered through a tuning adapter and cable card cannot be viewed and/or recorded on Channels. Why is TVE even being talked about in this scenario? Channels should see HGTV or AE (or whatever) as a paid for filtered and vetted channel. I’m not accessing it through TVE. I’m also paying Spectrum monthly for their cloud DVR so I’m allowed to record. What am I missing?