End user feature request made to apple.
Charter Cable in SoCal (91202) currently only DRMs about 35% of the channels (Mainly Premium and specialty channels)… I am mainly interested in HBO on the ATV4 and Charter is not licensed for “HBO Go”. Charter also does not have its own app on the ATV4.
Have you considered getting HBO Now and paying for it via iTunes on the Apple TV? Then cancel HBO on Charter. The more you get outside of Charter the less of a hold they have. I get all premium content on Apple TV Apps. Also, SIRI searches them all.
I have the Prime and Cablecard from Optimum in NJ and the DRM channels don’t show up…
There is no DRM support due to licensing fees. I like most guys use the HBO Now & STARZ apps.
I notice the bug is marked High-1 - i assume thats a good sign too?
Any change for the possibility of DRM support with todays tvOS update, have the necessary API’s been added?
Done. Submitting request to Apple Development for HDCP support.
We haven't heard anything back from Apple on our bug report. Minor version updates like the recently released 9.2.1 rarely include new APIs, so the earliest we could expect anything announced is this summer at WWDC.
In the mean time, we are exploring to see if there are other options for enabling HDCP without an official API. If anyone has had their ATV show an "HDCP Error" in HBO, Netflix or other apps please contact us about it.
Submiitted API request
Submitted Apple Developer bug report....
maddox,
I sent you an email privately regarding this, could you please read it and send me your reply.
If you have any questions, let me know.
I am writing in response to an email you sent on May 17.
I want to be sure we understand your request. Is your ultimate goal to make sure the content you are playing back is protected with HDCP when sent to an external display? Do you need to be able to verify the HDCP status?
Maddox,
I sent an email to Tim Cook on May 17th regarding your request for new APIs which would support applications to turn on HDCP or to check if it is enabled.
Could you please provide a detailed response you would like me to send to the Manager of Worldwide Developer Technical Support at Apple?
Correct. Specifically, our content is not compatible with AVPlayer so we are using our own custom video player which uses OpenGL to display the content on screen. We need a way to enable HDCP while this content is playing. This is also outlined in our bug report rdar://24514980
Yes, as part of DTCP-IP certification we need the ability to verify HDCP is enabled before we allow video playback.
I hope this note finds you well.
We do offer strict HDCP enforcement when content is encrypted and delivered using FairPlay. Does this meet your requirements?
You are correct in that there is not currently an API that indicates the current HDCP state.
Should the FPS based enforcement not be sufficient for your needs, could you please let me know if you have filed a bug report/enhancement request for this feature?
Maddox,
I received the following email reply from Apple listed above and sent them the information you provided.
On another note, would you be able to provide a bit of detail on how you are implementing the DVR functionality on tvOS? Namely, how the pause/rewind of a currently live program is implemented? Is this done in memory, or are you using a disk-based ring buffer?
Listed above is another email I received from Apple this morning.
Ha, thanks. We have an open thread with Apple Developer Relations regarding this. Funny that they’d make that comment on your radar though.
We use a combination of memory and disk ring buffers. You can have Apple contact us directly at aman@getchannels.com and jon@getchannels.com
Any updates on the API you need being supplied by Apple? Perhaps in tvOS 10 ???
I have submitted both a developer request and a regular feature enhancement request.
Have you heard any more from them? The DRM issue is a nonstarter for use of Channels
No APIs were added in tvOS 10, and we have not gotten any response from Apple 
Well… I’m not really sure how I feel right now… Just found out that a bunch of channels were just encrypted with DRM from my provider… This puts a massive dent in my whole deployment of Apple TV’s in my house, at first I was fine with not having FOX but now it’s a lot more channels… I am debating whether or not to send back my Apple TV’s, is there any possible roughest estimate of the status of DRM? I am at a crossroads right now…
Wow, that sucks. Who is your provider? What channels did they add DRM to?
Some customers have reported success calling up their provider and getting the copy-once bit removed, but it really depends on what cable company you’re dealing with.
There’s not much new to report on the DRM front… we’re still waiting for any sort of response from Apple.