SiliconDust Prime 6 Status Update

#21

Now RiVo has merged with Xperi, and I don't know what to call them. XpeRiVo?

#22

Just glad I found Channels DVR when I did.
I still have a couple TiVo boxes that are connected, but just collect dust.
I used them after getting my HDHR-Prime for backup to Plex DVR and now Channels DVR and only had to resort to them twice when Plex (which I no longer use) messed up.
The RiVo guide data sucks, the new TE4 sucks, I'm pretty much done with my TiVo's.
They were great while they lasted before RoVi took over TiVo.
S3-HD>S4-Premiere>S5-Roamio>S6-Bolt(TE3)

#23

They are doing the Scribe/Servio because those are devices they control. Plus it kind of guarantees that if you want to record DRM you have to buy a Scribe/Servio from them.... keeping those products alive.

#24

I said a year or two ago that I felt the only way DRM would ever be doable would be if it's a total hardware solution and now look. This was labeled FUD and was probably one of the half a dozen times they've kicked me off their forum. Don't be surprised if the Scribe/Servio has to be directly connected to the client to work in order to keep it locked down.

#25

My take is that any HDHomeRun APP Client will be able to View DRM recordings on the Servio/Scribe and the DRM recordings will only be stored there.

#26

I have never used the HDHomeRun DVR software. So are you saying it doesnā€™t record DRM channels? I know in the app you can view DRM channels but didnā€™t know you couldnā€™t record them.

#27

Correct. The only software DVR that handles DRM recording is WMC.

SD has said DRM recording will first come to their Servio/Scribe devices, and then later be available to those running their DVR software on their own hardware. (Although, there is no technical reason why third-party hardware cannot record DRM ... they're just trying to lock you in to their hardware.)

#28

I miss WMC. even now after all the years since it's last update it still has features that I have not found on any current software.

it is all bad news for me. I'm not paying for a second cablecard.

forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject, but is there anything stopping Silicondust from producing a 6 tuner model without DRM support?

1 Like
#29

Good to know. I thought about getting another Prime if they are making more and trying their DVR out for $30 but no DRM recording makes it useless. Spectrum has so many channels set to DRM in my area. Iā€™ll just stick with my one Prime and TVE on channels.

#30

DRM support is required as part of CableLabs certification, which is necessary to sell CableCARD devices.

If your cable company transmits ClearQAM (meaning you don't need a CableCARD), then all ATSC tuners can decode ClearQAM. The Prime is only needed for CableCARD support. Unencrypted cable is usable by all other tuners.

#31

I may be missing a fine point somewhere but Xfinity where I am no longer transmits ClearQAM. I have to have a cablecard to get most of my subscribed channels. some channels are not available on Channels TV/DVR such as Showtime, HBO etc. I have to watch those on an Xfinity box or on a Roku. it was my understanding that it is this second level of encryption/verification that needed DRM.

sorry I can't stop myself: the Prime 6 has bit the Silicondust.

#32

CableCARDs are needed to decrypt encrypted digital cable. This is different from DRM.

If you can plug your cable directly into a TV, without needing a cable box, then your cable is unencrypted, and any HDHR tuner will work.

If you need a cable box or CableCARD, your cable is encrypted digital cable, and requires a Prime.

Part of supporting CableCARD is supporting the optional DRM. (Meaning, manufacturers must support DRM, but it is optional if the cable company flags their streams with DRM.)

Encrypted digital cable is different from DRM.

1 Like
#33

Ok - so maybe Iā€™m just missing something...but the general consensus from this thread is Cablecards are going away and most of the SD hardware is getting older and not being produced...so how do you work channels then? I know TVE is a thing now, but itā€™s only partial channels. Without HDHR and a Cablecard how else would someone work Channels? Arenā€™t those essential to utilize Channels to its full potential (unless channels starts allowing true support for IPTV that is lol)

#34

Not everyone cares about having every single channel, paying for an antiquated cable system with cable cards and old hardware that enables that nonsense.

2 Likes
#35

Channels still supports, and SiliconDust still manufactures, other HDHomeRun tuners. That means you can still use Channels for:

  • ATSC 1.0
  • ATSC 3.0
  • Unencrypted cable (ClearQAM)
  • DVB-T
  • DVB-T2
  • DVB-C
#36

I was on the original Kickstarter for the DVR service, but never activated it until recently - after Cox cable jacked up prices after a two-year agreement. I dug up my old Prime and got it going, only to be disappointed that all these years later I still can't record DRM's channels. In my area (San Diego), Cox has DRM'd almost everything except locals (CW is curiously DRM'd) - rendering the HDHR DVR mostly worthless. The horrible UI is what brought me to the Channels app. Channels TVE option has effectively allowed me to watch and record most of the content I'm paying for (minus HBO). The Channels app is working great with my Unraid NAS for storage, and even passed the Wife test! The only downside of the Prime/TVE hybrid is that our family gets close to the 1TB data cap every month now...where previously everything going through the Cox cable DVR doesn't count towards your monthly cap....the punitive cost of not rolling with their crappy hardware.

#37

FYI, Cox here also had CW and some other local access stations marked as DRM. I filed a complaint with the FCC and got a response within 30 days from Cox, telling me they had removed DRM from those local channels.

If you decide to do the same, you can reference the following:

Federal code 47 CFR 76.1904 states:

(a) Commercial audiovisual content delivered as unencrypted broadcast television shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof by covered products or, to constrain the resolution of the image when output from a covered product.

8 Likes
#38

I felt forced to leave when I asked about virtual emulation of HDHomeRun tuner :frowning: one day I create it currently learning go to rewrite telly into vapor

#40

THAT is BS! I am really hoping once my Tuning Adapter arrives that I can record from the CableCard/Prime DRM FREE for locals. Channels has me covered for recording with TVE (VERY HAPPY). I'll note this about the FCC. I know my area USED to have ClearQAM too. But once the FCC stopped making that a requirement, they locked those locals down tight. Now that CableCards don't have to be supported, I am concerned about their future too. But I have a HDHR4K. Perhaps 3.0 will be fully live by then (not in lighthouse period).

#41

Wow, lad, hold your hostilities. Either you are feeling singularly entitled, or you don't understand how this works.

The channels in your cable subscription that have no DRM flagged can be used, viewed, and recorded without issue in Channels.

The only problem you will find will be with channels that have DRM. They can only be viewed with few select software, and only recorded with Windows Media Center, and recordings can only be viewed by an ever smaller subset of equipment that could view it live.

So, the question stands: what are you really looking for?