TiVo User's Fears Explored 363
elrous0 writes "In spite of TiVo's continuing insistence that recent appearances of 'red flag' recordings are mere "glitches," the AP is reporting that customers are beginning to get nervous about the new content-blocking feature added in a recent TiVo upgrade. The story quotes Matt Haughey, of PVRblog.com, as saying 'TiVo would be of limited utility in the future if the studios were allowed to do this with regular broadcast content ... This is like cell-phone jammers. What if you couldn't talk on your cell phone? If customers can't do something with their TiVo that they could in the past, they will stop using it.'" We've touched on this topic in the past.
So what's new now? (Score:3, Informative)
All The More Reason (Score:5, Informative)
the "noise" defense seems a little weak (Score:5, Informative)
Re:DRM is the issue, not TiVo (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Well that answers that (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N8
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N8
You dont need a high power processor, a ton of RAM, or anything beyond the on-board video, unless you plan on doing things beyond DVRing. I have a bit of experience with this, so drop me a message if you want any furter info.
Re:But why did TiVo implement DRM? (Score:5, Informative)
More info here [tivo.com].
Re:DRM is the issue, not TiVo-WRONG! (Score:5, Informative)
This sounds so wrong to me. There is no law mandating that TiVo include these features yet. If there was, then every VCR sold would need them too - and all the satellite boxes already sold would be upgraded with it.
TiVo still is the problem. They're doing more to aid the content creation industry than they are for their paying customers. I have yet to hear of any copyright statute in law that says a copyright holder can regulate your use of content after you've purchased it - or received it for free over the air.
LET TIVO KNOW HOW MUCH THIS ANGERS YOU, or you're in line to lose more than this!
Mentioning it to Congress can't hurt either.
Re:That's why I use MythTV (Score:4, Informative)
All right, I wasn't too lazy. MythTV does support multiple tuners.
Re:Well that answers that (Score:5, Informative)
So you can see the system requirements are very light. If you don't have any old hardware laying around, then even buying some new bottom-of-the-line stuff should do good with this card. Just off the top of my head, $100 each for CPU, motherboard and hard drive, $50 for memory, $30 each for case, CD/DVD drive and a cheap VGA card, plus $130 for the PVR-350, and you are only looking at $570. Actually, if you watch around, you can routinely find 200GB hard drive's for $40-$50 after rebate, so that puts you just over $500....plus your time (whatever you value that at).
I have to plug SageTV... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Why? (Score:3, Informative)
It was a licensing requirement from Macrovision
See here http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050914-530
Re:Filter that BF (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Why "fear" (Score:5, Informative)
Silly, silly, lad
What do you think the EULA on 99% of the software says:
a) We promise our software will not damage your system or data in a way.
b) We in no way accept responsibility for damage done to your system or data. Install and use at your own risk.
The user agreements are to protect the company's interests, not the user's. The user agreements are to cover their butts, so if something happens they can say "But you accepted the service agreement that says it's alright." Heck, they probably do more to tie the hands of the users instead of the company.
I gaurantee you somewhere in Tivo's agreement (probably somewhere prominent) they say that they reserve the right to modify their services and update their software whenever and however they feel necessary. Almost all service-based products allow for this.
Re:DRM is the issue, not TiVo-WRONG! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:All The More Reason (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Why "fear" (Score:2, Informative)
Re:A future headline? (Score:2, Informative)
This already exists.
Look at any lease agreement and you will see milage limitations. Since I commute about 100 Km (60 miles) per day, I am way above the lease limitations.
So I must pay more for the car.
Re:But why did TiVo implement DRM? (Score:5, Informative)
Mavcrovision and CGMS-A are not encryption, thus you can totally ignore them if you want to. (e.g. most video capture cards ignore that stuff)
Re:DRM is the issue, not TiVo-WRONG! (Score:4, Informative)
I'm not sure what you mean by this, but that's exactly what copyright is all about. Title 17 [cornell.edu] of the US Code tells you what you may or may not do with copyrighted content without the owner's permission. Specifcally, 17 USC 106 states:
The owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
Yes, there are stautory and judicial exceptions to that exclusivity, but there you go.
Re:All The More Reason (Score:4, Informative)
Nope. TiVo hardware is a closed, special-purpose device. It happens to use Linux as its OS, but beyond that it bears little resemblance to any commercial off the shelf system.
Here's a step-by-step video to show you how. (Score:3, Informative)
Systm has a show on MythTV [revision3.com] in a variety of formats including Ogg Vorbis+Theora. The show is licensed to share under a Creative Commons license, as are the other episodes of Systm.
Re:That's why I use MythTV (Score:3, Informative)
The GNURadio homepage [gnu.org] shows samples of HDTV images received and decoded successfully. If we give up because we suspect opposition, we'll surely lose our rights. If we fight technologically and politically through organized action we may secure our rights.
Re:All The More Reason (Score:4, Informative)
video __ON MY TV___. TiVo can do this. If you read the MythTV HOWTO and even go down the
path of trying to deploy one of these, you will quickly find that TV output has pretty much
been ignored. What cards really actually work? What driver building hell do I have to go
through to get s-video or composite out to actually work? at a normal NTSC scan rate?
If you have a PVR-350, you just tell Myth to use that card's MPEG2 decoder output. Otherwise, you either convert your video card's VGA output to NTSC composite video using a sub-$100 converter box, or you get a video card whose composite &/or S-Video output(s) "just works". I use a GeForce2 something-or-other and there was exactly zero software work installed -- the POST, kernel boot, and X display all go out over the S-Video connector automagically.
Nice troll, though.
Buy a ReplayTV (Score:2, Informative)
Re:DRM is the issue, not TiVo-WRONG! (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not sure what you mean by this
He's obviously referring to personal use, not commercial use or redistribution or public performance.
So no, in this context copyright law places no restrictions. You do not need the copyright holder's permission to make Fair Use.
US Code tells you what you may or may not do with copyrighted content without the owner's permission.
Your terminology is inaccurate.
By law the previous poster would be the OWNER of the copy of the content. By law the copyright holder is NOT the owner of the particular copy he has. The copyright holder owns the copyright, but he does not own individual copies that he has given away. If you buy a book, you are the owner of they book and you are the owner of that particular copy of that story. If you tape a TV show then you are the owner of that particular copy. You are still of course subject to copyright law, but you ARE the owner of that copy.
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