[kwlug-disc] Future of [Rogers] PVR (wrt HDMI)? Black boxes? MythBuntu?

[Andrew Kohlsmith (Mailing List Account)]

On September 15, 2009 09:15:54 am unsolicited wrote:
> Last I looked, all Rogers boxes are Scientific Atlanta (taken over by
> Cisco). Pretty much any Scientific Atlanta box is acceptable as a
> Digital Terminal, you just have to call up Rogers and let them know.
> (Not all SA boxes have HDMI out. And some are PVR's.) Much like firing
> up a non-carrier non-gsm cell. [Determining this took quite some
> searching of the Roger's site and '{search term} site:rogers.com' type
> googling.] Not much difference between disabling features on these SA
> boxes and doing the same on a cell. <sigh>
>
> Any encounters with people hacking their SA box to (re)enable these
> disabled features? e.g. Firewire?

Yes, they are Scientific Atlanta boxes, which Myth does have some knowledge of. 
Unfortunately, it's a matter of Rogers implementing the Broadcast Bit. I don't 
know of any way to get around this.

> > I'm buying an 8' Yagi and LNA, mounting it on the roof and aiming it at
> > the CN Tower. I'll be downloading my specialty content and pulling in
> > CBC, CITY, Omni1/2 and Global in HD from Toronto.
>
> Keep us posted as to your progress and success, please.

Will do.  I've informed the wife that if she wants TV this winter I need to 
get this done before it gets cold. :-)

> > I'm tired of this crap.

> I just want to be able to play back content I've paid for, at a time
> convenient to me, using my own non-restricted equipment, in my own
> non-restricted way. Evidently this isn't considered reasonable. <sigh>

This is exactly what I wrote in my submission to the Copyright Consultation. I 
paid for this content, I should have unencumbered access to it.  If I decide 
to rebroadcast, hit me with the full extent of law. That's what it's there 
for.  The provider's ability to protect their content should end at the 
demarcation of my house, not the cable box I bought, and certainly not my eyes 
and ears.

Use the law to protect content, but not at the expense of my fair use rights.  
If I steal a car, there are laws to deal with me.  Just the same, there are 
laws to protect against unlawful duplication and distribution of media. You 
don't have to create special new laws which interfere with my enjoyment of the 
media.

What I decide to do with the content in the privacy of my own house is up to 
ME to decide, not them.  As I said, I paid them for a license to use the 
content in my house. Give me my damned data!!

I also believe that any media developed with public money should immediately 
carry a public domain license.  This is my biggest beef with the CBC.  I PAID 
FOR THIS, yet I can't get a copy of it?!  Bell and Rogers carry the channel, 
but yet it's encrypted?!  This is insane!

To those who have not yet written to the Copyright Consultation: GET TO IT! 
This is important, and there are form letters already available online. It's 
less than 5 minutes of your time to use a canned submission.  Please don't 
think that someone else will take care of this.

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4377/125/

-A.