Are the signals through hdmi out in stb encrypted.

[sud98]

There are two points where signals are encrypted

1. The satellite signals are encrypted to prevent non-customers to view the signal.
2. The recording in the pvr (personal video recorder) is encrypted for copyright reasons so as to prevent distribution of movies/serials by end users.

One can theoretically take the signal out of the stb and put it in a TiVo kind of box and put into your TV.

BTW, the reason why you didnt get responses earlier is that there are similar threads in the DTV section of the forum so it would be better if you post in an existing thread rather than opening up new ones.

 

[just4kix]

If you mean whether the HDMI signal is encrypted with DRM, then it is unlikely in the Indian contest. However, I may be wrong.

 

[sam9s]

In simple words, no they are not. You can use any capture card that takes HDMI signals and capture a programm on your PC usinf any PVR s/w.......
And I am not sure why you are so particular about using HDMI, when most DTH channels are SD. A component cable would do just as good.
and BTW you shoudl not put Component/Composite in the same bracet ..... there is a huge difference you know. ..

 

[sam9s]

The channels that i will record are all SD...and component/hdmi will do equally good...but even if dat bit extra that i get thru hdmi i would want that

Its all in the mind, technically you wont see any difference ...... but if that satisfies you .... you are the boss ....

Hdmi out frm stb >> Capture card hdmi input
Capture card will record >> at the same time i want the output on the tv...
For the audio i hv my song 5.1 hometheatre...which i would b connectin it to d comp

same time?? ... mmmm wonder if the STB would allow simultanious out from HDMI and component or two HDMIs (if the STB has two HDMI out -- which I doubt) If it does you can use one HDMI for computer input and one for TV (or component for TV)
BTW are you sure that you have capture card that takes HDMI in. Even if you will, AFAIK .........DVI and HDMI both contain HDCP encryption and will only work with HDCP compatible devices. These are usually limited to HDTV sets and approved peripherals. No to mention they would be pretty expensive.....
You will be stuck if the STB signal is HDCP compliance (which I seriously doubt as its not Digital)
I think you will have to use component only to get your signals to your capture card.....unless other wise......

IF you do get a card with HDMI in make sure its HDCP compliance.....(just to be sure)

 

[sam9s]

This is exactly what i wanted to knw earlier...lot of forums nd on google i found that many stbs are HDCP encrypted so i wanted to confirm whether this holds true for Reliance HD DVR also...??
Yes i dont want this to happen....so i m makin sure that my card can receive signals thru hdmi which the stb will output

Its highly improbable that the STB is HDCP complient, even if it is......the signals are not HD. Make a note HDCP is only applicable for HD content, which right now for almost all DTH providers is almost non existant. So practically you do not have to worry much.

Also if by any chance HDMI signals does not work, you can always use component to do your work (which would work in all cases).
Would also like to clear that technically component can carry 1080p, its the HDTV that might not accept 1080p over component. But your capture card should (or atleast 720P)

Bur as I said all argument becomes void as almost all current DTH channels are SD.

BTW...i read at some forums that if d card is not hdcp compliant then the card converts the HD signals to SD....this means i can get SD channels to wrk flawlessly even if my card is not HDCP compliant...am i rite...??.what i want is i should get atleast 720p of recording for the SD channels....

You gotta clear few concepts....current DTH providers are not broadcasting HD channels (starting a few, but the trend still has to take off) so the signals are not 720p (non HD) and hence very less probability that the STB is HDCP compliant . So if you are recording current DTH channels almost all are SD (480i or 576i (PAL) MAX) ,which a component cable can easily do.

If u don mind pls look at the tech specs of the blackmagic intensity pro card....Blackmagic Design: Intensity Tech Specs

There is one line in the Tech specs which says this...nd i m not able to figure out whthr this means it is not hdcp compliant...

For legal reasons HDMI input is unable to capture from copy protected HDMI sources. Always confirm copyright ownership before capture or distribution of content.

There is no copy protection for HDMI signals as such, but a standard called HDCP (High bandwidth Copy Protection) which protects copying of digital video. I think that is what the line in the tech specs mean. But you got to understand that HDCP is only applicable for HD signals over HDMI, so you should be safe with component (which also can carry singnals up to 720p or 1080i)......

Now is it possible for me to get the hdmi out from Reliance HD Dvr to the Blackmagic Intensity Pro HDmi in and be able to capture without any probz ??

With component you are safe, with HDMI if by any chance the STB or the capture card are non HDCP compliant, then you could face a problem (BUT ONLY when the DTH provider starts broadcasting HD channels) other wise it wont make any difference......

 

[venkatcr]

i hv no idea what DRM is ...tried googlin but only learnt that most audio file like .aac etc are encrypted with DRM and it gives the owner a way to record how the files r bein used by the users

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and stands loosely for techniques used by companies such as Sony, Apple, Microsoft etc., to decide how you will use digital content created by them.

Cheers

 

[just4kix]

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and stands loosely for techniques used by companies such as Sony, Apple, Microsoft etc., to decide how you will use digital content created by them.

Cheers

Thanks, venkat. Explained to the point.

Many companies are enforcing DRM and HDCP (High Definition Content Protection) on HDMI to prevent digital copying.

What I said that this may be unlikely in the Indian context as adding DRM/HDCP means paying some royalty to the companies that provide these services. I mean Indian channels would not pay extra for these features as they may not care who copies what. If you buy any Indian DVD por Blu-Ray, it does not feature content protection.

On the other hand channels such as ESPN, Discovery, NatGeo may insist on HDCP/DRM on the STBs, especially in case of HD services.

 

[sam9s]

But the stb clearly says it outputs 1080i through the hdmi out and i guess this is for all channels....although i knw SD channels wont be 1080i but they would be upscalin all the channels to 1080i....rite ?? I don mind if the output is upscaled but i don want it to 576i or somethin...i need better pq....my current pinnacle pctv tuner also records in 720 by 576i...so than goin for DTH Stb wont be a point if i m gettin the same quality by my local provider....??
even if it is 576i for the SD channels will there be a notebale diff between the ouptut frm d reliance hd stb and my current local cable ???

I seriously doubt that the STB would have the upscaling feature............., even if it does how good the algo is.???? In that scence even your LCD upscals (through the scalers) but that is not as good as say an AVR that send upscaled signals to your TV.
STB signals are definately better than the local cable, but you can not term them as "High Quality" . Anyhow upscaling DTH signals AFAIK does not make much of a difference (as against upscaling a DVD)

You can try this ..... go to a friends house who has a DTH with a 42" LCD/Plasma and see how the broadcast looks ....... set an expectation that upscaled DTH signals would look no better than what they currently are. When you would record the transmission through your capture card, it would record in an exact manner as the original transmission.....

can u suggest me some alternative to this which would help enhancin d quality of the video we watch on television...and also allow recordin...any suggestins...any upscalin device...dvr ???[/B]

No way to enhance the DTH signal quality, except get an AVR that can upscale the signals, but trust me its not worth the effort. My suggestion is wait for a year when almost all DTH providers would be broadcasting HD channels. It would make more sence to then record if "high quality" TV recording is your prime objective......

Or else settle down for what all DTH are currently broadcasting and record as they currently are.......

 

[svenkateshsmart]

No way to enhance the DTH signal quality, except get an AVR that can upscale the signals, but trust me its not worth the effort. My suggestion is wait for a year when almost all DTH providers would be broadcasting HD channels. It would make more sence to then record if "high quality" TV recording is your prime objective......

Or else settle down for what all DTH are currently broadcasting and record as they currently are.......

Hi,
+1 to sams9. Yes, I concur with Sam's opinion, I think there is a huge variation in DTH signals and upscaling through AVRs or any other means would not work as it normally would for DVDs. I think the ideal resolution or whatever we are getting is somewhere close 480i or 576i???? and AVRs or other upscalers cannot do much.

Also, you often experience HDCP handshaking issues when hooking DTH to AVRs and upscalers, which has been discussed threadbare in various forums.

Probably using HDMI out or component may give you a better resolution than composite, but definitely not upto DVD standards, unless you are subscribed to a HD service.

Cheers!

 

[sam9s]

See usually what i do is i record tv shows thru my pinnacle pctv thru local cable at 720 by 576i in mpeg2 format with 25fps....now since u say dvd upscalin makes some noteable diff...i would like to knw one thing....AFAIK dvd format is 480p max...correct me if i m wrong....nd upscalin dvd makes the resol to 720p...non hd...but the diff is noteable compared to 480p....what i m thinkin is i will record in 480p from the stb and save it dvd format and burn it on a dvd and then while playin the dvd i will upscale it to 720p using a good avr..dvd upscaler...[i really don hv much knowledge abt avrs...dvd upscalin etc....pls correct me wherever i m wrong .]....so that i get better picture quality on my 55inch led...without all the noise nd all that i see in my analog cable frm d local provider

Btw the stb output would be better than the cable as it wont hv all the analog noise nd stuff which is a major issue that i face in my curent tuner card....so what do u think...recordin in PAL DVD format and then burnin it on a DVD nd the upscalin it while playin it...will i see d diff worth the effort on a 55inch led tv..at a distance of 5feet frm the tv ???

The blackmagic pro intensity also allows upscalin d signals but i don think it would do the job well...:sos:

i knw this setup would be expensive nd needs lot of effort but that is the option i m left with or to wait till the dth providers provide true hd but for all channels to start hd would take atleast another 3 years minimum....cant wait for that long

What are your views on this ..??

I doubt the current DTH channels are even 576i, tchnically they may say that, but visually they are not (for what ever reasons), Plys the DVD and compare it with DTH channel on a 47" inch screen and you will easily agree DVD is better.

Now coming to your experiment,

1. As I said DTH is not DVD resolution (even if they technically say it is) so recording it and burning it to DVD would not give you DVD quality.

2. A good AVR with upscaling feature would be atleast 35-40K, are you ready to shall that much, even if you are its absolutely not worth it.... a very frank openion.

Trust me you are not gonna do wonder by upscaling DTH signals.......

I strongly sugges to wait, Tata Sky has already launched HD servide (http://www.hifivision.com/television/10516-tatasky-goes-hd.html) with two channels (with Bollywood Movies in HD as well), and would add 5,6 more in the coming 6 months (10-15 within a year). The trend has statred and it would not take much time to catch on. Patience would be your virtue here....

 

[sam9s]

Reliance Big TV DTH HD DVR - First Impressions

Here is a link of forum where one guy has connected an avr to bigtv hd stb...but he says that all channels r 1080i....though he is not all that sure....but nowhere on d net i was able to figure out whther all channels will hv this resolution...btw 1080i is actually 540p rite...???

1080i signal comprises 1080 horizontal lines but all the lines are not displayed on-screen simultaneously. Instead, they are interlaced (hence the 'i'), ie every alternate line is displayed for 1/60th of a second and then the other alternate lines are displayed for 1/60th of a second. So, the frame rate is still 30 frames per second, but each frame is split into two fields.

Yes its argued that 1080i is equal to 720p, but technically I dont see how it is...

 

[just4kix]

TataSky has just announced HD services. I was going thru the FAQ section.

It mentions that the HDMI signal will be encrypted using HDCP. So you will not be able to view/record these signals on a device that is not not HDCP compliant.

 

[sam9s]

TataSky has just announced HD services. I was going thru the FAQ section.

It mentions that the HDMI signal will be encrypted using HDCP. So you will not be able to view/record these signals on a device that is not not HDCP compliant.

He would'nt all he need is component cable to record, Or the capture card that is HDCP compliant.....

 

[sam9s]

Do u hv any other capture cards in ur mind...that u ve used..heard abt...hv good reviews ???

So atleast for next 6 months this is what is the best i can get in terms of pq and recording...lets hope dat in future all the channels start broadcastin hd...

Well for me I always recomed and prefer products from Happauge. Check out their below product for HD recording

HD PVR Product overview

The best part of this product is that it can record directly using h.264 codec in real time, including audio as well (in AAC)

The recording format is AVCHD, which can be used to burn Blu-ray DVD disks. Two hours of HD recordings, recorded at 5 Mbits/sec, can be burnt onto a standard 4.7 GB DVDR for playback on any standard Blu-ray/DVD player

And is there any way...crack..some trick.to get access to the stb hdd in dvr....i knw i shouldnt be askin all this in dis forum...mayb against the rules...but isnt it frustratin that they provide u wid a dvr and u can only view ur recordings when u hv d dvr...whats the point then...??....and plus they say the stb is d company;s property...so whats the pont of recordin if they r gonna take back the hdd along the stb...??
These ppl r the only ones who force us to became hackers...make cracks etc

Nope there is no way to copy files from the STB HDD to your own, as the recording is encrypted. The recording is done in a .STR (Older Playstation Video Streme) file that are encrypted on the hard drive, and the only way to decrypt them is with the original DVR and access card they were recorded on.

I already have done my research on this and I could not find any appliction/tool that can rip these .STR files off from the HDD. So the only way is to run the recording and capture it vis capture card as you are planning to do....

TataSky/reliance HD hdmi/componet out >> Capture card video in
Capture card outputs >> Tv in
Tv sound out >> Sony hometheatre sound in....

Technically this sounds correct, except I am not sure if the capture card would suppost the video in and out simultaniously.

 

[Pratters]

harmeetmatta - see this - Hauppauge HD PVR Setup Tutorial Xbox 360 PS3 | jellofart's blog