Content restriction for PVR through HDMI cable?

[Montana Moe]

Has anyone ever had a issue recording an HD hockey game through an HDMI cable due to content protection from the broadcaster?

I have DirecTV HD-DVR and tried to record the Flames/Blues game tonight in HD on FSN-Midwest. When I attempted to watch the recording, I started it and it automatically asked if I wanted to delete the recording... It reverted back and forth between the screen displaying the length of the recording and the delete screen until I backed out to live TV, never showing me one second of the game.

I called DirecTV and they claimed that it sounded like a content protection issue when the recording is through an HDMI cable. They claimed that if I hooked up my reciever through my component cables this would not happen.

I'm really not buying this reasoning. DirecTV claimed it could be FSN-Midwest or NHL Center Ice itself. Since I've recorded almost every Flames game this season, I highly doubt the NHL Center Ice theory. I am doubting the FSN theory as well.

So I guess I'm asking the tech masters at CP if this is a valid reasoning fo rthe lack of recording, or is it a hardware issue?

[Cliche]

Well, it could be those guys at FSN because their parent corp are a bunch of ######bags. It is possible over HDMI for the broadcaster to just mark an HD broadcast as being broadcast only, and trusted components in the DVR will make a note of it and say, oops, I can't do that for you. http://www.eff.org/related/3499/blog?page=3

Ah the march of technology, where the legitimate consumer is treated as a pirate and worse. It's been in there for 3 years now.

Anyways you should prepare the lube now, as incidences like this will occur more frequently, as either NHL or Fox will want you to bend over and take it and subscribe to yet another service to watch something that you should have been able to determine on your own.

[Montana Moe]

That's unfortunate. I guess I had a hard time buying DirecTV's story because I had recorded other Flames games when they play on FSN HD. I just assumed the money I'm spending on the HD package, DVR, and NHL Center Ice would give me the right to record the games.

I guess the joke's on me. So if I have the component connection set up, I should be able to switch my TV to component input and record the game? That is what the agent was telling me. Do I need to completely unhook my HDMI cable?

Thanks for the input Cliche!

[Vulcan]

My guess would be to try watching the game you recorded over component. This topic is interesting as I've never heard of anyone running into this problem on a DVR yet. It could also be your HDMI connections aren't making a proper handshake so the HDCP isn't properly enabled.

Maybe you could ask on this site?
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/index.php

[Montana Moe]

Thanks Vulcan, I'll try that forum when I get a moment. I tried to watch the recording on component, no luck. I think I'm going to try to record the next Blues broadcast on FSN-Midwest HD and see if it happens again.

As of now, I'm patiently awaiting a reply from FSN to my e-mail. I'm not holding my breath.