The whole OEM PC only thing is so frustrating. I really enjoy my Vista MC DVR, and I wouldn't mind the subscription fees for digital cable - but there's no way that I could use them together.
I know that the feds said "hey, you can't force people to use YOUR box" to the cable companies, but it sure doesn't feel that way!
Options:
Buy a TiVo HD - $600 for the version that still has less capacity than my VMC DVR. Use the cable Co's DVR - $free, but only one tuner and only 20 hours capacity (pathetic)
Either way, I'm stuck with a very nice VMC PC that'd have nothing to do :(
It's driving me completely insane how the media companies (cable labs, blu-ray group) are so paranoid about people stealing their content, that those of us who would like to pay for and legitimately consume their content cannot do so!
Nick said it: it seems there is no end to the way the real hackers out there can circumvent any amount of copy protection, regardless of the platform. All DRM really seems to do is piss off the genuinely honest consumers since they can't do what they want/need to with content we PAY FOR!
I think the trend of online music retailers like iTunes, Amazon Music and Wal-Mart MP3 shows that is the case. Since all the hackers figured out LONG AGO how to circumvent the various DRM methods, they gave up and just sold it to people that were still willing to pay for it.
Someday I hold out hope that CableLabs will pull their heads out of their butts and realize they aren't protecting anyone but OEMs with these rediculous rules... that and making the case for many of us -- who can't affordably get any of our non-local HD stations on cable -- to switch to IPTV or Satellite.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
The whole OEM PC only thing is so frustrating. I really enjoy my Vista MC DVR, and I wouldn't mind the subscription fees for digital cable - but there's no way that I could use them together.
I know that the feds said "hey, you can't force people to use YOUR box" to the cable companies, but it sure doesn't feel that way!
Options:
Buy a TiVo HD - $600 for the version that still has less capacity than my VMC DVR.
Use the cable Co's DVR - $free, but only one tuner and only 20 hours capacity (pathetic)
Either way, I'm stuck with a very nice VMC PC that'd have nothing to do :(
It's driving me completely insane how the media companies (cable labs, blu-ray group) are so paranoid about people stealing their content, that those of us who would like to pay for and legitimately consume their content cannot do so!
Nick said it: it seems there is no end to the way the real hackers out there can circumvent any amount of copy protection, regardless of the platform. All DRM really seems to do is piss off the genuinely honest consumers since they can't do what they want/need to with content we PAY FOR!
I think the trend of online music retailers like iTunes, Amazon Music and Wal-Mart MP3 shows that is the case. Since all the hackers figured out LONG AGO how to circumvent the various DRM methods, they gave up and just sold it to people that were still willing to pay for it.
Someday I hold out hope that CableLabs will pull their heads out of their butts and realize they aren't protecting anyone but OEMs with these rediculous rules... that and making the case for many of us -- who can't affordably get any of our non-local HD stations on cable -- to switch to IPTV or Satellite.