Unable to Record HD Content over IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
Natalie & I recently transferred our cable television service to our new home, which gave Comcast license to force upon us an HD cable-box upgrade. I was excited to learn that the cable-box is the well regarded Motorola 6200. The 6200 includes two IEEE 1394 (Firewire) outputs on the back panel which should provide a raw audio/video feed in native HD resolution when possible.
But I excitement quickly changed to disappointment upon learning that Comcast has applied 5C content protection to their HD channels, which means that unauthorized devices (such as our MythTV) are not authorized to record or view the content via the Firewire port. This means that our HD-capable cable-box is effectively no different from a cheaper standard-definition cable-box. I've chosen to record HD content from a broadcast antenna, which generally offers better video quality at no cost. But it's frustrating that Comcast and other cable providers offer HD with the caveat that it can only be viewed with select devices. It's a total bait-and-switch.