If you're a digital cable or satellite subscriber with a TiVo or HTPC, you may have come across a problem with being able to view certain content on other devices. TiVo, for example, provides their TiVo Desktop application but certain recordings are unable to be moved to other TiVos in your home or to your PC.
While it would be nice to blame TiVo or PC hardware makers for this, it is actually due to something called Copy Control Information (CCI) which is completely managed by your content provider.
When digital cable/satellite DVRs, TiVos, HTPCs tune to a channel, one of the first things they receive is CCI information. This information is two bytes long and allows the content provider to decide how content can be duplicated.
There are a total of six CCI flags which can be used by providers. Here we'll focus on the ones most commonly used. Below you'll find definitions of each flag as well as what it means for you and what you can do with your recordings.
0x00: Copy Freely
- A copy freely tag basically means that you can do whatever you want with the recording. Move it from your DVR to a PC and then make another copy for your mobile device. The Copy Freely byte won't prevent you from doing whatever you want. It should be noted that your local affiliates (no matter who your content provider is) should all be marked Copy Freely per the FCC.
0x01/0x02: Copy No More/Copy Once
- For all intents and purposes, 0x01 and 0x02 are exactly the same definition-wise. Frequently referred to as "Copy Once" this flag indicates that you're allowed to record the show to your DVR but that's it. You'll be unable to make extra copies of the content. This includes moving it to your PC via TiVo Desktop or taking it with you on a mobile device. The use of this flag varies from provider to provider. While many will flag any channel other than affiliates with the Copy Once flag, others such as Verizon FiOS only flag premium channels such as HBO and Showtime with this flag. You'll have to check with your provider to learn how they employ this flag.
0x03: Copy Never
- Though called "Copy Never", this flag is actually a way to allow you to record but severely restrict how the recording is used. Basically, you can record a Copy Never flagged show to your DVR however, you'll only have 90 minutes to view the content. As with Copy Once content, it is non-transferable. You can bet that you won't be moving this content off of your DVR any time soon.
The flags listed above are the ones typically used when discussing digital services from cable and satellite providers. There are others but they don't typically come into play within the digital video recording world. Even the Copy Never flag is rarely employed other than with pay-per-view content.
Hopefully this run down helps you understand why you're limited as to where you can use certain content recordings. Hopefully the future will bring better schemes that will allow you to take copy protected content with you and use it how you wish but until then, we all have to work in the confines of the CCI scheme.
For more information, visit Wikipedia.
