TiVo File Encryption Cracked 250
An anonymous reader writes "TiVo file encryption has been cracked. Details on the project can be found on the wiki. Mac and Linux users rejoice!" The project page says, "The conversion still requires the valid MAK of the TiVo which recorded the file, so it cannot be used to circumvent their protection, simply to provide the same level of access as is already available on Windows."
No it hasn't. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Possibility for series3 HD Tivo? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:DMCA? (Score:5, Informative)
'Course, unless you run Linux but have never watched a DVD, you've pretty much already opened that door.
IANAL, but while I'm sure you could argue either way, I'm pretty sure that the better argument is that the DMCA is intended to allow non-owners to add protection, as TiVo is here, for exactly the sort of things TiVo is doing.
Re:Why TiVo when you can MythTV? (Score:5, Informative)
I did, and I wasn't. It was a giant pain in the a** to set up and configure, it didn't work reliably, and the cost for hardware was way higher than buying a TiVo.
Re:Possibility for series3 HD Tivo? (Score:5, Informative)
For getting video off a Series 3, I worry that it will take an external drive (once they enable THAT) and then get the files that way.
I say all this as a Series 3 owner who, really, doesn't have a ton of use for extracting video.
In short: Series 3 need not apply.
Re:On a slightly related topic... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:On a slightly related topic... (Score:2, Informative)
The appeal of the Tivo is it's simplicity and ease of use. Yes, I can build my own, but it will cost far more than the cost of the tivo and monthly (or lifetime) service. Plus a home grown solution will tend to require never ending tweaks to keep it running.
Re:No it hasn't. (Score:4, Informative)
This defeats TiVO's DRM that was used to prevent Linux and Mac users from watching shows on their PC.
Please stop replying if you have no idea what you're talking about.
Re:Why TiVo when you can MythTV? (Score:5, Informative)
However, I take issue with "didn't work reliably" and "cost was higher than a tivo."
My own MythTV works flawlessly, using a donated PIII-750 (cost: $0) for the server, and a Hauppauge 150 (cost: $60) for the tuner/encoder. There are no monthly fees. If you can show me a TiVo with lifetime subscription for $60, I'll be amazed. And tell my friends to buy it.
My MythTV also has features that TiVo will never have -- like the ability to automatically detect and skip commercials, the ability to select programs to automatically burn to DVD, and support for enough tuners to simultaneously record everything on every channel (well, in theory... I'd love to see the hardware for that!).
I like the TiVo. It's easy to use. But I like my MythTV a lot more. And I don't have to worry about what stupid decisions TiVo corporate might make -- like encrypting my videos so only I can watch them, support for the "Broadcast" flag, and wasting my storage space with advertisements.
Re:Yay fair use (Score:2, Informative)
Re:i've been copying files for a while off mine (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Why TiVo when you can MythTV? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:4 tivos = $6/month on directv (Score:2, Informative)
Shortly I'm going to try to get a fusion card to work in HD-OTA with a new box, but don't kid yourselves on the costs. A tivo runs 40+ watts and costs about $3/month to run. An efficient PC is likely to be double that, at best. (the older CPUs - perhaps we're talking Athlons - burn 90-100 watts on their own.) The older machine will also need a new hard drive for the storage needs, esp for the HD crowd. Add another 60-100 there.
13/month seems like a hard sell to me, but the dtivo units run way cheaper than the PC route, with the simple reliability that can't be matched by general purpose PCs.
UPSs deal with power hits well, esp when the draw is only 40W. I can literally go an entire day. (OTOH, the hdtivo has been rebooting itself at ~2:30 the past two saturdays - very odd behavior)
Re:Possibility for series3 HD Tivo? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yay fair use (Score:3, Informative)
TiVo's don't have a power switch. The closest you get is putting it in Standby mode which stops video and audio output. The unit is still on and still records shows and LiveTV. At least, that's true for the standalone units which are what I have, and I use Standby mode to switch between them all the time.
My problems with my TiVo arise from bugs in the latest software update for the cable box, causing it to fail to tune to the correct channel if you try changing it while the time turns over to the next timeslot. And sometimes (twice experienced) spontaneously on the hour without trying to change channels. It's not a TiVo bug; it's a cable company bug to which I'm forced to accept if I want digital cable, or switch to their DVR (that's anticompetitive behavior).
I want an open source cable box with CableCard support and the authority to install a CableCard into any device I see fit, not just those on their accepted list. (I'd get a Series3 HD TiVo but can't justify the expense.)
Re:Hi there, Lumpy! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yay fair use (Score:3, Informative)
It probably doesn't. The usual trick is to use nvram-wakeup to edit the onboard CMOS RAM and set the wakeup time that way...
Re:Yay fair use (Score:2, Informative)
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/30/16024
Regards,
Jon Heese
Re:Possibility for series3 HD Tivo? (Score:3, Informative)
If it's good HD, that is just not true. Sure, for poorly encoded, or lower bit-rate transcoded stuff that may be so, but check out PBS-HD and tell me it's not better.
-Ted