Restricted Content on premium channels

[AATech]

hi, i am running windows media center on windows vista hooked up to a
scientific atlanta cable box. most of the times i try, i am unable to watch
content on the premium channels, or shows recorded to the DVR from the
premium channels. i get the error:
"Restricted Content - Restrictions set by the broadcaster or the originator
of the content prohibit playback of this program on this computer."
non-premium cable channels work fine.
Upgrading the DRM security components at
http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp?force=1 didnt
work

resetting the drm with this program:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?linkid=105000

didnt work.

any ideas?

Thanks,
Al

[Barb Bowman]

what exact tuner? are you trying to grab HD or...?

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com

[Mikey]

I upgraded my CPU and all of these sort of DRM problems started happening.
I deleted all the DRM files (Im not sure I needed to) but I still couldn't
watch
certain premium channels. Finally I tried the solution below. I did *not*
have to
run resetdrm.exe. Instead when I downloaded that wma player like the link
says.
clicked upgrade and so on. So far everything is back to normal.
Good luck,

Have you tried this link -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976590 <-

[Barb Bowman]

did you have a set top box or an OCUR/Digital Cable Tuner?

On Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:38:01 -0800, Mikey <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:

[Mikey]

I'm using a set top cable box, that feeds an analog signal to my ATI Tv Tuner
Card. To change channels I have a media center compatible Remote/IR blaster.
The cable box is itself digital though. I thought it was rather remarkable
that Media Center software recognized that I was using one of the premium
channels. It even recognized the premium channel (gave me the Restricted
Content screen) if I changed channel with the cable box remote control. WMC
guide indicated I was on the nonpremium channel. I'm not sure how. Does it
take a sample of the analog signal and run a comparison of all the premium
channels samples? CSI Microsoft. I wish Microsoft would spend more time
fixing more fundamental problems WMC, like it constantly stops working and
have to restart the computer. It is one of them main reasons I upgraded the
CPU, to speed up restarts. Good grief....

"Barb Bowman" wrote:

> .
>

[Barb Bowman]

I think it is strictly looking at the old hardware inventory and seeing the new
CPU only and then seeing flags in the TV stream and drawing conclusions..

You should post your problem in a new thread in the Media Center general
newsgroup on the "stops working and have to restart the computer" and include
anything interesting from the logs.

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:26:01 -0800, Mikey <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:

>I'm using a set top cable box, that feeds an analog signal to my ATI Tv Tuner

>Card. To change channels I have a media center compatible Remote/IR blaster.
> The cable box is itself digital though. I thought it was rather remarkable
>that Media Center software recognized that I was using one of the premium
>channels. It even recognized the premium channel (gave me the Restricted
>Content screen) if I changed channel with the cable box remote control. WMC
>guide indicated I was on the nonpremium channel. I'm not sure how. Does it
>take a sample of the analog signal and run a comparison of all the premium
>channels samples? CSI Microsoft. I wish Microsoft would spend more time
>fixing more fundamental problems WMC, like it constantly stops working and
>have to restart the computer. It is one of them main reasons I upgraded the
>CPU, to speed up restarts. Good grief....
Barb Bowman

[Mikey]

Well actually WMC was having the "Stopped Working" problem started long
before I upgraded the CPU, and the problem continues. The error message
sometimes states that the data rate is low..blah blah blah, which for
certain is incorrect. If I use another TV app or a video capture app the
picture looks fine. If WMC didn't have the WMC remote capability and the TV
guide and such, I'm sure I would stop using it.

So, did that link work? Can you watch premium channels again? Also, I
kinda want to know how WMC knew I was using a premium channel even though I
had tuned to it with the Cable Box remote control, not the WMC control. And
why it cares, if I'm buying premium cable through my cable company. It seems
like WMC has no business bothering with that.

On how it detects the premium, I guess closed captioning is carried in the
analog signal. It's either something like that or what I said before.
Actually, I'm not an engineer and don't know much about those sort of things.
I'll do some research now, and will probably be embarrassed from needlessly
speculating.

"Barb Bowman" wrote:

> .
>

[Mikey]

Hmm, This is interesting I found, I don't know what it means, but maybe I
get the gist of it.

"The NTSC video standard (the broadcast standard used in North America and
Japan) is defined with a 525-line vertical resolution. However, only 480 of
those lines are used for transmitting video information. The extra 45 lines
are used to carry control codes (such as interlace information), closed
captions, and other similar non-video content. Macrovision copy protection
works by adding certain codes to these control lines ....."

[Barb Bowman]

there are threads about "low data rate" on thegreenbutton.com. Microsoft is
aware of people reporting this issue. I'd suggest that you join one of the
existing threads on thegreenbutton or start a new one there. MS does not have
Media Center personnel in these newsgroups reading these issues directly but
they do read TGB.

On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:58:01 -0800, Mikey <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com>

[Mikey]

Yeah, I know. It seems like most of those threads dealt with XP wmc several
years ago, and the ones I read seem not to help. When an error message is
that misleading, then it is just really bad programming on someones' part,
totally fubar, unless it was intentionally misleading. I think it is the
latter. When most windows programs (not wmc in this case) stop working in
Vista, as you have probably noticed, it goes through the whole "sending an
error report to Microsoft" drama. You'd think that the whole "low data rate"
error should signal an obvious "error of Microsoft software reporting the
proper error" and automatically volunteer help to the end user. I think I'd
rather have an operating system made by dozens of people in a garage rather
then this monstrous corporation. What the heck are all those people doing?
You'd think they consider WMC somewhat of a glorious accomplishment,made for
Home Edition users, and it freaking collapses in front of me all the time.
When their is an error that occurs especially in their software like wmc,
display what they think the issue is, then allow the user to decide if they
think this describes the problem. We know they keep track of the windows
serial numbers, IP adresses, MAC , and hardware ids or configurations, so
they can weed out habitual misleaders.

"Barb Bowman" wrote:

> .
>