DirecTV HR44 question

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John From Detroit

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Is there any way to download a DirecTV HR44 Receiver/dvr to a laptop via a home netowork (LAN) like I do with my DVR's at home?

Reason... I am recoding many hours of a favorite show (Marathon type thing) here at my darling daughter's and I do not know if I'll get to them all before she returns from Wyoming.... If not I'd like to download what I do not watch and take 'em home with me.
 
Many  receivers have the ability to connect via a USB connection to an outside portable hard drive (which is meant to increase the available recording space) , to which these shows can be recorded or copied/moved to. You may be able to take the portable drive with you and reconnect it to a similar receiver elsewhere to watch. (Never tried it..... but!!!)

Other than that, I think most DVR's may use a "private OS" type format for their data, not a Windows, DOS, or perhaps Linux type format which you would need for your laptop to be able to find and read the recording. On the other hand, there may be some decoder programs to do just that and may be available!!! JMHO....
 
You can only make SD (Standard Definition) copies from the HR44 the same as previous DirecTV DVRs. There are several results from a standard Google search such as this one available on line with instructions. The HDMI protocols prohibit illicit copy of High Definition digital materials.
 
Directv and others have gone to great lengths to make sure you can't do that.  They do have a product that allows you to take them with you- Genie-Go.  Not cheap.

However, if you have a video DVD recorder you can record them to a DVD.  It's a slow process and getting the settings right on the HR-44 and whatever recorder you have can be tricky.  It's a slow process.  I did 2 seasons of 'Game of Thrones' and it took several days.

I have a Panasonic DVD recorder and it works for me, I don't know for sure that other brands will work.  This is not cheap either.

I haven't tried video tape.  Do they still make video tape?  :eek:
 
Yes they still make video tape.. however it is starting to look like it will not be a problem,, I am noticing that the "100 hours" marathon.. repeating several episodes..  So I may well get through it in time.
 
http://www.honestech.com/main/vhs-to-dvd-50-deluxe.asp

Try this, they also make it for windows.  You can hook it up too your box and copy the files to a external HD a flash drive, and than transfer them to DVD.

Jim
 
I'm thinking that just about any video capture device would work.  I've seen them as cheap as 19.95 at Frys Electronics.  But given that it's connected to the AV connectors of the HR it would be a slow process.  I.e. It will take as much time to convert as to watch.
 
Some cable/satellite boxes because of copyright will only let you download to  VCR..why? I don't know.  This says it downloads from any box including play station XBOX..  This a direct transfer iF you have 12 hrs of movies it will take 24 hrs. 12 to download and another 12 to transfer to DVD.  You can leave your downloads to a flash drive or ext. HD.

Jim
 
The HDMI protocols prohibit illicit copy of High Definition digital materials.

They prohibit "licit" copies, too.

Some cable/satellite boxes because of copyright will only let you download to  VCR..why?

The "content" companies (music, movies) have gone to great lengths to push hardware manufacturers (and standards, too) into prohibiting digital copying and only allowing analog copying. HDMI is but one example of that. I have a Denon AV receiver that lets me send music to another room/amp/whatever, but only if it's analog (comes through the RCA cables), not if it's digital (comes through the coax/optical cables). Component video (three RCA cables) is analog, while HDMI is digital.
 
Larry N. said:
They prohibit "licit" copies, too.

The "content" companies (music, movies) have gone to great lengths to push hardware manufacturers (and standards, too) into prohibiting digital copying and only allowing analog copying. HDMI is but one example of that. I have a Denon AV receiver that lets me send music to another room/amp/whatever, but only if it's analog (comes through the RCA cables), not if it's digital (comes through the coax/optical cables). Component video (three RCA cables) is analog, while HDMI is digital.

By the very natural of digital recording, a digital copy is an "exact" copy of the original.  An analog copy is not; it's overall quality will always be less than the digital original.  The Digital Rights Management rules permit you to make "degraded" analog copies; they don't let you make digital ones. 
 
The Digital Rights Management rules permit you to make "degraded" analog copies; they don't let you make digital ones. 

True, but those are company rules -- there's no law against making digital copies, just as there's no law against analog copies. The difference is the DRM that many companies employ (and they're not all the same), usually in software and the hardware restrictions that are pretty much everywhere these days. And there is a law against circumventing certain "tech" measures.
 
Larry N. said:
True, but those are company rules -- there's no law against making digital copies, just as there's no law against analog copies. The difference is the DRM that many companies employ (and they're not all the same), usually in software and the hardware restrictions that are pretty much everywhere these days. And there is a law against circumventing certain "tech" measures.

These are not "company rules" in that they aren't unique to DirecTV.  They are consistent with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which happens to be a law, not a company rule.  It is illegal to make copies of copyrighted digital material.
 
Larry N. said:
True, but those are company rules -- there's no law against making digital copies, just as there's no law against analog copies. The difference is the DRM that many companies employ (and they're not all the same), usually in software and the hardware restrictions that are pretty much everywhere these days. And there is a law against circumventing certain "tech" measures.

Actually.. the Digital Millennium Copyright Act DOES prohibit copying of copyrighted materials, ANY copying, which of course violates earlier established rules about archival copying.

In two of my other lives I have to deal with copyright issues,,, One as an author, one as a moderator in a forum that has files and articles...  In the forum we solve the problem by not posting the info, only a summery and a link to the original site.. but as an author I have been published in a few different copyrighted publications and have a few songs which are copyrighted public domain (IF anyone profits off them I can get nasty, but you are free to perform if you like).

But the DMCA is a major pain for us.  It basically prohibits copy of any and all digital data/information.
 
docj said:
These are not "company rules" in that they aren't unique to DirecTV.  They are consistent with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which happens to be a law, not a company rule.  It is illegal to make copies of copyrighted digital material.
They are "company rules" in the sense that it's not law, just a rule created by a company. The fact that there is a template for the rule, and that many companies use the same or similar rules, doesn't mean that it's a law.

Under most conditions, unauthorized copying of copyrighted material (except fair use) is prohibited by law, but way back in the '80s Sony lost in court when they tried to prevent recording TV programs on a VCR for your own use -- so that's legal. My understanding of the DMCA is that it doesn't prohibit digital copying, per se, but prohibits attempts to work around copy prevention measures -- a big difference, in theory. Since pretty much all digital material has some form of DRM, the practical difference is minimal.
 
Larry N. said:
My understanding of the DMCA is that it doesn't prohibit digital copying, per se, but prohibits attempts to work around copy prevention measures -- a big difference, in theory. Since pretty much all digital material has some form of DRM, the practical difference is minimal.

Agreed.  And the DMCA has what is termed the "analog loophole" which essentially permits making analog copies of otherwise protected materials.

I wasn't saying that I like DMCA, I was simply pointing out that it is DMCA that has "shaped" the recording policies we encounter on DirecTV and elsewhere.
 
I understand that, Doc -- I was just making the point that the copying, in and of itself, isn't prohibited by law, though I agree that the effects of the newly (2 decades, or so) existing laws, combined with the hardware and software implementations by most companies, have almost that effect.
 

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