copy protection

Greg is having a problem with HD and Dish Network. Leo says it's probably copy protection called HDCP, and if one thing in the chain isn't HDCP compliant, you'll get an error. Chances are, it's your cables. Make sure they are HDCP compliant. According to Satellite Guys, there was a firmware update on the DISH box that is causing intermittent HDCP errors. Here's a tech note about it.  An HDMI splitter can also bypass the HDCP copy protection.

Joe recently had a firmware update, and Epson killed the ability for him to use third-party ink cartridges. Leo hates that and says it's anti-competitive. It also wreaks of industrial sabotage and begs the question: if they can do that, do you really own your printer?

If accurate, Leo finds this a disappointing development because he's always considered Epson one of the "good guys." And he hates copy protection.

If you like Epson though, the EcoTank line gives you enough ink so you don't need cartridges.

Jose has issues with his 4K HDR TV connected to Roku Ultra. He's getting HDCP copy protection errors. Leo says that copy protection never stops pirates. He can even order a box that strips copy protection from Amazon. So what's the point? All it does is punish those who follow the rules.

Bruce is having issues with his TV that the audio gets out of sync and the video goes blank on his TIVO Edge. Leo says it's losing HDMI sync when you run it through the AV receiver. And it's likely the AV Receiver that's causing it since Bruce isn't having issues connecting through his Xbox or directly. Is there a setting he needs to look for in his AVR? Look in the settings for eliminating the sync handshake. That's what's dropping out. If you can make it always on, it would never have to lose the handshake. Leo also suspects a new HDMI cable may solve the problem.

Todd has bought a music track from iTunes and has to edit it and convert it to MP3. Leo says that he can go into Garage Band and edit it. If it has copy protection, pick it up from another source like Amazon Music. Then import into Garage Band. 

Hugh wants to know how to recover music purchased online. They are WMA files and are copy protected. Leo says that most DRM copy protection has been cracked and removed. DRM Media Converter will do it. 

Eric cut the cable and wants to know if he can get programs off his old TiVo. Leo says in the first generation TiVos, he would be able to. But copy protection has locked down and encrypted that data. TIVO to Go was an option, but it was a very poor solution. There is one way to do it still, and that's the analog hole. Eric can connect his TIVO using the analog component jacks (red, white and yellow), but it will be standard definition.

John has fiddling with the RG45 jack on his DVR and discovered that he could play his programs through his Roku device from it. He could also copy them to his PC and play them through Kodi. Can he convert them from there? Leo says that TTS is a "muxed" file that he can play, and it's probably MPEG 2. Almost anything that can read video files, like HandBrake, could do it. VLC definitely could play it. The DTCP.IP files, though, will need a special player.

David wants to be able to copy TV programs from his DVR satellite, but he can't do it. Leo says that DirecTV and Dish all have proprietary copy protection to prevent it, due to piracy. But Linux boxes will see the hard drives on the DVRs. It's worth a try.

LeBaron has a 2010 iMac computer that is getting very slow, and Leo suspects that the culprit is a failing hard drive. The upgrade is non-trivial, but it can be done. Leo recommends going with a solid state drive to make it a heck of a lot faster. Then connect an external drive for the data. What Leo recommends is going to Otherworld Computing and look up the model. You can see what parts are needed, along with tools. Then decide whether to try to DIY or to have it done by a technician.