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Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:15 pm
by sbdman
Up until the loss of the TV guide info, I've been able to play channels that have the Copy Protection "One Copy" set.
Then I installed epg123 to continue getting guide info. This install involved deleting the ehome directory. I'm not sure if this broke my playback, but now every time I try to play recordings with the "One Copy" protection set, it comes up with the message "Copying Prohibited" and "The broadcaster prohibits this content from being copied. You can only play this content on the same computer on which it was recorded".

This is on a HTPC Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and InfiniTV6 PCI installed and has been running fine for quite a few years. The Copy Protection channels marked "none" still play with no problems. The recordings are made on the same PC I'm trying to play them on.

Anyone have any idea what I need to do to fix this? I sure do miss my Fox News!

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 6:00 pm
by Space
I don't believe the eHome directory is deleted during an EPG123 install, just the database within that directory.

In any case, I don't think deleting that directory would cause issues with PlayReady, and my install of EPG123 did not affect playback of CopyOnce recordings.

Other than installing EPG123, did you do any other change on your system (software or hardware)?

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 8:05 pm
by sbdman
No other changes were made since EPG123.

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2020 12:01 am
by Space
How about before EPG123? Are you sure it was working before?

Other than some other change to your system, I don't know what it could be, perhaps someone else has some ideas...

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:58 am
by sbdman
I have several series recorded on the One Copy channel for several years. And had no trouble watching them daily. Then, after getting EPG123 set up and running (it works very well btw), I could no longer view new or older recordings of this channel, nor watch it live!

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 2:40 pm
by sbdman
SOLVED!!

Watching a movie with subtitles, I brought up my installed Shark007 advanced X64 codecs, and as usual it popped up to install the latest version.
I did something I usually don't do and updated it. BIG MISTAKE - this is what broke the Copy Once flag and made movie channels report they where Copy Prohibited, even for live viewing!
I uninstalled Shark007 and these channels play fine. And, since I prefer my receiver to decode audio and need bit streaming turned on, installed an older set of the Shark007 - 32 bit and 64 bit for WMC to do this. Now, everything is back to normal!

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:15 am
by Space
Yes, you need to use the standard/WMC codecs for playback of copy protected recordings and live TV. I assume that the newer Shark codec pack replaced the standard codecs used by WMC and the older pack did not.

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 2:12 am
by randman
sbdman wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2020 2:40 pm SOLVED!!

Watching a movie with subtitles, I brought up my installed Shark007 advanced X64 codecs, and as usual it popped up to install the latest version.
I did something I usually don't do and updated it. BIG MISTAKE - this is what broke the Copy Once flag and made movie channels report they where Copy Prohibited, even for live viewing!
I uninstalled Shark007 and these channels play fine. And, since I prefer my receiver to decode audio and need bit streaming turned on, installed an older set of the Shark007 - 32 bit and 64 bit for WMC to do this. Now, everything is back to normal!
Thanks for posting your solution. Many times on forums these just simply go unreported. I experienced the exact same issue with a Shark007 update. I noticed right away the sound was different and I didn't realize the Copy Prohibited issue until a few days later. Oddly, WMC was recording the program on HBO fine, and the Recorded TV even showed a thumbnail of the program, I just couldn't play it back or watch the channel. After too many hours of DRM resets and PlayReady attempted installs, I finally got that to work and came across this. I uninstalled Shark007 and everything started working pretty normally again. I had to do a few other tweaks to get the sound back to where it was, but I think I'm back to normal. I guess it was my error in trying to fix one small issue and then creating many much larger issues.

Re: Can't play "One Copy" protected channels?

Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 12:57 pm
by sbdman
Glad I could help!

Shark007 is both a necessity and a night mare even with careful setup. It would take a doctorate's degree to understand codecs and how they interact with a particular PC setup. I've tried using Graphstudio64 to see how a particular media file would be rendered in video and particularly audio, but trying to change settings to another codec seemed a crap shoot. I'd constantly see my AVR was receiving PCM rather than letting the audio to be rendered by designed for the job audio equipment. After a lot of trial and error, I have all my recorded TV playing Dolby Digital, and movies playing either the same, DTS, or HD Audio formats through HDMI connections. But still there is the occasional PCM file glitch produced by some downloaded media that just don't sound right.