We purchased a Sony DVD record about three weeks ago. It was recording fine. We bought it to record only one news information program. Suddenly, after about a week and a half we keep getting the prompt "copyright protected." Same show, same time, same channel, same Direct TV. We do not have the Sate box with the DVR included. Any ideas. Where really to take it back.

:mad:

We purchased a Sony DVD record about three weeks ago. It was recording fine. We bought it to record only one news information program. Suddenly, after about a week and a half we keep getting the prompt "copyright protected." Same show, same time, same channel, same Direct TV. We do not have the Sate box with the DVR included. Any ideas. Where really to take it back.

:mad:

Perhaps you came across a commercial with copyrighted music or the program provider turned on the copy protection "flag," thwarting your recording.

Sony, as a major provider of copyrighted video entertainment, produces perhaps the most "copy protection" sensitive DVD recorders in the US marketplace. One may wonder why Sony continues to produce recorders that are unable to record much of anything. The answer is money. They have your money and they just hope you will keep your Sony $300 DVD recorder and use it as a DVD player instead of returning it and buying a Sony $40 DVD player. (I own two Sony $40 DVD players but I've never purchased a Sony DVD recorder. My favorite VCR was a Sony purchased in 1990.)

"Copy protection" has been discussed in several threads. See this thread for some recent observations concerning copy protection and home recording:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1149753

If there's any chance you can return it after all this time (some stores have very generous return privileges), get rid of your Sony. There have been so many complaints here about current Sony recorders not being able to actually record anything, its ridiculous. Primarily it was with off-air and cable, but apparently the contaminated signal feeds are now getting thru on satellite service as well.

Not too many choices of recorder out there anymore that will actually record anything, they're all insanely trigger-happy with the "copy-protected" flag, which was only supposed to be embedded in pay-per-view and some premium channels. Unfortunately something is screwy in the DTV-ATSC transition which is causing unintended signal glitches that most recorders now interpret as a restriction flag. The current Panasonic and Magnavox recorders are a little more accurate at reading these flags and less prone to overreacting than many other brands (but no telling how long their "immunity" will last). Those who've bought recent Toshiba, JVC, and Sony machines have been beset with recording lockouts.:(

I agree with all you have been told. I am really studying what is happening here with this flag. Originally I understood it would be set at "copy once" which means it would allow you to copy your program but what I am seeing so far shows what is being sent is "copy never" which was used previously like on HBO and Movie DVDs.

Copy once would be okay for time-shifting. Copy Never is not. If the networks do not use copy once or no flag...no recorder will copy anything without a filter. We should not have to do that.

What you are seeing with your new Sony..is what is happening. See the thread link mentioned above for more discussion. I am going to be testing OTA and cable for what is coming through. When a commercial has a protect flag..that stops recording the rest of the original program wanted. Then we cannot rely on the tuner alone in a DVD recorder. Older VCRs could ignore the flag as long as the signal is analog.

The replies I see above definitely outline what is happening that I hope get more people aware of what is really going on.

It's a shame, because Sony actually made some really nice HDD/DVD and DVD recorders at one time, before all these issues started up. But they were actually the first to start showing this problem a few years back, maybe a couple of years before it was as widespread with the others (Toshiba's were second, and started up awhile after).

A few of us here have their older recorders, and they perform well for the most part (those that are still functioning, anyway, because it's been quite a few years now). I've never had any problems recording anything whatsoever with mine (not sure, but they might have to have the mechanism to "sense" the CP built-in in the first place. From all accounts, these older recorders do seem to have more of a propensity to "ignore" it, even when it's supposedly there).

But, for it to happen, the recording doesn't necessarily have to take place through the recorder's internal tuner, as CitiBear mentioned. It often happens using external tuners from satellite and cable companies, too (people do seem to have less complaints using OTA CECB tuners - a batch of Philips 3576H recorders awhile back, before they were discontinued, were having problems with picking it up from OTA through their own ATSC tuners. Don't know how much of that was the actual recorder's fault, though, because there were scattered reports of it happening with some other brands at the time, too. It did only seem to affect a certain batch of 3576H's, though).

Panasonics have traditionally been about the least prone - at least to false positives (possibly Pioneers, too, but I never really heard about the problem one way or the other with those so much, and they're not made for the N.A. market anymore, anyway - although you might still be able to find one of their Canadian HDD models available on ebay).

This thread and the others got me curious about Sony recorders, so I went on their site to see what they still offered. They only have one model, a $200 combo unit. I wonder if they're getting out of the recorder business.

They still have DVD players at most pricepoints (entry, upconverting, and two flavors of changers) alongside their snazzy new Blu-Ray machines.

Thanks to all of you. I've decided to give up trying to record. We were only trying to record one news commentary program on Fox News. No movies, no PPV, nothing. Just one program. Egads.

Thanks to all of you. I know we can return it so its going back. Just glad I saved the box. We already have a Sony DVD player and it works great that's why we went with the Sony Recorder.

Yes, maybe they are getting out of the business. Getting tired of taking them back. :)

I appreciate all of you help. Thanks.

phyllisa

I got a Toshiba D-R410 a little over a year ago, so far it records everything I throw at it from my Comcast DVR(Motorola 3416). Even let me record something from HBO once. YMMV, all depends on your cable system's setting of the various flags.

You could try out different units and see which one(if any) work, although returning several units back to back might be a bit suspicious(use cash if you can to better increase your chances of an anonymous transaction)

Sorry to hear you're having all these troubles, phyllisa...if you're still willing to try another recorder though, it looks like Best Buy still carries a Panasonic model# DMR-EZ28K. You could give that one a try. I've got one and it's been fine so far when trying to record off of TV (as long as it's nothing like HBO or something).

Good luck, in any case!

DGK

Sorry to hear you're having all these troubles, phyllisa...if you're still willing to try another recorder though, it looks like Best Buy still carries a Panasonic model# DMR-EZ28K. You could give that one a try. I've got one and it's been fine so far when trying to record off of TV (as long as it's nothing like HBO or something).

Good luck, in any case!

DGK

I've also got a DMR-EZ28, the best of my Panasonic EZ series machines. It's enslaved to Comcast in a round-about way, recording from an amplified RF pass through from my Magnavox 2160 that itself receives an amplified RF pass through from my Philips 3575 (in another room) that itself receives its RF signal from a Comcast Motorola DCT700 "digital" (LOL) to analog cable box. Huh?

What this means is that my DMR-ES28 records everything on analog channel three.

Yes, someone will (no doubt) remind me that I should get better picture quality from a composite connection. The DCT700 composite connection feeds two DMR-EZ17 models in the other room. The DMR-EZ28 RF output feeds the RF input of another DMR-EZ17 in this room. Uh Huh?

Thanks. I'll check them out.

I did notice for the first time watching Greta Van Sustren on Fox News (not the one I wanted to record) that they are placing a banner at the end of the show saying "copyrighted" That's new. So maybe something is going on with the news organizations.

:rolleyes:

Thanks. I'll check them out.

I did notice for the first time watching Greta Van Sustren on Fox News (not the one I wanted to record) that they are placing a banner at the end of the show saying "copyrighted" That's new. So maybe something is going on with the news organizations.

:rolleyes:

Just about everything that you see on broadcast TV, cable and satellite has a copyright notice somewhere. That doesn't mean that everything is "flagged," just that somewhere along the way the "flag" may be implemented without giving further notice.

Some premium services post a general copyright notice. Usually that notice appears at the beginning of their program day (in the middle of the night in the Pacific time zone).

The more that the "flag" is implemented the less useful some recorders will become. So far, I have had no problem recording "copyrighted" material with my Panasonic, Philips and Magnavox recorders manufactured from 2005 through 2008.

It's only a matter of wait and see . . .

Thanks DigaDo