Since the recent firmware upgrade I have been archiving some of my favourite recordings to an external USB drive. I was glad I had done this when the HDD in my Foxsat+ failed recently.

The unit was returned to Humax under guarantee and promptly replaced with a brand new one. No complaint about that (but of course I lost the recordings I had on the failed HDD).

So I've reconnected my external drive, and I now can't play back any archived recordings that are encrypted ("Enc") - in effect all the HD programmes. I get an on-screen message "The channel is scrambled or currently not available". The system lets me copy these recordings back to the new internal HDD, but won't play them back from the internal drive either.

There is no problem with non-encrypted files I had archived to my external drive - these can still be played back as before.

Does this mean the encryption key on protected programmes is unique to the individual box that recorded them? I can sort of see the sense in this, but it means the value of archiving is not what you might have thought.

I'm afraid this is the case. It would be nice if it were possible to flash the new box with the encyption key of the old box.

You are worse off (lost recordings) after the guarantee was invoked !

I would have expected Humax to fix the encription key so that you could watch the archived recordings. You did, after all, legally, archive them using a built-in & advertised facility.

If they had given you the original STB with a new hard-drive fitted you would have access to your archives. Not alas to internally recorded material.
Did you mention that you had archives when you complained about the failed HD ?

David

If there is a board failure on a product and the hard disk is OK then a box can be returned to the service centre for rework, the replacement mainboard can be programmed with the keys of the original board. But the programming of keys can only be done at certain secure locations and so requires the customer to be without a unit while the process is done. When a hard disk fails it is assumed that the majority of recordings are lost and so a quick replacement may be preferable.

It is worth noting, although I shan't debate it: Recordings are for time shifting purposes under UK copyright law and archiving is not an entitlement (however useful and preferable that might be).

All this seems more like reading about MI5 Stories than just recording a simple TV programme to watch later ?
Secure locations Etc.

Welcome to the world of TV 21st century style. I hope someone cracks the disc encryption code before long.

As far as I'm concerned and as long as I don't sell the recordings etc. I should be able to archive any recording I make for as long as I like and it should be machine independent... and I know the Freesat spec says this and that, doesn't make it right though

Patrick

I respect that you won't debate it, Bob_Cat, but surely this is just semantics. Archiving is time-shifting, it's just that the time is a long one.

@Bob_Cat

Thanks for the information.
(Hope I never need to use it!)

Is this you?

Hillel.

I expect that we each have our own definition & expectation of "archiving", & where it differed from "recording"

We delay watching a live item for very many reasons.
On grounds of simple logic, I assumed that watching it later by anyone at my house would be OK.
If I sold copies or gave public performances I would be lawbreaking.

Does anyone have the UK legal definition? (Or that for the EU?)

I would not expect Humax to police the copyright laws.
I would expect Humax to put the original code in the replacement HDR if the customer mentioned that they had externally recorded HD material like the OP.

Has anyone done this with a failed internal hard drive?

David

I believe its up to a week - at least IIRC from Video

There isn't a time limit specified, but what is clearly specified is that the exemption for the purposes of time shifting does not include making recordings to place in a collection for repeated viewing.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-o...-timeshift.htm

The actual wording of the law, in section 70 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act mentions no time limits.

I well remember a recent Prime Minister's implied definition of

'A Short Time'..

It was actually FOUR years..

No one contradicted him!

Stan

They're FTA broadcasts. If you want to keep them, don't use a Humax PVR as the recoding device! No need to crack anything then.

I look forward to the strict enforcement of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act. It'll be great to see CD walkmen make a comeback! (Copying your own CDs - even onto your own mp3 player - is illegal).

Cheers,
David.

That doesn't look like any bit of Surrey that I recognise