RCN planning to roll out copy protection?

[rlcarr]

On the "Official RCN CableCARD" thread in this forum, a recent poster notes that RCN (NY) notified her to locate CableCARD pairing information and enter it in to an RCN webform.

From my own experience here in the Boston area and that of friends here, in NYC, and in Chicago, it's pretty clear that at least until now RCN either does not pair CableCARDs or at least doesn't do it very consistently (none of my friends in any of those regions have had their cards paired).

As tivo.com's CableCARD troubleshooting pages point out, pairing is only absolutely required if the CCI code is 0x03 (do-not-copy). For other codes, mere activation is sufficient to view it. Of course, cablecos can certainly require cards be paired, but they don't have to. RCN is apparently one of the cablecos that doesn't require it.

But with the notice to NYC subscribers and the fact that the page where pairing data is entered seems pretty region-agnostic (it's http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard), I'm wondering if RCN is going to be trying to get all CableCARDs paired up systemwide and if so, why?

Are they going to take the Comcast route and start requiring pairing and not just activation? Are they planning to roll out copy protection to whole bunches of channels and so want to get people paired up so they don't get complaints from people who suddenly can't see the channel when the copy protection turns on?

Anyone heard anything?

[Roderigo]

As tivo.com's CableCARD troubleshooting pages point out, pairing is only absolutely required if the CCI code is 0x03 (do-not-copy).
For other codes, mere activation is sufficient to view it.

What tivo page says that? Pairing is required if the CCI value is non-zero.



I'm wondering if RCN is going to be trying to get all CableCARDs paired up systemwide and if so, why?

Are they going to take the Comcast route and start requiring pairing and not just activation? Are they planning to roll out copy protection to whole bunches of channels and so want to get people paired up so they don't get complaints from people who suddenly can't see the channel when the copy protection turns on?

Sounds like you answered your own question here. The only reason they'd want to collect this information is if they're planning on turning on copy protection. Though, it's impossible to know which channels or how many channels they plan to copy protect. And, it's not just Comcast, many (most?) cable companies have at least some channels that have copy protection turned on.

[rlcarr]

If the CableCARD is activated, but not paired, you can still view encrypted digital channels. When you tune to a copy protected channel, however, a gray-and-black screen with pairing information pops up, prompting you to call your cable provider.

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/137

But you're right -- that doesn't imply pairing is only needed for 0x03.