I don't have a monitor; how to play copy-protected content?

Let me preface this with the fact that I am totally blind so do not have a monitor hooked up to my computer.

I have a cable card tuner that I would like to use to record and play TV shows. It appears that I can record anything I want but cannot play it back if it has the copy protection flag set since I don’t have a monitor hooked up to my computer.

What can I do that will allow me to play back copy-protected content?

Monitors are pretty cheap, and easy to acquire. If you aren't actually going to be looking at it, a malfunctioning monitor (perhaps with a dead backlight or cracked LCD panel) may be even cheaper.

Do you have HDMI out on your computer? Without knowing the exact issue at hand, you could try getting a device like I bought earlier this year: Monoprice 108204 Mini HDMI Splitter with 3D Support. I like to watch my satellite signal remotely over the internet via my Slingbox. This usually entails the TV being off while the satellite box is on, since no one is actually at home watching this. Most channels would come through fine. Pay channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. would not; those would display an HDCP message along with a blank image. These channels needed the TV to be powered on.

To combat this, I purchased the powered HDMI splitter and it works perfectly. I can tune those pay channels without the TV being on.

It might help in your case as well.