Media Center CableCARDs freed from OEM requirement
By Steven Kim 
posted Sep 9th 2009 8:20PM
posted Sep 9th 2009 8:20PM
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I can haz recorded TV?
Did they finally fix the rewind vs. skip audio sync issue? I mean its not like Microsoft is feeling the heat in usability in this industry... its so intuitive to just go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Decoder
And its so easy to just set the value PreferredMPEG2AudioDecoderCLSID to {A753A1EC-973E-4718-AF8E-A3F554D45C44}.
I mean, isn't it obvious? My grandma can do this, if only Apple would make it so simple...
@steveorevo: they could always just say "no cablecards at all" like apple does. Please keep the anti-Microsoft propaganda to yourself from now.
Propaganda? You sir, are easily offended. I'm serious. What, do you think I use Apple TV? Thats crap! I have a ZTGroup MCE, and I really really want to know, fix the rewind vs. skip audio sync issue?
I'd gladly trade the volume or some other button thats not used so often (like On or Play?) so that I could just rewind... my blatter just ain't what it used to me...
I guess I will have to finally give up hope for Dish or DirectTV and get cable card - analog cable is getting just too lame but I wont give up Media Center (guess maybe I am the one who is lame). So I suppose this is good news... kind of.
I'm in the same situation, but I went with DirecTV last year. Right now, I can't record in HD, but Hauppauge's HD-PVR finally has a decent way to record in Windows 7's Media Center. I'll take that option, because it keeps as much Comcast out of my house as possible...
Honestly, it's a matter of "too late!" I spent years trying to get around the requirement so I didn't have to keep analog cable as it slowly died, and only when I have it all done do they give me the option I wanted all along :S
i'll stick with free OTA HD (3 tuners) and my basic cable. I get to watch and record all the HD shows I want and 13Mbps internet for only $60 a month. I only have basic cable to keep the cost down. F' you comcast!
It's too bad that CableCard will be useless within a year or so:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=637
@^ "drives a stake right through that given the low adoption of CableCARD systems" -from that^ article
Separable Security mandated by the FCC requires all STBs to have CableCARDs... go ahead.. look at the back of your box. How is there a low adoption of CableCARD systems? That article is nonsense.
I'm stunned.
We better check the temperature in Hell. Anyone spot a pig flying yet? Is today April 1st? Next they'll be telling us that the RIAA is going to open an encryption-free MP3 download store.
@Jagster: it's called iTunes?
@wickedpheonix
I'm sorry, you lost me. Are you claiming that iTunes is run by the RIAA?
O MY GAWD! I never thought it would happen. No wonder feet have been so dragged on the hauppauge hd-pvr drivers. This is too legit (to quit)
Exactly what is going to keep me from switching to Uverse.
Huzzah!
Exactly what I was thinking. Now if only I had a desktop and not a laptop... hmm.
I can has express slot version?
@Templarian: ATI has an external CableCARD adapter that uses USB, I believe
@Templarian: I wish there was a network tuner which supported cablecard so we could use MCE on our laptops through the network
They are all USB, even the internal ones.
So now we just have to wait for them to get produced and shipped to our favorite retailers? Seems too simple.
And I must say - Uverse sucks.
goodbye comcast dvr! hello recording space!
just wait, cable companies will make a policy against using it with their lines or disrupt your service and charge you to send a tech.
Actually, comcast charges me a grand total of *nothing* monthly for 2 cable cards compared to 17.95 a month for a single HD DVR box. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Sounds great! Now I wish they had DirecTV on their list of support ASAP!
About time. Too bad I already cancelled my cable because of this a while ago. Man, I never knew how much time I wasted watching worthless crap on TV.
I totally agree. There are only a handful of show that I routinely watch...everything else is just crap. I've been free of Comcast cable since January. I've been extremely happy with my dual QAM tuner in Vista and using extenders throughout the house. Just hoping that clear QAM will keep alive as long as possible.
enthusiats (hey, that's us!)
Try again with the spell-check on please.
FireFox even has built in spell check... must be using IE6.
Thanks for fixing it...
I'm really thrilled to see this.
Now, I only have to get my small, local, independent cable company to adopt CableCard.
*sigh*
I am pretty sure that it is an FCC requirement for cable companies to support cablecard.
Only cable co's of a certain size, smaller regional providers are often exempted.
Not to rain on your parade but Cablecard is dying anyways. Cable companies are now in the process of shifting away from it. Sorry.
Dang you! What are they switching to?
Thats good news.
Canada never got it so theres nothing here to shift away from.
Stupid country/monopolistic cable providers.
Sort of, but not rapidly...thanks to TiVO cable card will be around for a long long time.
And switching to what? May I ask?
You realize why cableCard came about? It is actually required that they offer them as an alternative to mandating users pay an extra $9.99 (in Verizon FiOS for example) for the cable box. At least in the US. :D
2 words .... Awe .... Some. I'm glad the cable cos finally caved. Bastahds.
Actually, it was CableLabs.
Sorry for sound like a newbie, but... can someone explain me what the CableCARD thing is... what are the pros/contras? I mean, a simple explanation, not just a Wikipedia link.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+a+cablecard
that's what wikipedia is for, ya nonce.
-jp
Think of cablecard as a cable box without the cable box. It's just a simple card you get from your cable providor that decrypts the digital cable so you can actually watch. Previously, the standard was really locked down to only Media Center PCs purpose built from manufacturers like HP. However, now many of us that have custom built PCs can finally have support for cable card. So Media Center can get all of your digital and HD cable channels, without having to deal with some P.O.S. the the cable companies call a DVR.
It means you get to watch Monday Night Football on ESPN in HD!!! SWEET!!!!
this is really big news. it should on the top of engadget, but other less important news seems to be getting all the attention today. the lack of a legal (and probably easier) method for installing cablecards has really been hindering htpc for awhile now.
Since I didn't see a link to any official press release, is there a timeline on products and or software updates to support this? Is it retroactive to previous cablecard tuner hardware?
So is there a retail cablecard tuner on the market that one can just go buy and attach to their machine? Does this open up new possibilities for TIVO or did they always have cablecard support?
http://www.cannonpc.com/
They sell both internal and external varieties
Here also
http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/ATI_TV_Wonder_Digital_Cable_Tuner/100703268/10957361/froogle/
Well now that its legal, we can expect to see much more availability and price reduction on the ATI TV Wonders right? We used to have to scrounge them off ebay and the back alleys of the intertubes.
Yeah, prices shot up recently to $300 for just one. Suckers that bought them for price gouging just lost a TON of dough!
So If you already have a cable box, you don't need a CableCARD Tuner thing, correct? If so, are there any tuners that can connect to the box and get HD digital cable? I know any of them will do standard def., but I'm not so sure about HD.
Or is the best option just to get a Slingbox or HomerunHD type of thing?
What's TV...?
THIS IS AMAZING! Having cablecards for oem only was pretty lame. I've been using the comcast dvr for a while now and it leaves a lot to be desired. Snapstream BeyondTV better get on this because I love that program, it was so good but useless when I upgraded to digital cable.
And for those of us who want 'affordable' DVRs with plenty of space we now have an option.
awesome !!!
...then as soon as tuners that work with cable cards come down to a reasonable price maybe I'll be able to take down the shrine I pray to for my scientific atlanta cable box to work in some semblence or fashion as it was designed (barely - apparently) and give me my fix of househunters and top chef from the midnight prior.
Now if some governmental authority would kindly step in and on the throat of my local cable provider and tell them that 'renting' me a cable card shouldn't cost like $10/month then that would be great too.
Microsoft Media Center Event! Will they lure homeless people with danish to fill the seats??? Free iPod Touch 64 gbs???
ccc
about time the figured out it's all about choice ... :-)
This is WAY more exciting than what Apple had to show today!!!
To be honest, I never really figured out how I was supposed to use Windows Media Center. It's always come across as kind of unnecessary to me. I mean, I still use Media Player Classic for 90%+ of my video needs, lol
If someone wants to bother explaining how they use the Media Center, I'd read and appreciate it.
Provided you have a Media Center remote, it pretty much beats out most other DVR software (including Tivo, per some surveys). CableCard allows a television, cable box, DVR, or PC to tune into the same channels as your cable operator's box, in most cases without the monthly DVR fees charged for the DVR service. Initially, CableCard tuners were only offered on pre-built machines costing upward of $1,500. This announcement means that anyone who has a computer that meets the minimum system requirements can add a CableCard tuner to their PC. If you have Comcast and are stuck with one of those glitchy, craptastic Scientific Atlanta boxes, this is a dream come true.
This just brings up 2 major questions. 1) When will the tuners become available? 2) Will they still run the ridiculous cost of $150 per tuner? I mean come on! Considering that all it does is tune channels, it's ridiculous that it would cost as much as some of the more complex components in PCs. Now, if they could make one that can be programmed to record things with a PC, and later record those things to an attached USB drive in the event a computer is off (saving power and continuing to record if the attached PC has crashed), maybe they could screw me out of $150 bucks with less apprehension on my part.
You are missing out. MediaCenter with Media Browser is absolutely the most sick interface for organizing and cataloging TV shows and movies. Nothing compares.
Without a doubt, Windows Media Center is THE UI to beat. It really is second to none, and with all of it's plugins, is the best way to watch TV.
Add Hulu to the mix for content you didn't record and the HTPC is about to kick some MAJOR ASS.
By the way, for those who say cable TV is dead and go on about Hulu + Netflix + downloaded shows, until you solve the sports problem, cable companies will still get my money.
@Chuchi: $150? Try $250 from what I've seen online for the ATI one.
Windows 7 Media Center is brand new -- totally revamped -- and smoothest UI experience out there - no doubt better than the tivo and cable DVRS - also you can use Xbox 360 to stream live tv and recorded tv to other rooms - i.e., multi-room viewing. Not to mention the slew of excellent third party plug-ins (Boxee is one of them - it is chock full of apps to the internet for video - MC Shoutcast - sickest internet radio player around (pull up lyrics at the touch of a button, slide show of internet images of artist of current song playing - the ability to record the music and automatically saves as an mp3 with song and artist name) - also the ability to seamlessly jump from tv to your music files to your video files or pictures is another huge bonus. Oh - and the Netflix streaming app is sick (although not available yet for windows 7 until it is officially released- I have tried in on Windows Media Center Vista edition and it is awesome - -you could also use it on an xbox extender - which I have and it is awesome). It seems like the possibilities are endless with Windows Media Center, I am always finding something new and cool to add to it. On and one last thing, what was previously mentioned - Media Browser - that app alone is enough to get Windows Media Center - eye candy galore!! - here is some shots of Media Browser UI in action -- http://www.sevenforums.com/media-center/7276-mediabrowser.html
I have had tivo, Cable DVR, Apple TV, Western Digital Media PLayer, the Popcorn Hour, and SAGE TV among other solutions- but my current setup - the Windows 7 Media Center coupled with the Hauppage HD PVR -- feels like I stepped up to the major leagues when compared to these other products.
James, you said you set up a Hauppauge HD PVR to work with Media Center? This thing?
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html
That would be cool, but according to the Hauppauge website FAQ (which I hope is wrong):
"Can I use the HD PVR with Microsoft's Windows Media Center application? HD PVR captures video streams in a compressed H.264 format. Current versions of Media Center do not support this video compression format so currently, the HD PVR will not function within the Media Center application. For Windows 7, there is currently no ETA available regarding Media Center support at this time."
you have to use this tool - http://www.dvblogic.com/purchase.php - there is a 30 day trial and it is $30 buck one time charge for the software which includes future upgrades. I love it.
if you look under third party apps on the happuage site here it lists the DVBlink software - http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html
the beauty of the HD PVR is that you can record anything that plugs into your tv from whatever source - because it captures the signal going to you tv - it is limited to 1080i but for me this is more than enough, especially since 1080p files are huge. So this HD PVR is pretty much the only device that could record every single channel through your cable company or dish including premium hbo or Video on Demand - not even the CableCard can do all of this
I used this site mostly to learn about my hauppauge Windows 7 HTPC - avsforum.com - the HTPC section has a sticky for putting together a inexpensive HTPC and lots of topics on the HD PVR
Thank you ever so much, James. You've made this process so much easier for me. Since we already have HD digital cable in the house, I didn't want to get a CableCARD thing set up, too. It just seemed like unecessary work. Thanks for the link to that forum, too. It looks like a great resource.
sweet!!!
any chance of getting this working with a mac? I've got a mac mini as a HTPC ...
Doubtful.
If there's a USB CableCard tuner, and of course if you bootcamp that mac mini.
Thank god! I've always wanted this to be possible..though i can't help but fear it could be a 'windows 7 only' thing
With support for ClearQAM, hybrid tuners, channel merge, built in Movie Library (with VOB streaming to extenders) and now CableCard/SDV support, the Win7 version of Media Center is the one you want. HUGE upgrades over previous versions.
Yes, and its not illegal to purchase your OWN digital cable box either..... but good luck.
Motorola and all other cable box mfgrs do not sell any to the public and any that are purchased on ebay are assumed to be stolen and no cable company in the USA will let you use it.
Tuners != cable boxes.
Free at last!!!! Goodbye saved money.
Now if they would just support displayport.
This news by MS @ CEDIA > Apple Event
Does this mean SageTV, Beyond TV and other DVR software will support these now too?
I'm kinda bummed, cuz I read the first bullet as "SDV support built in" but reading the fine print in the press release, you still have to have a crappy tuning adapter. I have one for my TivoHD and it stopped working after about 2 days, been sitting unhooked for months now. I was really hoping the ability to do 2-way communication would be somehow built into WMC, but now that I think about it, that would be really hard since the cable co's probably all use something different.
WOW!
no one has asked the obvious question..will we be able to sync our recorded content to our new zune hd player? if so then i think microsoft will have landed a huge blow to the competition
I believe we will be able to sync unencrypted WTV files with Zune HD, yes. And all basic cable recordings in Windows 7 will be unencrypted (according to this announcement.)
Slightly off topic, but for watching my videos, I have a toolbar on the taskbar that has my video folder. One click on that brings up all my directories of stored material all nice and organized. For music I use 1x1 music player, about 2MB in memory and loads instantly. It simply shows the directories where your music is stored and starts playing as soon as you click it.
I never understood the purpose of media center. Too resource intensive and unnecessary. Like using Itunes to listen to music on your computer. However, I guess its necessary for cable card use. I don't know how its dvr functionality is though.
Who else is running Media Center with CableCARD now? I have Windows 7 with the pre-boot BIOS patch and two ATI Tuners on Cox HD. The Cox installer had never even seen the things. Now that this isn't OEM only, he will be seeing a lot more. I'm going to buy 10 of them when they are available and sell them like crazy. People may have low-definition TVs in their living rooms but they all have high definition displays on their PCs.
how much is cox charging to rent the cable card(s)?
I just got my first bill with them on there and they didn't charge me anything. I hope it stays that way.
CableCARD has zero support outside of the US (not even in Canada), so this would be a "meh" to me. In Montreal, none of the TVs you see in BestBuy or similar shops support it (or at least don't advertise it or have any obvious slot for it), and the cableco (Videotron) probably doesn't even know it exists.
Sure, it'd be nice to be able to plug my digital cable into my computer (and I'd have saved $600 on the HD PVR), but up here, cablecard is as fictional as a holodeck.
So where can I start buying these products?
Anyone have any idea when these cablecards will be available?