SwitchedDigitalVideo
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Four tuner firmware update for Cisco Tuning Adapters rolling out
With less than two weeks to go until the very same FCC requirement (FCC-10-81) goes into effect, a Cisco Tuning Adapter in the wild received the F.1402 firmware update that upgrades it from double to quadruple duty. This is fantastic news for those who already have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 on a system that uses Switched Digital Video, as it will eliminate the need for one more set-top box, but should also be good news to the company who formally requested CableLabs change the spec to require four tuners in the first place; TiVo. No way to know exactly when this firmware update will roll out, but we're sure we're not alone when we say we hope it brings some much needed stability along with it.
ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings & SDV are a go
Microsoft delivered the first half of two promised ATI Digital Cable Tuner-related updates as the 1.19.12.09050155 firmware update is now available from Windows Update (listed with the optional udates) that will relax the way it handles DRM on its recordings and add support for Switched Digital Video. With the new update applied, all Copy Freely-marked programing will be recorded without DRM allowing you to move it between PCs, convert it to another format or whatever you wish with ease, however as our hands on experience with the new firmware indicated you'll still need your cable provider to pass along the right bits to make it all operate properly. Still waiting in the wings is the Advisor Utility that will allow Digital Cable Tuners to work with any PC, no OEM purchase or hacking skills required. [Thanks, Rob]
Curious about SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center?
Look here, bub. Do you own an ATI Digital Cable Tuner? Has your Windows Media Center PC been waiting for a firmware update, since like, forever ago? If so, you should already know that SDV and Copy Freely support has been added to Windows 7 Media Center, which is the software coding equivalent of all of your dreams coming true. Of course, getting used to all this new functionality is a daunting task, but that's why Engadget HD is breaking things down to make it fit for digestion. Ready to get schooled? Well, head on over!
A first hand look at SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center
If you have a ATI Digital Cable Tuner connected to your Windows Media Center then you've been waiting a long time for a firmware update. In fact, although updates were released fairly steadily during the first year of the product's life, the last update (1.17.1) was dated April 30th 2008. But this long delay has been particularly painful because this is the first update since CableLabs relaxed the DRM requirements last Summer -- it's also the very same update Microsoft has been touting since CEDIA 2008. So what took so long? We'd like to know, but one thing is for sure, CableLabs sure took its time in the approval process as the date on the firmware is May 1st 2009! Better late then never, so while you wait for the public release click through to find out what all the fuss is about.
Cisco STA1520 SDV tuning adapter impressions
Cox grabbed some early SDV headlines by promising to supply its Phoenix-area TiVo customers with free tuning adapters, but it only recently made good on the deal in our central Phoenix location. Since the initial announcement, other cable markets -- both Cox and other providers -- have already delivered tuning adapters to users. Based on our poll, it seems the Tuning Adapter rollout is still in the early stages even though we feel like we've been waiting for a long time. Better late than never, though -- last week we got a letter indicating that our Tuning Adapter was ready for pickup at the local Cox office, thankfully still gratis. For our troubles, we got a Cisco (Scientific Atlanta) STA1520 that the Cox representative made abundantly clear was free only as long as we stayed a customer. Follow us past the fold to see how the rest of our Tuning Adapter experience shaped up.
Poll: Have you received your DTV tuning adapter?
We've received reports from one side of the country (New York) to the other (Hawaii) from locals that have just received their long anticipated DTV tuning adapter. This week's poll question is quite simple, really: have you received yours? If so, how long did it take to arrive, and what carrier are you using? If not, chime in below with how long you've been waiting, where you are and what operator is being lazy on you. %Poll-25790%
Cox subscribers in Northern Virginia now receiving tuning adapters
Cox Communications was one of the first cable carriers to openly admit that it would be handing out tuning adapters to those negatively affected by switched digital video implementations (read: CableCARD users) sans a fee. Now, it seems like the floodgates are officially open across the industry. On the same day that TWC users in Austin, Texas began scooping up tuning adapters of their own, we're seeing multiple reports from Northern Virginia that consumers are finally able to claim one from their local office. It doesn't seem as if installation is totally a breeze for everyone, but Cox has evidently trained its CSR staff to handle quirks quickly judging by positive vibes felt on the TiVoCommunity boards. Moral of the story? Your carrier just might have a TA with your name on it, but you may never find out without giving 'em a ring.[Thanks, Phillip]
TWC now handing out tuning adapters in Austin, Texas
We knew that Time Warner Cable was allowing customers in various regions around the country to pre-order their tuning adapter, and tonight we've received the first report of delivery. For those out of the loop, these free adapters enable CableCARD users to tune into any channel that's delivered via switched digital video (SDV); without one, your current TiVo (for example) won't ever be able to see any channel beamed out with the new technology. The lucky locale is Austin, Texas, but we get the idea that other places should be seeing them soon. Give your local TWC office a call, and do report back (bonus points for images) if you've found that your city now has 'em as well. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Andy]
Comcast going all digital in Seattle, bringing DTAs to the Pacific Northwest
You already know what Comcast's Digital Transport Adapter looks like, and for folks in Salem, Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon (not to mention Seattle, Washington), you'll be seeing 'em in the flesh soon enough. Comcast has announced that its all digital transition will be heading up from Portland and into Seattle in the near future, and it's upsetting quite a few locals with Media Center PC / TiVo setups. Of course, these are just the growing (or should we say "changing") pains associated with a mass switch from analog to digital, but at least in theory, the conversion should free up oodles of bandwidth for the carrier to expand its HD lineup. And remember, a cable company choosing to pipe its channels out in digital is very different than the broadcast change coming in February 2009 -- it's confusing, we know, but the read link does a fairly decent job of spelling everything out.[Thanks, Doug]
BigBand Networks heads up first ever international SDV deployment
BigBand Networks knows a thing or two about making the transition to switched digital video, and now it can say that it helped flipped the first ever SDV switch overseas. The company, in conjunction with interactive TV middleware provider Alticast, has "added functionality to its switched digital video solution in preparation for deployments by Korean cable operators." Obviously, the opportunities for SDV outside of North America is significant, with many markets gasping for bandwidth just to get a handful of high-def channels out to the people. Research firm In-Stat actually asserts that "Asian deployments of SDV will grow at an average rate of 85% for the next four years, reaching $212M by 2012," and we can only hope that this is one method for greatly boosting the amount of HD content available outside of the US.
TWC looks to bring Start Over / Look Back, more HD to Orange County
For those parked in beautiful Orange County, California and wondering if Time Warner Cable is thinking of you, trust us, we feel your pain. Thankfully, competition has pressured the carrier into opening its eyes a bit, as a recent interview with the president of OC's Time Warner Cable operations has given folks in the area something to look forward to. For starters, subscribers can soon expect faster internet speeds all around, with "Power Boost" taking underutilized capacity and giving it to those who need an extra burst to suck down a large file. Additionally, users will finally see Caller ID on their TV, and best of all, Fred Stefany admitted that HD was a priority and that most areas should have upwards of 50 high-def channels before 2009. Finally, we're told that SDV, Start Over and Look Back are all coming within the next several months. Check the read link for the full writeup, and hang tight (if you can).
TWC San Antonio to offer free Tuning Adapters, pre-orders now open
As switched digital video (SDV) rollouts continue, we're apt to hear more and more about how cable companies plan on handling the distribution of Tuning Adapters. We've already heard that Cox will be giving needy customers in Phoenix a TA for free, and Time Warner Cable New York recently sent out letters to CableCARD users informing them that their TAs may be handed out gratis. Now, we're seeing a pre-order page over at TWC's San Antonio site that clearly informs subscribers that the Tuning Adapter they request will be provided at no charge "later this year." If you're in or around this area and own a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD or TiVo HD XL, now would probably be an excellent time to get your name on the list. For everyone else, have a look at your local carrier's page and let us know if it's doing something similar. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Lawrence]Read - TWC San Antonio main siteRead - TWC San Antonio pre-order page
TWC to make Tuning Adapters available "later this year"
It's hard to say if letters like this are going out all over the country, but at least in central New York, Time Warner Cable has all intentions of providing CableCARD users with Tuning Adapters "later this year." Of note, the letter was addressed prior to the FCC slapping it with a fine for deploying SDV in an apparently improper manner, but at any rate, central NYers using a standard TiVo Series3 / TiVo HD now will see a whole slew of channels go dark on November 13th. The note also asserts that "it is currently contemplated that the Tuning Adapter will be provided at no additional charge," but that's a far cry from outrightly saying that they'll be doled out gratis. Guess we'll see in time, huh? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Time Warner Cable adding 13 new HD channels in Dayton, Ohio
Are you stoked, Dayton? You should be. Time Warner Cable has just sent out fliers to select customers in the region noting that a baker's dozen worth of HD channels are on the way, which will bring the grand total in the area to 46. Reportedly, the outfit will be pretty much finishing off its switched digital video (SDV) transition, as all 13 of the newcomers will be delivered via the bit-saving method. Ready to check out the exhaustive list? Head on past the break, you lucky, lucky Ohioan. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Dayton Guy]
The first Tuning Adapter is unleashed by Comcast
No this isn't another demo at a trade show, but instead a real life solution for TiVo owners to address the incompatibility with 3rd party CableCARD host devices and recently very popular Switched Digital Video (SDV). Late last week Comcast sent some of its customers that were renting CableCARDs, a letter letting them know the Tuning Adapter would be available today and Jesse, a lucky member of TiVo Community, scored a Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter today from Comcast in NJ and finally gained access to all those new HD channels he'd be denied up until now -- assuming SDV is even already deployed where he lives. So if you've been waiting over a year to get your hands on one of these, now might just be the time to start calling your provider and giving them a hard time. The full picture after the jump.[Thanks, Jesse!]
Microsoft is working on adding SDV support to Media Center
Some things take way longer than they should, and Microsoft making an announcement about its intent to add support for the tuning adapter, for all those SDV hating Windows Media Center Digital Cable Tuner users, is most definitely in that category. While we've been following this switched digital video problem for over a year now, most of the solutions we've seen have been aimed at TiVo owners, meanwhile Microsoft has been quiet. A few months ago we contacted CableLabs and AMD and while we received some promising responses, it's still just all talk. Some in the Media Center community -- yeah that's right, I'm talking about you Chris -- think the specs would have to be changed to even make it possible, but we don't see why it would be any more complicated than using the PC as a bridge with a little UPNP magic mixed it to bring it all together. Regardless of how it will work though, while we're glad MS said something, but the mystical response posted at The Green Button didn't give us much confidence that the solution is right around the corner.[Via Chris Lanier's Blog]
Time Warner Cable implementing SDV in Charlotte, NC
Time Warner Cable is keeping the SDV deployments a-rollin', and it sounds as if the next market to get hit is Charlotte, North Carolina. A local chimed in to let us know that he just recently received a letter in the mail from the carrier which informed him that the switch to SDV was coming on September 23rd. As predicted, the letter told him that he's pretty much out of luck being the CableCARD user that he is, and while TWC is supposedly working with TiVo on a tuning adapter, the best it could offer was a "hope" that it would be ready by "the end of the year." Gee, thanks. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Shawn]
Motorola / Cisco see Tuning Adapters certified
July is over half way over and if you were starting to worry that the Tuning Adapters that would save your TiVo from uselessness, you can rest a little easier. Sure, you can't rest as easy as you could if you actually had one of these little guys from Motorola or Cisco making your TiVo HD or Series3 SDV compatible, but it can't be long now. In the long line of red tape that is required to bring any cable device to market, the tuning adapters have finally made it through one of the last hurdles by being certified by the all mighty CableLabs. This means that it is only a matter of time before you can expect to see a letter from either TiVo or your cable co -- assuming they are using SDV -- informing you of your HD savior. And in case you're wondering, yes the latest TiVo update -- that's right, the same one that enabled YouTube -- does include the necessary fixins to make this all work, so stay tuned while we all wait to see how things finally shake out.
Binghamton, NY residents get two more HD stations via Time Warner Cable
Although Binghamton, New York is far from being as blessed as Manhattan in the HD department right now (at least on Time Warner Cable), the carrier is doing everything it can to bring equality to the high-def landscape in the Empire State. Shortly after Disney HD, ABC Family HD and Toon Disney HD surfaced on the EPG, two more channels -- Planet Green HD (830) and Travel Channel HD (837) -- have emerged. As expected, these two are also being delivered via switched digital video (SDV), so you CableCARD users will just have to hang tight for now. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Armando]
TWC brings a dozen HD channels to Kansas City, has SDV to thank
Remember how we told you that switched digital video was enabling more and more cable carriers to add more HD channels? Case, meet point. Just days after Time Warner Cable implemented SDV in Kansas City (and ticked off more than a few CableCARD users), we've now found out why such a decision was made. As of now, twelve new high-def channels are at everyone's disposal, including TBS HD (1014), TLC HD (1040), Travel Channel HD (1050), CNN HD (1044), Science HD (1023), Versus / Golf HD (1055), Animal Planet HD (1057), Fox News HD (1060), ESPNews HD (1204), Outdoor Channel HD (1202), Biography HD (1217) and Planet Green HD (1226). Unfortunately for the 1,200 or so KC-area CableCARD users, every last one of these new stations are being delivered via SDV, so unless you revert back to the company-issued set-top-box, you'll be moseying over to the neighbor's house in order to catch a glimpse.[Thanks, Jondy and Matt]
