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There is no CableCARD 2.0
With the July 1st CableCARD mandate right around the corner, we have really wanted to know how the cable companies are going to continue to provide VOD -- and other bi-directional services -- without CableCARD 2.0. Thanks to our friend Mari over at ConnectedHome2Go, we got to spend some time with Mark DePietro, the Vice President of Strategy of Motorola Home and Networks Mobility, and he filled us in on some details about CableCARDs. The most shocking thing we learned was: there is no such thing as a CableCARD 2.0 -- it's a standard, not a physical device.
Get your Vista CableCARD coverage
So last night Microsoft formally finally lifted the veil for Vista CableCARD reviewers; we've got some stuff up, so do be sure to check it out to get your fix of what amounts to being the most expensive DVR rig yet devised. We missing something? Let us know in our what do you want to know? post, alright?Installing a Vista CableCARD Media Center PC (part 1): Fiasco!Installing a Vista CableCARD Media Center PC (part 2): Perfecto!Vista CableCARD Media Center PCs - what do you want to know?
Vista CableCARD Media Center PCs - what do you want to know?
So now that at least one of us here at Engadget has a fully functional Vista CableCARD home theater rig, we're ready to take on your questions. This probably isn't the kind of thing that we can do an extensive review of -- it is, after all, just the same Vista Media Center you're already used to, except with CableCARD as the video input this time -- but we're happy to do our best to field whatever queries you've got. Post 'em in comments, we'll do our best to answer them after the break!
Motorola ships CableCARD STBs
It isn't very long till the next deadline in the long road we call the digital transition. This next step will either be really big or really bad. While most people will agree that CableCARDs aren't that great, the FCC is dead set on making the concept work and starting in July cable companies will be required to only deploy CableCARD devices, that means no more built in security. It is an understatement to say that the cable companies are not happy. The irony is that they say it is because of the limited feature set of CableCARD, yet they were the one who came up with the standard in the first place. While we wait for CableCARD 2.0 or downloadable conditional access, we have to live with what we got in the meantime. The hope is that now that the cable companies are stuck with same system, they will actually be motivated to really make it work for consumers this time. With any luck this means buying a box like a TiVo Series3 won't mean: installation headaches and no VOD, any more.[Via Connected Home 2Go]
Windows Vista Digital Cable Tuners: don't call it OCUR
Seems strange that it's been a whole year since Gates took the stage at CES 2006 to introduce CableCARD support in Windows Vista, but here we are, and with Vista about to hit the streets it's finally happening. Except users no longer need say "Vista with CableCARD" or OCUR (OpenCable Receivers) -- those boxes are now referred to as "Digital Cable Tuners", or DCTs, and that's the hardware you're going to need on your CableLabs certified Vista box to record digital cable HDTV. Expect to see a hell of a lot of boxes like this one at this year's CES, as well as any number of HTPCs ready to take advantage of it.
CES: ATI demos CableCard, HDTV support for Windows Vista
If you want to get HD channels from your cable provider onto your PC, this is the news you've been waiting for. At CES ATI has been showing off OCUR (Open Cable Uni-directional Receiver), the first and only CableCard 1.0 (no bidirectional) certified HDTV tuner. By all accounts, it's ready to go, and will ship when Microsoft launches Windows Vista later this year.
