CableCard Tuners Closer ???

[blacks1093]

About a year ago I posted an inquiry about cable card tuners and wether anyone had any info on them and wether it would work with GB.

I got responses stating that it would never happen and (for the most part) just forget i even thought about it.

Well, over the past year i have continued my investigation on this topic and it seems each time i find more info that makes cable card use in custom HTPC's more of a reality.

ATI Has the OCCUR which is OEM HTPC only, CETON group unveiled and internal Cable Card Tuner (also to be OEM use from what i have read).
Then I stumbled upon this:e

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/12/how...ia-center/

It seems that it is still limited to Vistas MCE version but the OEM bios issue seems to be overcome at this point.

I have not read the article in detail (working on 2 hours sleep), But i just glanced at it and got so excited that i forced myself to post this!

Maybe soon GBPVR will support this? Or what if you ran it with a virtual machine somehow to overcome the necessity of needing MCE to "unlock" the card. well then i suppose the card resources would be used be that virtual machine....Delirium is setting in! Time to sleep!


Thoughts? Comments? Info?

Thanks everyone

[sub]

I think its unlikely you'll ever see GB-PVR work with cable card devices. They're really locked down, and use protected interfaces not available to third party apps like GB-PVR.

[fla]

For people who live in areas where there is next to no HD OTA, you have to stick with analog cable or drop gb-pvr and go with the cable/satellite company's locked down PVR/STB. Both options suck. The Hauppauge HD-PVR analog capture & re-digitize solution sounds like too much of a hack. I've been holding on to SD for as long as possible but the day of dropping my gb-pvr box is getting nearer.

I wonder if cable/satellite companies may eventually unlock some of this stuff to keep/attract subscribers who are more and more dropping their subscriptions and getting content online instead.

[bogyver]

The Hauppauge HD-PVR analog capture & re-digitize solution sounds like too much of a hack.

It not nearly as bad as it used to be, the drivers have gotten better and video quality is pretty good if you use a high bit rate and the incoming from the provider is good. I have dish and the quality is just slightly softer than the original from the box, it would be even better if dish didn't cut the quality of the stream and down res to save space.

I wonder if cable/satellite companies may eventually unlock some of this stuff to keep/attract subscribers who are more and more dropping their subscriptions and getting content online instead.

Unless its mandated by law it will more than likely not happen because they are to entrenched in the way they do business now and to afraid to change. What makes them even more afraid is not being able control the content, how you watch it and what content you watch. ie the Sony Pictures CEO whos been spouting off about how nothing good has come from the internet, ironical on an internet newspaper.
Such a shame

[pcostanza]

I've been testing dual external DCT's for Microsoft since June of 2006. I personally love them but it hasn't been an easy road. Vista treated them ok but W7 is a marriage.
It's not for everyone and I worry about the life of the current tuners. Tru2way is around the corner but some cable company's aren't embracing them. I have Cox and their knowledge (read as lack of) astounded me until recently when they finally woke up from their slumber and trained a few people on them.
The fact that you need an OEM system is slowing things down but that's part of the whole DRM thingy and likely won't change.
FWIW, recording dual HD without paying DVR prices is awesome. But, I still know very little compared to those I test with but soak up what I can.