Finally Cable Cards in your HTPC (1 Viewer)

[CorruptByte]

Well, I've been looking for a good HDTV solution for MediaPortal; especially for those of us that live in the USA. Garry is doing some excellent work with the Hauppage HD PVR, but this is not a true TV Tuner and it sits outside the computer. I'm still looking forward to see what comes of his work, however, something even better may have finally come along for us! As I was reading today's Engadget, I came across an article that shows an HD Cable Card device from ATI.

ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - Internal

This card is apparently available for puchase here Cannon PC - The Best Media Centers and Accessories for just under $300. Or you can find them on ebay for about $195.

My question goes out to the devs out there. The TV wonder series has been around for a long time, is support already built in for this card because of the chipset/drivers it uses? Now that a product exists to provide HD service without a set top box will you be integrating support for this card into MediaPortal if it doesn't already exist? I hope so, especially since the latest MediaPortal survey revealed some pretty interesting facts, like...

82% of people are running mediaportal in 16:9; implying that they have HDTVs.
60% connect their system using HDMI
64% of users have a STB (Set Top Box) or TV Reciever

A set top box is not the ideal solution for us HTPC users because we have to deal with extra devices like IR blasters or have to set up complicated serial control mechanisms. Not to mention the extra cabinet space and cables they take up. I have been a user of a DirecTV satellite box for years now, controlling my set top box through the serial port, but I am now very eager to try out an integrated solution and switch to HD Cable. Below is a link to the engadget article announcing this cable card's functionality on Windows Media Center, although, I prefer MediaPortal and would much rather see support for the card there.

How to install a CableCARD tuner in your DIY Media Center

 

[CorruptByte]

Anyone out there know if these drivers are BDA compliant?

 

[FantaXP7]

I had posted something just like this a few weeks ago. I don't think any replied, but I am still glad to see that you have taken an interest.

Currently, I have knocked down 2 of the 3 big requirements: located the tuner card which used to be hard to find, and very luckily I have a ocur compliant motherboard. The third is making sure you have that PID number, which I have found a seller who is looking to sell 2 tuners with the PID number (I only can afford one at the moment). I hope this seller is willing to sell me one and I will be good to begin testing. I have read many success stories over at The Green Button where this was first discovered and talked about. Many users were very upset with that engadget article as it may create attention from microsoft, and also the fact they posted that generic PID number. Take a look over there, they have many threads about this.

Anyways, my big question was the same as yours, will media portal be compatible? I guess I will find out.

MM

 

[FantaXP7]

I just ordered this card. Found out that the generic pid works so I am excited to get this thing up and working. I have little expectations for this card to work with mediaportal but it would be a pleasant surprise if it works.

 

[CorruptByte]

Hmm... If you have issues with the generic PID, perhaps you could just pay a visit to the local electronics store and just read it off the side of an OEM computer >

Please let me know if you have any success. The main issue that I see with this is that there will be no way to incorporate the PID into MediaPortal, and therefore there will be no way to decrypt the DRM that the card uses to record shows.

 

[FantaXP7]

So my card came today. I unfortunately do not see it in the mediaportal tv-server setup. I would have been happy to use it for QAM channels within mediaportal but it seems that it is not possible. I will have to look into this further.

The interesting thing is that in device manager the card is listed under network adapters. This may very well be why mediaportal doesn't see the card.

Anyways, this thing is awesome! I am completely satisfied with its performance in vista media center.

 

[Cpajoe2001]

I read that article on Engadget last week and thought it exciting and got my hope up again on wanting to build out a HTPC MP Server and using some Nvidia ION based boxes as clients. Is there any hope whats so ever of this ever working with MP?? I don't see any problems with it because it isn't like you are trying to steal service because you will still need the cable card which you will need from the provider.... Wishing and Hoping for support.

 

[FantaXP7]

Where do I have to post on this forum to ask for possible support for this card? I think that in tv server setup if it can be made to look under network devices then the card may work with mediaportal...

 

[CorruptByte]

I'm pretty sure there's a driver update that allows QAM channels to come in without DRM on them. You might want to check for a driver update Fanta. If you're using Vista, I might direct you to check out the Windows 7 RC1 which comes with the new MediaCenter, it's quite nice.

 

[FantaXP7]

Thanks for the reply CorruptByte

I have updated to the latest firmware when I first installed the card. I am pretty sure that the tv server setup is just looking in the wrong place for the tuner, which happens to be in an odd spot under network adapters. This is normal for the card, probably tv server wasn't made to look there.

I have downloaded the latest version of Windows 7 and am anxious to see what that new media center is like. Also there is support for TV logos in the guide which is nice. Still, I hate to be split between two programs, you know?