Tuner Help Needed

[w zabka]

I'm ordering my HTPC components this weekend and I'm still confused on what tuner card/cards to get.

Please give me some advice;

I am getting Vista and plan on using MCE. I want to be able to watch all of the cable programming I get with Comcast including the HD channels through my HTPC. I want to have one remote control, and be able to record at least three things at the same time. Basically I want what I have right now w/ my Comcast DVR box but have it running through my HTPC.

What cards can I get to achieve this?

You guys rule!

 

[ambientZ]

None, because its almost certain that all your hd channels besides the network locals are encrypted. Without a cablecard the tuner cannot decrypt the channel and you cannot watch it.

ATI makes cable card capable tuners, but you can only buy them with a certified complete vista mce system.

There are presently no consumer cards to take the hd outputs of the cable box and capture those either. Hauppauge is working on one, but no availability has been announced that i am aware of.

If your cable box has Firewire, thats probably your best bet, but that may be encrypted for most of the HD channels as well.

 

[CrimandEvil]

There are presently no consumer cards to take the hd outputs of the cable box and capture those either. Hauppauge is working on one, but no availability has been announced that i am aware of.

It'll be out by the end of March but pricing hasn't been announced yet (expect somewhere in the $199-249 range). It's been referred to as "HD PVR" but the name could change by the time it comes out.

Last I heard Hauppauge was tweaking the drivers and making sure the hardware was solid before it launches.

Basically you need to go component out from your STB and input into the HD PVR which will then, in real time, encode it into H264 and send it over USB to your HTPC. Very cool stuff and the only way to get real HD content (I don't count the OTA stuff) into your HTPC without having to deal with the potential CableCard headaches.

 

[w zabka]

It'll be out by the end of March but pricing hasn't been announced yet (expect somewhere in the $199-249 range). It's been referred to as "HD PVR" but the name could change by the time it comes out.

Last I heard Hauppauge was tweaking the drivers and making sure the hardware was solid before it launches.

Basically you need to go component out from your STB and input into the HD PVR which will then, in real time, encode it into H264 and send it over USB to your HTPC. Very cool stuff and the only way to get real HD content (I don't count the OTA stuff) into your HTPC without having to deal with the potential CableCard headaches.

Thanks for the info broseph. I'll be eagerly a waiting that new device. In the meantime I going to go with the Hauppauge 1600.