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Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 10:19PM


Scant hours after the SDV tuning, DRM-relaxing firmware update for Vista and Windows 7 Digital Cable Tuner users became available, Missing Remote let us know Microsoft has come through on the other half of its CEDIA promise by pushing the Digital Cable Advisor to Media Center Extras galleries everywhere. This half should enable all Windows 7 PCs to work with the CableCard tuners, sans-OEM requirement or inconvenient hacking. Sure we could ask for more from Windows 7 Media Center, but for now Netflix and these two (in less than 100 days) will have to do.

Read - MCE: Digital Cable Advisor Tool Available Now!
Read - ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings & are a go

Apple CFO says DVR, CableCARD not coming to Apple TV

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 8th 2009 at 1:08PM

Although Apple has always referred to the Apple TV as a "hobby," there's been a lot of speculation regarding the future of the box recently -- it was first introduced nearly three years ago, and although the interface has since been upgraded, it's still essentially the same product, leading to whispers that Apple was working on a new DVR-enabled model with CableCARD tuners that would replace your cable box. Awesome, right? Not so fast -- according to analysts at Caris and Company, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer "pretty much killed" that idea when they asked him about it, saying it didn't mesh with Apple's business. Yeah, it's sad, but it makes a lot of sense -- Apple probably doesn't want you to record for free what you can buy from the iTunes Store, and we can't imagine anyone at Apple looking back at their experience with AT&T and deciding that partnering up with Comcast or Time Warner Cable was the next logical move. Still -- doesn't it seem like it's time for something to happen with the Apple TV? Who know, maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

[Via iLounge]

New CableCARD diagnostic tool for Windows Media Center makes installation slightly less frustrating

by Ross Miller posted Mar 7th 2009 at 10:03AM

Let's be honest, getting a CableCARD to work with Windows Media Center is far, far, far from a smooth process. Thankfully, the Media Center Integrator Alliance -- this sort of the things is its bag, naturally -- are set to show off a Digital Cable Tuner Diagnostics tool at next week's Electronic House Expo. It'll provide all kinds of information on your tuner and CableCARD, including modulation type, format, frequency, carrier, PCR Lock, encoding level, and authorization -- and if all that goes way over your head, there's an option to export the data to XML and send it to someone who can help. No word on when we'll see an official release, but no matter what, it won't be soon enough.

500GB Moxi HD DVR now available, really

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 11th 2008 at 5:00PM Breaking News


Someone's on a roll, after starting out this year the wrong way with layoffs and product cuts, Digeo appears to have its second new DVR ready for your home theater. The Moxi HD DVR is now available, promising its 500GB, dual-tuner multistream CableCard support to anyone with $799.99 to spare. Why opt for this over the 1 TB TiVo HD XL? Hopefully the MR-1500T3's remote web scheduling, news & weather browsing, Flickr / Finetune support and DLNA access to your PC's stored MP3 collection can tip the balance in its direction. Congratulations Moxi, you've beaten the skeptics and made your product available, now to decide if it's time to jump on this or wait for tru2way.

Update: Via Dave Zatz comes word that this is a soft launch with a limited number of boxes available on Amazon, and we should expect an official reveal next month at CES, so decide fast if you want one early or all the other kids will be telling you how great theirs is when they come back from break.

[Thanks, Mike]

LG, Funai officially jump on the tru2way bandwagon

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 28th 2008 at 5:37PM


tru2way might not be entirely without issues, but add one more major ally to CableLabs' two-way technology, as LG (and Funai) both signed onto the same Memorandum of Understanding ratified by the six largest cable operators and a slew of consumer electronics manufacturers. Ideally, this means tru2way rollout will be speedy, and there will be plenty of hardware on shelves over the next year. LG prez Woo Paik expects HDTVs planned for '09 and beyond to include tru2way support, hopefully their compatibility testing will go a little bit better than Panasonic's.

Digeo settles with Gemstar, new Moxi DVR on the way

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 9:45AM

The continuing saga of Digeo and its now you see it / now you don't DVRs at CES has taken another step, first by the company resolving a lawsuit with Gemstar-TV Guide. Courtesy of a multiyear licensing agreement, any problems with its "too similar" guide software should be in the past; a good thing since Light Reading noticed the Moxi HD DVD 3012, set to debut at next month's Cable Show with dual tuners, increased hard drive and CableCARD support. We'll keep an eye out for more details on the new hardware hidden among all that tru2way equipment.

[Via ZatznotFunny]

Okoro intros the CX-series of CableCARD-equipped HTPCs

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 6th 2007 at 2:31AM

We'd heard the Okoro was planning shipping entry-level CableCARD HTPCs, and the firm's made good on that promise, unveiling the $1795 OMS-CX100 today. Apart from that all-important ATI TV Wonder DCT breakout box, the CX100 features a 2.3GHz Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA 8500GT graphics, 2GB of memory and 320GB of storage, and Vista Ultimate. HD DVD and Blu-ray are separate options depending on your format allegiance, but for someone looking to make the HTPC leap in a Cable Labs-approved way, it's not a bad deal at all.

[Via eHomeUpgade]

Samsung @ CEDIA - Cable Card 2.0 HDTV receiver -- SMT-H3050

by Matt Burns posted Sep 15th 2006 at 7:39AM

Coming to a cable provider near you -- maybe. The SMT-H3050 from Samsung is set-top box that is embedded with DOCCSIS 2.0 Cable Card and OCAP support for full interactivity. The box can output the video via S-Vid or HDMI and audio through an optical or dig-coax cable. There isn't a price for it yet, as the Samsung staffers don't know if this product is going to hit the retail markets yet, but they are pitching the unit to service providers. It would make sence that a person would buy this product, as this is the first box to allow a user to get all the goodies from their cable company (i.e. program guide, VOD, pay-per-view) without leasing their cable companie's equipment. Why wouldn't Samsung want to sell this item? We are sure some of you would love to kick your cable box to the road. Right?

Pics of cable card support after the link

Continue reading Samsung @ CEDIA - Cable Card 2.0 HDTV receiver -- SMT-H3050

CableCard vs. Cable Box

by Matt Burns posted Jul 4th 2006 at 12:13PM

Cable Cards have all but disappeared from consumer level TVs. There are a few still floating out there but they tend to be in the more pricey models that offer little to no advantage over the normal sets. The New York Times took some time to examine why these little cards are no longer a popular option on todays HDTVs. They come to a two part conclusion.

One, the cable companies simply did not encourage them due to the amount of monthly rental fees associated with cable boxes. They make too much money with those boxes to promote an alternative solution. Second: the limitations of the card. Cables boxes cost more to the consumer, but they do offer a lot more features. The current implementation of Cable Cards only offer a one way communication stream and therefore cannot have the same interactive features like the on-screen guide or Video-on-Demand.

We think it is really the second part there. It is the lack of services that killed the Cable Card. Sure, the cable companies didn't help, but it was the downgrading feeling that kicked 'em to the wayside. Do you use a Cable Card in your HDTV?

Where have all the cable cards gone?

by Matt Burns posted May 3rd 2006 at 11:40AM

Cable cards. Where have they gone? Have you noticed that they are no longer in many of the new HDTVs. Check this out: Panasonic's new PX60U series doesn't have 'em. Samsungs new DLPs and LCDs don't. JVC dosn't have the Card on their plasmas. We can keep going here. HPs plasmas and LGs plasmas. None of these have Cable Card support.

So why is this? Are manufactures waiting till Cable Card 2.0 comes out. Or is that they found out that many people are not using this option. We are sorry 'cause we don't know but we hope that it is the former of the two. Cable Card 2.0 is going to change a lot of things. It will bring all of the benifits and features of a cable box, like on-screen guides and on-demand, to the cable card. The current implimentation gives consumers the same stations as a cable box but not the same features. We want our features!




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