ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner & SageTV

[nyle]

So, if I pick up a ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner off eBay and convince my local Time Warner branch to add a cableCard to it. Will SageTV work correctly with it? If so, why are so many people going to HD-PVR $200+ when you can find used ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners for about $165 shipped?

I'm probably missing something, like you can't get drivers for it or it won't work with anything but a certified PC? Even if you get it third party?

Just curious because I'm ready to go Digital with mnore channels and HD and I can't.

My PC Hauppauge 1600 is horrible. I get terrible interference on many channels. While my TVs tuner looks fine. (From the same cable feed and splitter.) Using shielded cables. I think it must be RFI from inside the PC or lack of tuner sensitivity.

So anyway, will a ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner work with SageTV with little effort? Well that is besides beating the cable company up.

Thanks everyone.

-Nyle

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by nyle

I'm probably missing something, like you can't get drivers for it or it won't work with anything but a certified PC? Even if you get it third party?

This is pretty much it. You can't use cable card w/o VMC and an authorized PC, there's no way around it. You're best bet is the HD-PVR with Sage.

[ghostlobster]

Naaah...there are 2 key components to getting the ATI Digital Cable Wonder working:
1 - A CableCARD ready system BIOS.
2 - A Digital Cable Ready product key.
With those 2 items, and a cablecard, of course, your CableCARD tuner will work within Windows MC. I don't think it'll even woirk within Sage, even as a QAM tuner.
Basically, this device is meant to be sold with a Digital Cable ready PC only, running Windows Media Center. And even then, it can only playback recorded content on the PC on which it was created, or via an extender, due to DRM restrictions. It was Microsoft's way of appeasing the content providers, essentially turning a HTPC into a $1,300 Tivo.

Originally Posted by nyle

So, if I pick up a ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner off eBay and convince my local Time Warner branch to add a cableCard to it. Will SageTV work correctly with it? If so, why are so many people going to HD-PVR $200+ when you can find used ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners for about $165 shipped?

I'm probably missing something, like you can't get drivers for it or it won't work with anything but a certified PC? Even if you get it third party?

Just curious because I'm ready to go Digital with mnore channels and HD and I can't.

My PC Hauppauge 1600 is horrible. I get terrible interference on many channels. While my TVs tuner looks fine. (From the same cable feed and splitter.) Using shielded cables. I think it must be RFI from inside the PC or lack of tuner sensitivity.

So anyway, will a ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner work with SageTV with little effort? Well that is besides beating the cable company up.

Thanks everyone.

-Nyle

[PLUCKYHD]

As ghostlobster said not going to happen. It should have stated on ebay auction for "digital certified pc only" or something along the lines of that. The tuner is unuesable on all other pc's. (as are the recordings

This is what I came from.

[nyle]

Thanks guys. I knew I was forgetting something. Darn content providers. I just want to record my own TV and re-watch the shows. I should be able to do that digitally without going through hoops.

Hauppauge, etc. should be able to make tuners for the digital age. I wish the FCC would step is and force them to open up.