CableCard OEM Restriction Lifted!!!

[PLUCKYHD]

Wow I have to say that is huge for Media Center. If the new relaxed drm really comes true it is going to be very tempting once again..

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/09...m-requirement/

[Sparhawk6]

Exciting news from CEDIA! "the OEM requirement on CableCARDs has been officially lifted"

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/09...m-requirement/

Wahoo! I assume that Sage will be supporting cable card tuners as soon as they are released!

[Sparhawk6]

Are you assuming that Sage can't/won't support a cable card tuner now that the OEM restriction is lifted?

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by Sparhawk6

Are you assuming that Sage can't/won't support a cable card tuner now that the OEM restriction is lifted?

Not a matter of won't it is a matter of Can't. Cablelabs restriction is still tied to playready and microsoft media center they have it pretty locked down where others can't support it. Even with the "relaxed" drm that is going to be through homegroup and again playready.

Believe me I wish it was possible but Microsoft has taken every route up to this point along with cablelabs to stop others ie sagetv from being able to take advantage of the time and money microsoft has put into this.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by Sparhawk6

Exciting news from CEDIA! "the OEM requirement on CableCARDs has been officially lifted"

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/09...m-requirement/

Wahoo! I assume that Sage will be supporting cable card tuners as soon as they are released!

threads need to be merged but I am 99.9% sure your assumption is wrong.

[Ryokurin]

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/09...m-requirement/

Perfect timing too. I had just about given up on using HTPCs for cable as I live in a area where Comcast is going digital, and will eventually kill clear QAM. Hopefully they won't take their sweet time with it, like cablecard which was supposed to be out like 10 years before it was finally released.

* merged 1 *

[HelenWeathers]

Geek Tonic has a nice writeup on this:
http://www.geektonic.com/2009/09/mic...ounements.html

[setherd]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/m...m-requirement/

anyway we could get them to work in sage?


* merged 2 *

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by setherd

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/m...m-requirement/

anyway we could get them to work in sage?

Wouldn't hold your breath

[Brent]

SageTV could support CableCard yes. But it would cost them an extremely large amount of investment (time & money) to do so and is in my personal opinion highly unlikely to happen. It is VERY expensive to get CableLabs certified and Microsoft has likely sunk a tremendous amount of money that they'll not get back. So not saying it won't happen, but it surely is unlikely.


EDIT: I'll also add this. Had SageTV not invested time & money in the HD100 and HD200 extenders, HD-PVR support, "Softsled" PC extender, true server/client capabilites, WHS support and Linux support this little development could have been the death of SageTV. But thankfully SageTV has been pretty good with pushing forward the enthusiasts needs. Some will stay or even move to MediaCenter for CableCard now, but I think the lack of viable MC extenders among other things will keep most of us here as well as draw more this way. That's my opinion at least.

[Nebruin]

I just saw that MS is now supporting user installed cable card tuners for Windows 7

http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/p...MCCEDIAPR.mspx

I was curious of Sage's stance on this. If they could get this working, it would kick butt, but wasn't sure if Sage had looked in to this at all, or if anyone has run cablecard with Sage.

-Nebruin

* merged 3 *

[reggie14]

I've been thinking about the implications for Sage. I think it's difficult to imagine official Sage support for CableCard. But, I kind wonder if it might be possible to hack together limited, unofficial CableCard support. The new firmware for the CableCard devices supposedly won't put DRM restrictions on content that isn't flagged "protected" by cable companies. Ideally, it'd be nice for Sage to directly use the CableCard devices to access non-protected content. But, maybe there would be someway to indirectly access it by hacking something together that uses Windows 7 Media Center as a middleman.

[stanger89]

Nice news, but personally you couldn't pay me to switch back to cable, not around here at least.

[Jackal24]

I have been using Sage for years, but with this news, I might have to change:

Media Center CableCARDs freed from OEM requirement.

Somehow I doubt Sage will be able to use these tuners due to DRM issues

* merged 4 *

[mwareman]

Check *this* out..

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/m...m-requirement/

and

http://gizmodo.com/5356007/normal-pe...-windows-7-pcs

Now: Come on SageTV - how about support for these tuners on Windows 7?

* merged 5 *

[SHS]

Brent you for get one thing if this all pans out then that mean that other Manufacturer like Hauppauge and other will be able to build device like the ATI model but they must likely still need get CableLabs Certified on the hardware if that stil the case it self with out some big OEM Manufacturer back them so we can expect to see much more availability and price reduction as possable that if AMD/ATI was smart and get the price way down so that avg joe can afford it not some else will step in and take there place.
It still may open up possable for 3rdparty pvr/dvr software.
I'm sure you read Chris Lanier's Blog the one "Going Beyond The Enthusiast Market" and much I hate say it but Media Center is going to be can just like the old Microsoft Web TV for Windows.

[sgt_rjp]

Yes! Please add CableCard support to SageTV.

There have already been two posts that say there are other threads about how SageTV can't/won't support CableCards, but I don't think the links didn't work for me. PLUCKYHD, could you try again? Thanks

[Endymion]

Hey Narflex, can we get some cable card love now?

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRe...5091086&EDATE=


End Customers Can Now Add Digital Cable Tuners With CableCARD to Their PCs

Microsoft and CableLabs announced that customers will now be able to add digital cable tuners with CableCARD to a Windows 7-based PC with Windows Media Center. A new tool will be provided by Microsoft that assesses the PC's ability to support the solution. This tool will analyze the customer's PC and enable digital cable support if the PC meets requirements, opening digital cable options to Windows Media Center customers across the country. Microsoft also announced that, with Windows 7, it has increased the number of TV tuners that can be connected to the PC from two to four per tuner type, thereby allowing customers to simultaneously record or watch as many as four digital cable TV channels.

"We are excited that digital cable customers will now be able to take advantage of this new opportunity to bring great cable TV programming to the PC," said So Vang, vice president of OpenCable at CableLabs. "We are dedicated to helping customers get the most from their cable service, and this will be a great win for both the customer and the cable operators."

* merged 6 *

[Opus4]

We're up to 6 threads merged into this one. The first 2 were posted at almost the same time, so they don't count as repeats. I don't think that is a record yet, but how about checking existing topics before starting a new one? Chances are that news that has been out for a while isn't new news. Off to sleep... I'll see what new threads need to be merged tomorrow morning.

- Andy

[Fuzzy]

Well Andy, perhaps this should be viewed as a sign of the importance this news has to Sage users. Just make sure you point it out to Jeff (Narflex), so the possibilities/impossibilities of a Sage solution could be evaluated. And of course, let us know what the hindrances are, so the community can develop a workaround/solution.