WMC Live TV Tuner

[UgaData]

This was designed around using the BM1000 encoders to send over the network and be captured by OpenDCT into Sage, the only downside is it is stereo only, no 5.1 channels.

If it seemed I was "talking down" this in anyway, it wasn't my intent. Deano seemed to be confused about a couple of issues and I was hoping to shed some light. That said, I maybe the one who is confused here.

There are issues on some cable systems with viewing DRM content if it is delivered as h.264 and Intel graphics. This effects Xbox360's and Ceton Echo's and WMC itself. For WMC it is easy enough to add a graphics card from AMD or Nvidia (unless WMC is running on a NUC ). I ran in to it first on extenders and later on a NUC with just WMC. WMC will record everything fine it is just the playback that gets clobbered.

[Deano]

No offense taken by me for sure....simply looking for understanding.

It sounds like I need to see what channels are "DRM" 'd versus available without all of the trouble. I don't have any premium channels (HBO, Starz, Showtime, etc) so my needs are (fairly) simple.

I'll have to check the channels this weekend....then see about next steps. To date, I'm out $99 for the HDHR Prime and $2/mo for the cablecard. If it all goes belly up, I'll return the card and call it a $99 lesson learned.

[UgaData]

In general, If you don't have any premium channels you probably do not need this setup. You may be able to use a cablecard setup with OpenDCT without any WMC Live TV Tuner in the mix.

I thought I read that you may already have a cablecard tuner? InfinityTV?

Granted some cable company's are putting DRM on all or almost all channels basically making cablecards useless on those systems. In that case, this may very well be a way to still use a cablecard to get even the "normal" channels.

On the other hand, Maybe you are looking for a new challenge......?

This is an interesting way to get the Premium (DRM'd) channels into Sage. It keeps Sage alive (even though the 'writing is on the wall' and Sage is on life support).

[TGsell]

My cable company (Optimum) on LI, NY assigns DRM to most all but a few channels (strangely FOOD and DISCOVERY are open) but many others like Paramount (Yellowstone), Science, ESPN(s) , TENNIS are DRMd and the beauty of the WMC live setup on Sage is that these are mostly non-streamable shows (unless you opt to pay for every Streaming+ service ...) . The value for HBO, SHOWTIME, etc is a little lower since many of those shows can be streamed -- sometimes however only for a limited time. Ill keep my Sage alive as long as CableCard stays alive!

[Deano]

I've got Spectrum cable. Yes, I currently have a cable box and an HDPVR that works wonderfully. I've also got a Ceton InfiniTV 4 channel card with CableCARD. I now also have an HDHR with a card.

I need to revisit the Ceton card. I've not checked for channels in a long time, so maybe I don't need the complexity of WMC and other equipment.

[UgaData]

Originally Posted by Deano

I've got Spectrum cable. Yes, I currently have a cable box and an HDPVR that works wonderfully. I've also got a Ceton InfiniTV 4 channel card with CableCARD. I now also have an HDHR with a card.

I need to revisit the Ceton card. I've not checked for channels in a long time, so maybe I don't need the complexity of WMC and other equipment.

If you are happy with the channel selections you have now and don't care about the premium subscription channels (HBO, Starz, etc.) then you most likely don't need the WMC Live TV Tuner setup. Not to mention you could use the HDPVR to record the subscription channels as well.

If you still want to use the HDHR Prime, it would be setup very similar to the Ceton Infinity 4. Using either SageDCT or OpenDCT - OpenDCT being the suggested choice going forward.

In TGsell's case, He has no choice but to use this setup, if He wants to use a cablecard device, since nearly all the channels have DRM flags set.

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by Deano

I've got Spectrum cable...

As I understand it, Spectrum is a conglomerate of (approx) 3 different cable companies. Legacy Charter Cable, Brighthouse, and Time Warner Cable.

If you had Brighthouse or Time Warner Cable, everything but your local affiliate channels will be marked as copy-once, which means that SageTV and OpenDCT will not be able to record those channels natively. If you have Legacy Charter Cable (for example, you had Charter cable 10 years ago in your area), then almost everything will be marked as copy-freely and Sage + cablecard will work great (without HBO and the other premiums).