The Official Vista Cable Card Thread - Page 9

Chris,

Did I miss the official announcement somewhere else or is this it?

Did you just confirm a new version of the XBOX360 w/ HDMI output coming?

(I hope so)

There has been no "official announcement," but it's defined in the OCUR specs.

I have no information on a Xbox revisions. However, Microsoft knew when developing the Xbox 360 that CableCARD would require HDCP on digital connections and to guarantee full resolution output of the content. They would be stupid to leave it out of the next hardware revision.

Chris L

Thanks for the quick clarification...

I hope you don't mind that I was kidding about it being "official" now...

Thanks again for all your work testing, blogging and posting.

"Gameinformer.com has reportedly confirmed from several retailers that the all-black 360, tentatively called the Zephyr, will hit shelves on May 1 at $479. (The current core unit is $299) I know what you are thinking: "That's reaching PS3 prices!!" Well, yeah. The thing has a 120-gig hard drive and the console "bling" of choice, an HDMI port, which allows for a better hi-def setup. Curiously, no word on whether this will have a built-in HD-DVD drive, the hi-def David to Sony's Blu-ray Goliath."

This was taken from the Philadelphia Inquire

It's been three weeks since you posted this Chris. Any update? I'm eagerly awaiting an opportunity to blow a pile of money...

Chris i was reading in a cnet review of one of your computers that you will overclock it on request - would this apply to the media center pc i ordered - and if so how do i make such a request?

This week, most likely. Sorry for the delay!

You can speak with sales I believe - but I'd highly discourage having it done to a media center PC - that just increases heat which increases fan noise...

There are several conflicting posts in this thread, so I'm going to pose three simple questions.

1. HD premium content: is this, or is this NOT, going to be possible with OCUR on Vista Media Center? I didn't say, "watch it on my 28 other computers", just on the box which recorded it in the first place.

2. HD non-premium content: will it be possible to watch this content, provided it has no "copy protect flag" (eg. CGMS, etc) on other computers?

3. SD content (premium or otherwise): will it be possible to watch non-copy protected content on other devices?

For context, I currently have ATSC programming recorded on my living room computer (Vista), which I can watch on the computers in my study. I used to have DirecTV (SD only) which I could do the same with. If getting an OCUR certified system for my living room completely removes my ability to watch ANY of its content in my study, whether copy protected or not, whether ICT / CIT flagged or not, then it makes this whole argument rather moot.

I have read this thread carefully and there are contradictions between various posters. Therefore I don't know if I want to shell out $2k+ for a new box or not.

I *do* know that, for my circumstances, going with DirecTV or Dish Network STB's is ridiculously expensive, and Comcast has the world's worst performing STB evah, based on using my mother's Comcast PVR. (Really, having to wait 15 seconds for a response form a keypress on the remote is shameful.)

Thanks for your input!

1. Yes.
2. No, not on other computers.
3. Yes, the XBox 360.

So Chris - what is the status of that microsoft patch?

No word yet, but we are confident that we'll make the March 15th shipping date we sent out to our customers.

I am a bit confused by your answer to his second and third question.

Will I be able to record a show like "Rome" on HBO in HD on the media center then watch it in HD on my TV thats connected to my xbox360? Assuming of course that TV is an HDTV.

Yes, you will be able to stream "Rome" recorded off HBO HD to an Xbox 360.

Chris

But it seems that you won't be able to stream "24" from OTA HD to another computer?

No, you will be able to stream anything you record via OTA to any other PC you want just like you can today (and for the past year).

If you record it via a CableCARD, then you can only play it back on the PC it was recorded or an Extender.

Chris

Thanks that clears it up for me.

OK guys, just got word from one of my engineers that MS issued the hot fix. That means we should be on track for our March 15th shipments for customers that have been delayed. We haven't tested the patch, but we're confident everything is fine and consider this half the battle anyways...

Thanks for understanding!!!

a cool - i saw on your site that my computer was being assembled - so hopefully soon i'll get it.

So, is it as easy as ordering a Vista Media Center PC with two internal ATI cable cards? ...and everything should work right out of the box?

Yes, and we're sending our set up guide (which every customer gets) to CableLabs so they can distribute them out to the MSOs so installation will go smoothly.

Thanks Chris! I'm not sure if this question was answered, but can we use 3 internal cablecards in one PC?

Eventually you should be able to use up to 6 - but not now. A system we sell that is digital cable ready will be able to accommodate this should CableLabs/MS come to an agreement on it and the capabilities are unlocked/added...but you can add more OTA tuners if you want.

Any timeframe for getting the CC tuner in a tower (s85)?

Probably by the end of week...and I know the importance of internal expansion in a tower so I'll most likely make external tuners an option as well.

Hey Chris - i ordered one of the CineMagix Grand Theater pc's with 1 cable card tuner - if i want to later can i add a second external tuner? if so - how does it connect - to a usb port?

You can add one no problem. The internal tuners attach via one of the USB headers on the motherboard and the external via standard USB cable.

Chris,

Can you please clarify your earlier statement about an HDCP monitor being required? Are you implying component video will not work? I have a ceiling mounted projector fed by component video that I'm not about to upgrade just for cablecard.

Thanks!

What are the odds MS will ever allow CableCards to be used OUTSIDE of MCE? I (well, my wife specifically) cannot stand MCE's interface, so CableCard is not an option until it is available for third party software.

As per CableLabs specifications, it requires a video card with HDCP over a digital connection and Macrovision protection over analog.