[rimmi2002]

Hi I am building an HTPC and wanted to incorporate a TV card in it. I have built several HTPCs but never used a TV card.


I have comcast and I pay $9 a month for a HDTV capable receiver. My question is that are there TV cards out there that are capable of getting all the channels from comcast including HD channels the way comcast reciever does. Then I'd prefer to buy that card and return the comcast box and save the $9 a month.


If there are such cards any recc'd for these cards?

 

[jrwalte]

There is no easy solution - lets say that. You can't just buy a tuner, install it, insert cable card and go. However, if you're tech savy, there is a hack out there to be able to use the OCUR ATI Cablecard tuner . As long as your local cable company is willing to give you a cable card (I'd verify with them) you should be able to get it working, though you're not guaranteed and Comcast will not offer you any support. These cable tuner cards cost over $200.

 

[candre23]

Cable cards also have a significant limitations that you may want to consider. Because the cable companies have been dragging their feet for the better part of a decade on the cable card issue, the cards they give out now are already obsolete. They cannot handle 2-way communication, which is necessary for any sort of on-demand programming.


If you want to keep on-demand functionality, you will have to use your current cable box and have the HTPC control it with an IR transmitter. It sucks, but there is a reason that cable companies are the most hated utility in America.

 

[walford]

Rimmi..,

I suggest that you read through the following thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=893485

 

[Servicetech571]

Cable companies have basically given up on cable cards, most won't even mention them unless you ask. For standard TV use they had a lot of issues and it was easier just to give customer's cable boxes.

 

[steven975]

I did the CableCARD hack, and it worked for me. The tuner was $195 on ebay...I got the external one.


There is no difference between the internal and external...they are both USB.


The issue with CableCARDs is they will not do On-Demand or any channel that uses SDV (Switched Digital Video), but they will get QAM. I know for me, I get all the channels I care about...the multiple secondary iterations of HBO and Showtime are SDV but the main channels aren't so I'm fine. You'll want to check with Comcast about what is SDV and what is not...and that assumes whoever you talk to there will know...and that is not likely. And, yes, I get HD and SD channels.


With Comcast, recurring costs for a CableCARD will be

 

[cmrodican]

bump



thank you so much. i have been searching all over for days, as id like to add a tuner to my xbmc box, but was looking in all the wrong places for how to make it work with my cable... it turns out comcast will actually give you a cable card for free if you are a subscriber.

http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/about-cablecards#cc1


a few years back, i called comcast about using my own htpc with their service, and the person was really uneducnt ated about it... and she was comcast tech support... i got pre-occupied, and haven't looked into a tuner since about 2009... xbmc has tons of content, so i actually scrapped my cable subscription for a while and just relied on my own library, and mostly add ons like bluecop's repository.

 

[Karyk]

Since this thread was active there have been two companies' new products out there (either that or time really has flown). The HD Homerun Prime and the Centon. Both are Cablecard devices.


BTW, in addition to getting the free cablecard from Comcast, I believe you will also get a small credit for having your own device.

 

[Sammy2]

Wow! Dig up a 3 year old thread rather than the current ones on the first page or two of the HTPC thread..


There are three actually:

Ceton InfiniTV 4
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime
Hauppauge! WinTV-DCR-2650