Cable cards update

[Homebuilder]

Yes, I see there are other threads many pages long... those threads have conflicting information in them and old info, hence this thread.

So I see at least three cable cards coming out:

1. Ceton corp internal 4 tuner $399

2 Silicon Dust 2 turner networked $250

3. Hauppauge tbd.

I am assuming siliconedust networked will work fine with sage, but can anyone confirm this? Any news with the other two working with sage?

Ceton is supposed to be released at the end of March, any news on the other two?

I have a HDhomerun and love it, but I can not find out a release date and its cost per tuner seems high compated to the Ceton.

Any updates?

[Fuzzy]

All info that is available is in the other threads. To answer your question though.. there's no info available. Those cable card tuners are indeed going to hit the streets. However, as sage doesn't have a DRM system, they will NOT work with sage (directly). the SageMCETuner plugin might allow use of them via 7MC, but again, only time will tell.

SiliconDust does seem to work directly with SageTV, LLC at times, and there is hopes something better will work itself out in the end, but right now that is just the hopes of the community. Neither SiliconDust nor SageTV have mentioned anything about it.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

SiliconDust does seem to work directly with SageTV, LLC at times, and there is hopes something better will work itself out in the end, but right now that is just the hopes of the community. Neither SiliconDust nor SageTV have mentioned anything about it.

Well, it's actually ever so slightly better than that. We know SiliconDust has been talking to CableLabs about supporting copy-freely content in "uncertified" applications (e.g., SageTV, MythTV, etc., presumably). But we don't know how successful they've been at convincing CableLabs that that would be OK.

[tpboyce]

I am among those that is hoping that the silence means that they are working with Silicon Dust on a Cable Card Tuner. I do have to say that I am lucky enough to have most channels unprotected, however, I do have to say I do fear that they could flip the switch at any time.

[sleonard]

Good luck for those that this might help but I pay for cable so I can get channels like HBO and Showtime that would be locked out for sure. There's no use in even having cable if I can't get what I'm paying for into Sage.

S

[sic0048]

It's pretty safe to say that as things stand right now, these new cablecard tuners will not work natively in SageTV and SageTV will not be supporting them.

This is entirely due to the CableLabs restrictions. If they change their policies (which I think is a long shot at best), then perhaps work can be done to make the tuners compatible with SageTV.

Outside of this occuring, it will be up to the users to come up with creative solutions to the problem.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by sic0048

it will be up to the users to come up with creative solutions to the problem.

Have no fear. This has always happened before.

I also think Sage is fully aware that if they don't find a solution, they'll be out of business. Once my cable company drops analog cable, I'll drop Sage without encrypted HD support. I simply won't have anything I can record, and four Hauppauge HDPVR boxes is not the answer.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by sleonard

Good luck for those that this might help but I pay for cable so I can get channels like HBO and Showtime that would be locked out for sure. There's no use in even having cable if I can't get what I'm paying for into Sage.

But do you really need to be able to record off of three HBO/ Showtime channels at once, or is one enough? Limited copy-freely-only cable card support in Sage wouldn't necessarily replace the HD-PVR completely, but would augment them quite nicely. I'd rather have one HDHRCC and one STB/HD-PVR than three STBs and HD-PVRs.

[sleonard]

Originally Posted by reggie14

But do you really need to be able to record off of three HBO/ Showtime channels at once, or is one enough? Limited copy-freely-only cable card support in Sage wouldn't necessarily replace the HD-PVR completely, but would augment them quite nicely. I'd rather have one HDHRCC and one STB/HD-PVR than three STBs and HD-PVRs.

Maybe if enough of my favorite cable channels/shows were copy freely. It might be tough for me though since most of what I watch is from pay tiers and not basic and therefore more likely to be flagged. (Cox locks everything but locals on Firewire's 5C here) But even dropping 2 of my 3 STB's + HDPVR combos @ $8.50 ea for a cable card at, say, $2/mo would save me only $15 from a $200/mo Cox bill. Besides my HD-PVRs are already paid for. If I was still looking at a big bill to purchase them it then cablecard would be more compelling.

S

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by sleonard

Maybe if enough of my favorite cable channels/shows were copy freely. It might be tough for me though since most of what I watch is from pay tiers and not basic and therefore more likely to be flagged. (Cox locks everything but locals on Firewire's 5C here)

Fair enough. It sounds like limited copy-freely only support would be pretty useless to you, as you'd get basically the same thing you could get over QAM. I'm in a situation where all my non-premium channels are copy-freely, and I've been using firewire recording. Firewire recording is nice, but its pretty buggy, and development on the FireSTB drivers and Sgraphrecorder have essentially stopped. So, I'd really like to drop firewire recording for an HDHRCC.

[Fuzzy]

Even though I have R5000's running right now, I can see the appeal of running perhaps a 2 tuner cablecard and a single HD-PVR. This would probably meet everyone's needs quite well. Most cable operators have everything but the Premium movie channel as copy freely, and the stuff on those channels are re-aired so often, you really don't need more than one HD-PVR to get them. Obviously, it would be better if sage fully supported cablecards, so copy once could be used as well, but we don't know right now if that will happen.

[korben_dallas]

Originally Posted by valnar

four Hauppauge HDPVR boxes is not the answer.

I've said previously that the HD PVR needs to get an internal PCI / PCI-E hardware solution, and it is not outlandish to think Hauppauge would do it.

However, you make a good point about numbers. When we start talking about 3 or more tuners, the complexity grows enormously.

Perhaps Hauppauge and / or SageTV need to make an officially implemented and supported firewire solution?

[broconne]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Even though I have R5000's running right now, I can see the appeal of running perhaps a 2 tuner cablecard and a single HD-PVR. This would probably meet everyone's needs quite well. Most cable operators have everything but the Premium movie channel as copy freely, and the stuff on those channels are re-aired so often, you really don't need more than one HD-PVR to get them. Obviously, it would be better if sage fully supported cablecards, so copy once could be used as well, but we don't know right now if that will happen.

I am not sure if most are copy freely. My provider Time Warner locks everything down that it isn't required to by law (the OTAs).

But then again, TW is evil.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by broconne

I am not sure if most are copy freely. My provider Time Warner locks everything down that it isn't required to by law (the OTAs).

How have you verified that? It is not the same as checking what is available in ClearQAM. The CableCard CCI flags are completely different that that.

Originally Posted by broconne

But then again, TW is evil.

The stop giving them your money...

[reggie14]

There have been lots of reports on the Internet suggesting Time Warner and Bright House have been marking almost everything copy-once. Comcast and FiOS seem to mark almost everything copy-freely. I'm not sure what Mediacom and Cox tend to do.