Comments on: Do CableCARD PCs Really Matter?

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:48:26 +0000

Yes actually. I have a Windows XP MCE machine, and I can pull the MPEG out with DirectShowDump and then edit out the commercials or whatever. There are automated methods to do this, and various programs like VideoReDo that support the format natively as wel. I also have Tivos and running TivoToGo, I can transfer the recordings to my PC, and from there convert them for my iPod or burn them to DVD. In this latter case these functions are offered by Tivo themselves, though I use utilities that bypass the copy protection and again do what I want with the files.

By: Chris Lanier

Chris Lanier — Sat, 19 May 2007 16:11:48 +0000

Glenn: Does your TiVo or cable/sat DVR allow you to do those things?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 19 May 2007 02:57:22 +0000

amen Glenn amen

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sat, 19 May 2007 01:51:16 +0000

Plus there’s the obvious problem that until the DRM is bypassed, as it presumably will be, the Microsoft implementation of cable card doesn’t allow you to do anything with your video that you would want to use a media PC for… transcode to your portable device? sorry… save to DVD? sorry… transcode to another format to save space? sorry…

By: sirshannon

sirshannon — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:42:23 +0000

the problem is that you can not replace your digital cable box with a CableCARD-equipped MCE.

Want HBO OnDemand? you need a cable box.
Want PayPerView? you need a cable box.
Want to record 2 channels? You need a dual-CableCARD MCE.

Digital cable is cool and all but without on-demand, dual recording, and PPV, I�ll stick to having a cable box and a dual analog tuner MCE.

By: Patrick Sowell

Patrick Sowell — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:20:15 +0000

@Chris L:
I’m waiting for the DirecTV solution. The fact that the cableCards must be purchased with a new PC totally ruins it for me. I have a fast enough machine running Vista Ultimate right now I built myself a year or so ago. I’m not going to turn around and buy a whole new PC just for CableCards…. Not to mention the fact that my cable company just blows in general. (Charter)

@Dave Zatz:
I feel you on the 360 maintaining connection. The 360 as a media center extender seemed like a great idea at first, but it really still needs work. Also, the 360 is just way too loud to be used for that…. especially in a room like a bedroom, where you don’t have your 5.1/7.1 system cranked to cover up the fan noise.

@Kevin:
Most of the HTPC solutions you’ll see will have at least a choice to go with RAID 1, that way you can lose a drive but not your HTPC… or your media.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 17 May 2007 23:00:31 +0000

The reliability issue is kind of scary. If you hard drive goes down, you can’t watch TV. That blows.

You are right about set-top boxes. If they had better interfaces, htpcs are not as necessary. Cable co’s have little incentive to make boxes better though.

By: Chris Lanier

Chris Lanier — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:45:05 +0000

Depends. Do the customers have digital cable and want HD inside a PC? If yes, then it matters. Is no, then it doesn’t matter.

For vendors, same question. Do their customers have digital cable and want HD inside a PC? If yes, then it matters. Is no, then it doesn’t matter.

Since PC’s have really only been on the market for a month or so it’s really too early to tell. HP, the first top tier OEM is just now shipping these PCs.

And another important part of this is marketing. Microsoft has done a great job nearly killing their platform because they don’t market the thing. If they don’t step up, you are right that CableCARD PCs don’t matter because no one knows what they do.

Adding to STB’s is always an option, but can anyone pull off an STB with with all the toppings without running into the same problems seen on a PC? Cost, noise, stability.

The main problems with PC’s can also be seen in STB’s that are still basically PC’s underneath. Adding these extra features that can be done on a standard PC is basically going to mean running Linux, XPe, CE.NET, etc. They are going to be PC’s. Everything is getting more complex, and until we have SoC solutions that can handle everything, STB’s are likely to become more of a PC then they are a STB.

The market is still growing for PCs, and the prices keep dropping. While TiVo S3’s keep going on sale, I don’t know if it’s because they are really trying to gain market share and just accepting the dollar loss to make money on the monthly sub, or if they are mfg’ing them cheaper and cheaper.

Clearly, if any STB comes to market at sub-$500 and can do all these advanced features, I would be taking a hard look at it.

Until then, many people need/want a desktop PC. It also can double as a Media Center and can be extended to the Xbox 360 that the user might already have. It’s all about choice and need.

And of course you forget to bring up the other reason that both TiVo and CableCARD PC’s might not matter; the move to SDV.