The skinny on Windows Vista, TV Tuner Cards and QAM signals

Yesterday I posted a thread to ask advice on how to get QAM signals from my
cable provider (Charter) using Vista's Media Center. I have an AverMedia
M780 card that is capable of receiving QAM. I have clear QAM channels on
the cable. I even subscribe to them so I'm not looking to steal the
signals.



I got some different advice from some folks. A couple seemed to know the
real story. But I thought I would share what I found so others could
understand where we are with this.



According to Microsoft:

------------------------------------------

Connect a TV signal to your computer

Applies to: Home Premium, Ultimate.

Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?



If your computer has no TV tuner, an optional analog or digital TV tuner is
required to play and record TV in Windows Media Center.



Windows Media Center lets you set up a variety of TV signals. You can watch
TV over an antenna, over cable TV, or from a satellite TV provider. The type
of TV signal you set up is determined by the type of TV tuner you have
installed on your computer and the area in which you live, as well as your
cable or satellite provider. (In Windows Media Center, high-definition
signals that are transmitted through a cable or satellite set-top box will
be converted to standard signals.)



Windows Media Center supports both standard and high-definition TV (HDTV)
signals that are broadcast over-the-air to an antenna. The following
procedures describe the steps to set up a TV signal for the different types
of TV signals and hardware installed on your computer.



You can watch and record a standard TV signal using Windows Media Center if:



• The Windows Media Center computer has one or more tuners that supports a
standard TV signal for your region.



• You have an antenna connected to the Windows Media Center computer that is
capable of receiving a standard TV signal for your region.





You can watch and record high-definition TV using Windows Media Center if:



• The Windows Media Center computer has tuner hardware that supports a
digital TV signal, such as ATSC or DVB-T.



• You have an antenna connected to the Windows Media Center-compatible tuner
that is capable of receiving a high-definition TV signal for your region.



• You can receive a high-definition TV signal in your area.



• Your computer has a Digital Cable Tuner device and you subscribe to
digital cable in the United States.



-------------------------------------------------------



So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.



AverMedia responded to my question with the following;

-----------------------------------------------------

Ticket Ref : 5431-TUIB-5117

Ticket Subject : Is there QAM support for Avermedia M780 in Windows Vista



Reply:

The card does support QAM, however, Windows Vista Media Center currently
does

not. Microsoft is working on an update for Media Center to support QAM in
the

future.

---------------------------------------------------------



There may be support for QAM in the future. I'm not so sure I'd bet a chunk
of money on this.



I've also been told that AverMedia is releasing their own software to drive
the QAM capable cards they sell. Funny that tech support did not mention
this to me. I only hear rumors about this.



HD HomeRun seems to solve this issue by decoding the QAM in its own
processor and sending a stream to Vista that Vista accepts. Some people
seem to think this is using Vista to obtain the QAM...I don’t think it
is…maybe I’m wrong. It is obtaining the QAM itself and sending the results
to the PC. Maybe this is the Digital Cable Tuner device Windows talks
about...maybe. LOL



OK...so we have hardware that is capable of getting the QAM. Some of that
hardware comes with its own software to view the video obtained from QAM.
But if you buy a white box with no support and plan to use it on Vista...get
used to OTA. In most situations this is fine. Myself...I can get two
stations strong enough to view reliably and a third that comes and goes. I
have a roof top directional OTA antenna and this is the best I can get.



I can't find any software only application for viewing the QAM signal from
my cable provider. Maybe it's out there and I just can't figure out the
right search terms to enter into google.



Nate

Update to my support from AverMedia
------------------------------------------------
Ticket Ref : 5431-TUIB-5117
Ticket Subject : Is there QAM support for Avermedia M780 in Windows Vista

Reply:
Yes, we are working on our own software and that will run on Vista
independently from Media Center. It will be a free download on our website
once it is released. Unfortunately, we do not have an ETA on the release as
it
is still under development.
--
-----------------------------------------------------

So there is a solution coming from AverMedia themselves. I can wait. It's
free!

Nate

"Nate" wrote in message
...
Yesterday I posted a thread to ask advice on how to get QAM signals from
my cable provider (Charter) using Vista's Media Center. I have an
AverMedia M780 card that is capable of receiving QAM. I have clear QAM
channels on the cable. I even subscribe to them so I'm not looking to
steal the signals.



I got some different advice from some folks. A couple seemed to know the
real story. But I thought I would share what I found so others could
understand where we are with this.



According to Microsoft:

------------------------------------------

Connect a TV signal to your computer

Applies to: Home Premium, Ultimate.

Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?



If your computer has no TV tuner, an optional analog or digital TV tuner
is required to play and record TV in Windows Media Center.



Windows Media Center lets you set up a variety of TV signals. You can
watch TV over an antenna, over cable TV, or from a satellite TV provider.
The type of TV signal you set up is determined by the type of TV tuner you
have installed on your computer and the area in which you live, as well as
your cable or satellite provider. (In Windows Media Center,
high-definition signals that are transmitted through a cable or satellite
set-top box will be converted to standard signals.)



Windows Media Center supports both standard and high-definition TV (HDTV)
signals that are broadcast over-the-air to an antenna. The following
procedures describe the steps to set up a TV signal for the different
types of TV signals and hardware installed on your computer.



You can watch and record a standard TV signal using Windows Media Center
if:



. The Windows Media Center computer has one or more tuners that supports a
standard TV signal for your region.



. You have an antenna connected to the Windows Media Center computer that
is capable of receiving a standard TV signal for your region.





You can watch and record high-definition TV using Windows Media Center if:



. The Windows Media Center computer has tuner hardware that supports a
digital TV signal, such as ATSC or DVB-T.



. You have an antenna connected to the Windows Media Center-compatible
tuner that is capable of receiving a high-definition TV signal for your
region.



. You can receive a high-definition TV signal in your area.



. Your computer has a Digital Cable Tuner device and you subscribe to
digital cable in the United States.



-------------------------------------------------------



So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware
you get from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the
service. I can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone
mentioned that high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with
these installed in the near future. I can't verify that.



AverMedia responded to my question with the following;

-----------------------------------------------------

Ticket Ref : 5431-TUIB-5117

Ticket Subject : Is there QAM support for Avermedia M780 in Windows Vista



Reply:

The card does support QAM, however, Windows Vista Media Center currently
does

not. Microsoft is working on an update for Media Center to support QAM in
the

future.

---------------------------------------------------------



There may be support for QAM in the future. I'm not so sure I'd bet a
chunk of money on this.



I've also been told that AverMedia is releasing their own software to
drive the QAM capable cards they sell. Funny that tech support did not
mention this to me. I only hear rumors about this.



HD HomeRun seems to solve this issue by decoding the QAM in its own
processor and sending a stream to Vista that Vista accepts. Some people
seem to think this is using Vista to obtain the QAM...I don't think it
is.maybe I'm wrong. It is obtaining the QAM itself and sending the
results to the PC. Maybe this is the Digital Cable Tuner device Windows
talks about...maybe. LOL



OK...so we have hardware that is capable of getting the QAM. Some of that
hardware comes with its own software to view the video obtained from QAM.
But if you buy a white box with no support and plan to use it on
Vista...get used to OTA. In most situations this is fine. Myself...I can
get two stations strong enough to view reliably and a third that comes and
goes. I have a roof top directional OTA antenna and this is the best I
can get.



I can't find any software only application for viewing the QAM signal from
my cable provider. Maybe it's out there and I just can't figure out the
right search terms to enter into google.



Nate

"Nate" wrote in message
...

So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html

Captain Midnight wrote:
"Nate" wrote in message
...
So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html


Any you seen this for sale anywhere?

"BT" wrote in message
...
Captain Midnight wrote:
"Nate" wrote in message
...
So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned
that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html


Any you seen this for sale anywhere?

Or at least heard rumors that it will be available as an add-on to existing
computers in the near future?

Nate

"Nate" wrote in message
...

"BT" wrote in message
...
Captain Midnight wrote:
"Nate" wrote in message
...
So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned
that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html


Any you seen this for sale anywhere?

Or at least heard rumors that it will be available as an add-on to
existing computers in the near future?

Nate

Cable Card support is limited to OEM PCs certified by Cable Labs. While you
might sometime in the near future be able to buy a digital cable tuner it
would be useless without a computer with bios support. It is a secured
system that unless hacks are developed will be available only from large
computer manufactures that can afford to have there designs approved by
Cable Labs. A certification that is rather costly and will likely keep
smaller companies out of the market of developing Media PCs with cable
cards.

Cable Cards are still one way communication making it impossible to order
premium services that require communication back to the head end to
purchase. Which means that pay per views and some other services will not
work until a upgrade to Cable Card spec. 2.0. Also as the cable providers
switch to all digital distribution the methods being explored now could put
an end to cable cards all together.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/19/t...-fios-service/
http://www.cablelabs.com/

"BT" wrote in message
...
Captain Midnight wrote:
"Nate" wrote in message
...
So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned
that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html


Any you seen this for sale anywhere?

Says: availability 1st quarter 07. It will be sold with systems.

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:55:23 -0500, "Captain Midnight"
wrote:

"Nate" wrote in message
t...

So...there you have it. Microsoft is very concerned about piracy. So
much
so that they have disabled the QAM support unless you have hardware you
get
from the cable company to prove to MS that you paid for the service. I
can't find a Digital Cable Tuner device anywhere. Someone mentioned that
high end computer manufacturers will be shipping boxes with these
installed
in the near future. I can't verify that.


http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html

Who cares about cable when I have satellite? :-))
What I need and the satellite industry needs is a video card the
satellite receiver and the TV set will recognize as valid HDMI devices
so Vista will work with them.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com