Ceton INFINITV4 $282 + S/H

[irev210]

Huge price drop on the Ceton INFINITV4 (was $400)

eBay link removed

great deal for someone that currently rents cable boxes.





No links to eBay allowed. It doesn't matter if it's an auction or a buy-it-now item


esquared
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[Basilisk]

Wow! It's only a month since I last checked and Google showed only th eone vendor and a $399 [IIRC] price.

Maybe they finally got their production line working as there are numerous vendors and a couple with even better prices than this. And, that long-time vendor wasn't found by Google!

Thanks for the heads up!!!

 

[Karaktu]

I just messaged the seller to ask what they do in the event the unit is defective. The eBay listing says they don't take returns, and doesn't indicate if the unit is covered by manufacturer's warranty.

From a reputable seller here (for less):

http://www.pcsuperstore.com/products/11381340-Ceton_Corporation-510001DCT04IN.html

And even less (price raised $30 to $284 as of 6/5), and cashback:

http://www.buy.com/prod/ceton-infini...221525094.html

The #1 problem is, there are no good Windows Media Center extenders available, let alone one at a reasonable cost. I switched to SageTV several years ago for this exact reason, and have been very pleased with its QAM HD-tuning capabilities.

 

[wirednuts]

ooo... now ~$250 is really pushing the right price. ive been waiting for this... it might actually make me want to subscribe to cable tv again for the first time in years....

 

[mikeford]

I've been "waiting" on the Ceton tuners to go mainstream since I first read about them a year or so ago, and it seems like it has finally happened.

Near as I can tell, hour of google and avsforum, units are shipping in quantity from numerous vendors and the list price has dropped to $299 on the infinitytv 4. While I am pretty excited with shipped prices around $270, I'm not getting the itch to pull the trigger just yet. I don't expect anything negative from waiting, not less availability, higher prices, or lower quality, etc. just the opposite, and I have other stuff to do to "get ready" for the Ceton.

Pre buying do list;

Find out the details of getting a cablecard using Time Warner and usage terms.

Make sure my cable signal is within the rather narrow -10 to +10 dba range of the Ceton.

Make sure my HTPC will work well with the Ceton, both in hardware and software.

Still pretty excited though, just not in any rush yet.

 

[rugby]

Damn, I just paid full price for one 2 weeks ago. I have Comcast and HATED their DVR. I have an HTPC and 7MC and after a clean install this card works great. Make sure you update the firmware on it and you should probably use a clean Windows 7 install to make sure the playready DRM doesn't flip out on you.

 

[SilentRunning]

Looks like a preemptive strike on the HDHomerun Prime pricing.

 

[wirednuts]

Looks like a preemptive strike on the HDHomerun Prime pricing.

i cant believe we actually have competition in the hd digital cable market for our windows computers!!

 

[wirednuts]

and im frEEEEEEE... FREE FALLLIN prices- http://www.buy.com/prod/ceton-infini...221525094.html

 

[manimal]

Getting really close to get snag one of these...

 

[Mitch101]

The #1 problem is, there are no good Windows Media Center extenders available, let alone one at a reasonable cost. I switched to SageTV several years ago for this exact reason, and have been very pleased with its QAM HD-tuning capabilities.

X-Box 360

 

[wirednuts]

i think not allowing other pc's to be used as extenders is a failure. maybe im missing something on that account though.

 

[Karaktu]

X-Box 360

Draws too much power and makes too much noise. True extenders draw 10 watts max.

And I agree that not being able to simply link up another Windows PC as an extender is idiotic.

 

[MAW1082]

i think not allowing other pc's to be used as extenders is a failure. maybe im missing something on that account though.

I agree with you that this would be a crucial feature. Its the cable companies we have to blame though.

 

[wirednuts]

im just surprised nobody hasnt made a 3rd party software that makes a pc recognized as a wmc extender... how hard could it be?

 

[rolodomo]

im just surprised nobody hasnt made a 3rd party software that makes a pc recognized as a wmc extender... how hard could it be?

Does the ability for a remote htpc to "share" the tuner installed in a local htpc sort of get you there? This is a real question. Check out this article:

http://hd.engadget.com/2011/05/09/sharing-your-infinitv-4-over-the-network-is-now-a-wizard-away/

 

[rolodomo]

Draws too much power and makes too much noise. True extenders draw 10 watts max.

And I agree that not being able to simply link up another Windows PC as an extender is idiotic.

I agree with your points. Not only do I have to rely on Windows 7 Media Center, but there is only one currently supported extender -- Xbox 360.

What the h* is Microsoft doing? Are their license fees for extender technology preventing the entry of a WDLive type device with media extender support or do they not want any competition with Xbox? Either way, shortsighted if you ask me.

Having said that, I'll probably buy one of these cards. Thanks OP (and subsequent link providers). The price is right, I would like to support the technology and it seems like it could be a lot of fun to play with.

Despite being so dependent on Microsoft technology, I do think Microsoft home networking is excellent, Media center is good, and extender is decent.

 

[wirednuts]

media center 7 is great.. the only reason now i hesitate on cable tuner cards is iptv. god dammit pulos just hit a walk off hr to beat the cubs. tv over internet is going to absolutely dominate at some point, and probably within the next 10 years. but still, even if you got 5 years out of this tuner card its worth it, especially considering how much youll be spending on cable tv anyway.

 

[wirednuts]

Does the ability for a remote htpc to "share" the tuner installed in a local htpc sort of get you there? This is a real question. Check out this article:

http://hd.engadget.com/2011/05/09/sharing-your-infinitv-4-over-the-network-is-now-a-wizard-away/

i thought i read it wasnt going to be possible, but if it really does work then YES, it is just as good. thats perfect actually, as you can put one honken server in the basement that runs everything, and have in each room of the house a tiny little 10w ITX computer running the tv's. youll get access to the servers stored videos, youll get internet tv directly off the room computers, and you can still watch digital cable tv in HD with DVR. best of all worlds. oh and you can share all the recorded tv folders on all the room htpc's so any room of the house can watch anything that anyone hs recorded in the house. it would be slick as snot, and you wouldnt need 5 full fledged expensive pc's to do it.

 

[hans007]

media center 7 is great.. the only reason now i hesitate on cable tuner cards is iptv. god dammit pulos just hit a walk off hr to beat the cubs. tv over internet is going to absolutely dominate at some point, and probably within the next 10 years. but still, even if you got 5 years out of this tuner card its worth it, especially considering how much youll be spending on cable tv anyway.

honestly if you have 1 cable box dvr rental its probably something like $12 a month. so thats $144 a year you "save" (assuming you already had say an xbox 360 or something).

so you'll pay for the tuner in less than 2 years , and even faster if you have say 2 rooms with cable with 2 xboxes / pcs etc. the 360 as an extender is pretty cheap especially if you go and buy ones with banned xbox live or broken dvd drives

 

[wirednuts]

the power requirements for the xbox 360's ruin the appeal though.

a much better choice is a used netbook for $160 on ebay. you can even use the netbooks screen if you want, eliminating need for a tv at all. i want to take off the screen and put it on the kitchen cupboard myself, and have the guts of the netbook hanging on the inside of the cupboard door. built in kitchin htpc easy and cheap... and good lookin.

but thats only possible if you can access these centon tuners over the network, which it seems true after all. im excited.

 

[BornStar]

i thought i read it wasnt going to be possible, but if it really does work then YES, it is just as good. thats perfect actually, as you can put one honken server in the basement that runs everything, and have in each room of the house a tiny little 10w ITX computer running the tv's. youll get access to the servers stored videos, youll get internet tv directly off the room computers, and you can still watch digital cable tv in HD with DVR. best of all worlds. oh and you can share all the recorded tv folders on all the room htpc's so any room of the house can watch anything that anyone hs recorded in the house. it would be slick as snot, and you wouldnt need 5 full fledged expensive pc's to do it.

You'll only be able to access recordings by other computers if there isn't copy protection which isn't something I would count on except for broadcast networks. Only extenders can access copy protected recordings and extenders can only be extenders for one HTPC at a time.

 

[mikeford]

Hardest job ahead, que of unwatched and/or saved stuff on my current cable DVR box.

 

[LikeLinus]

I have this card up and running in my server and it's awesome. I supply a tuner to 3 tvs (main tv gets two tuners to record/watch at the same time). The Network Tuners work very well.

TV over IP is wonderful. I already had HTPCs on the other TVs for XBMC and this was a no brainer. We do not watch a whole lot of TV, but I can't get rid of it because of things like live sports/ESPN, some other shows and news. So now I've got a digital starter package and I ditched Sat.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

and im frEEEEEEE... FREE FALLLIN prices- http://www.buy.com/prod/ceton-infini...221525094.html

Had an HD Homerun Prime on pre-order but that price for the Ceton was just too good. Ordered one and cancelled the HDHR Prime. Thanks for the link.