Ceton on the way!

[The Boston Dangler]

today i ordered a ceton infinitv 4 from amazon. delivery will be thursday and cablecard installation (after a 20 minute, 2 transfer call to the cable company) is scheduled for friday the 13th. this is replacing a hauppauge 2250 and cable box in my 1 pc-only system. i'm really looking forward to eliminating the lousy box, tons of cables and the analog conversion but most of all the ir blaster. losing the OTA and analog input isn't much of a loss to me. if all goes well and the price is right, i might go back to hd service.

 

[BornStar]

I really like my InfiniTV 4 although I use mine in conjunction with a 2250. I very rarely need to record 6 shows at a time but it's always nice to have that option. The Ceton was the last piece I needed to make my HTPC the center of my home theater.

Enjoy it!

 

[Booty]

I'm still waiting for the HD Homerun Prime... but have been tempted to just grab the Ceton since it's available. Let us know how you like it!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

update: ceton has arrived! installation was a breeze, but i must wait until the cablecard is in before setting up the tuners in wmc. now it all rides on the cable company...what could possibly go wrong?

this has snowballed from tv to a spring cleaning marathon. i picked up a hoover t1 (which i'm very happy with, $100 - 130) and attacked my living room. after cleaning everything in sight, i rebuilt my system and have managed to eliminate (no exaggeration) 100 feet of wire, half of which was hauppauge/cable box related.

 

[BornStar]

I got through dealing with Comcast without any problems. Two technicians came out because neither of them had done it before and they both wanted the experience. It would have gone much faster without the 2250 in the system because it scanned for channels which took forever. All in all it took 45 minutes tops.

 

[tw1164]

What are the specs for your box w/ the Centon?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

What are the specs for your box w/ the Centon?

the box:
gigabyte p55m-ud4
intel i5 750
crucial 2x2 gb ram
gigabyte gtx 275
auzentech x-meridian
intel 80 gb ssd
wd 1 tb hdd
samsung dvd
scythe big shuriken heatsink
2x nexus 80mm with grommets
seasonic x650
silverstone gd-02 (silver)
windows 7 64-bit
playboy bartender's guide (sitting on top of the box to kill the lid vibrations)

the extras:
dell 24" widescreen monitor
5.1 receiver and speakers
antec veris ez
logitech mx perf mouse, dinovo edge kb, f710 controller
logitech harmony
razer mamba mouse, lycosa kb

 

[LikeLinus]

Well My Ceton is out for delivery. There is a Comcast office about 5 mins from my house. I stopped and picked the CableCARD up yesterday to do a self install this afternoon. If it doesn't work I can run and get another one or schedule a tech.


But you're right, now I need to do some "spring cleaning". I have a WHS v1 server that I may end up installing Server 2008 R2 SP1 on w/ the Ceton card. It all stems from this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20431761&posted=1#post20431761

That is my setup and I'm planning how to do this. I like the iSCSI idea, but may ultimately end up doing the local 2TB hard drive and then moving important recordings that I want stored.

 

[BornStar]

Well My Ceton is out for delivery. There is a Comcast office about 5 mins from my house. I stopped and picked the CableCARD up yesterday to do a self install this afternoon. If it doesn't work I can run and get another one or schedule a tech.


But you're right, now I need to do some "spring cleaning". I have a WHS v1 server that I may end up installing Server 2008 R2 SP1 on w/ the Ceton card. It all stems from this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20431761&posted=1#post20431761

That is my setup and I'm planning how to do this. I like the iSCSI idea, but may ultimately end up doing the local 2TB hard drive and then moving important recordings that I want stored.

I'd like to correct something you posted in that thread. I can't say for certain in your area, obviously, but Comcast definitely copy protects every non-broadcast HD channel (never paid attention to SD) in my area. Unless you've talked to someone in your area that specifically said they don't have copy protection, I wouldn't rely on that.

 

[LikeLinus]

I'd like to correct something you posted in that thread. I can't say for certain in your area, obviously, but Comcast definitely copy protects every non-broadcast HD channel (never paid attention to SD) in my area. Unless you've talked to someone in your area that specifically said they don't have copy protection, I wouldn't rely on that.

Well if they do then the worst case is I can only watch the shows on that HTPC. It's not the end of the world.

We shall see!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

update: go fuck yourselves, comcast.

the tech showed up at 4 for my 5-7 appointment. unfortunately the job was scheduled as a trouble call rather than a cablecard installation, therefore there's no cablecard to install. i explained how i gave several days notice for them to locate a suitable cablecard, and how i confirmed 2 days ago my appointment was for "cablecard installation and converter pickup" to no avail. monday was the earliest they could reschedule me for. i'll now spend the weekend confirming monday's appointment several times and demand any charges be waived. if things don't go 100% smoothly on monday, i am going to go apeshit.

 

[LikeLinus]

update: go fuck yourselves, comcast.

the tech showed up at 4 for my 5-7 appointment. unfortunately the job was scheduled as a trouble call rather than a cablecard installation, therefore there's no cablecard to install. i explained how i gave several days notice for them to locate a suitable cablecard, and how i confirmed 2 days ago my appointment was for "cablecard installation and converter pickup" to no avail. monday was the earliest they could reschedule me for. i'll now spend the weekend confirming monday's appointment several times and demand any charges be waived. if things don't go 100% smoothly on monday, i am going to go apeshit.

THIS is exactly why I'm doing a self install and I'm thankful there is an office right down the road from me.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

THIS is exactly why I'm doing a self install and I'm thankful there is an office right down the road from me.

no cablecards are available at my local offices. or any office, for that matter

 

[bjamm2]

I love mine. Verizon fios with cablecard setup on an i7 920 12gb ram and 10tb in raid5 (for about 7.5tb of space) Already filling up with hd and might have to build a separate box for all my hd movies/tv series now..

Now if i can figure out how to get the commercials to auto remove! wmc is difficult to find support for..

 

[Brainonska511]

At a curiosity, is the Centon cable-card tuner a low-profile card? If so, does it come with a low profile bracket? (I'm not actually planning on getting it though; I'm happy with my OTA TV and whatever is on the web)

 

[LikeLinus]

At a curiosity, is the Centon cable-card tuner a low-profile card? If so, does it come with a low profile bracket? (I'm not actually planning on getting it though; I'm happy with my OTA TV and whatever is on the web)

Yes, it is low profile and comes with a low profile bracket.

 

[LikeLinus]

Ok, so here is the low down. The Ceton card and WMC with LiveTV and record is AWESOME. Even the Comcast tech who came out said "wow, looks good". Very impressed with the signal and how easy it is to set up. The tech also mentioned that the diagnostics tool that Ceton uses was great and he really wished that Tivo had the same thing.

The bad...Comcast Tech Support on the phone are idiots on the weekends apparently. This was even noted it on Comcast own forum. After about 7 calls and having a manager tell me what I was trying to do wasn't possible....I posted on their forum and was told to email comcast cares and that the weekend employees were not trained for CableCards AT ALL. Within 20 minutes I had an email back asking me for my phone number. About 30 mins later a local tech called me who knew what the hell she was doing. She was the only one who knew how to actually pair a card. After all that it started working but none of the HD channels showed up!!!

So a tech came out this morning and he was like "the last guy who did your drop didn't do it right". He said there was a filter for basic cable and that my line had a lot of noise. He replaced everything. Redid the drop from the pole, replaced my cabling and redid the outside connections. Great guy and he got everything to work within an hour.

All that said, once it started work, it worked beautifully! The Network Tuner Sharing is so damn simple and just works. I have one tuner tuned to the PC in my office for my PC/TV/Testing. Two tuners to the Living Room TV and the last tuner in my Master Bedroom.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Ok, so here is the low down. The Ceton card and WMC with LiveTV and record is AWESOME. Even the Comcast tech who came out said "wow, looks good". Very impressed with the signal and how easy it is to set up. The tech also mentioned that the diagnostics tool that Ceton uses was great and he really wished that Tivo had the same thing.

The bad...Comcast Tech Support on the phone are idiots on the weekends apparently. This was even noted it on Comcast own forum. After about 7 calls and having a manager tell me what I was trying to do wasn't possible....I posted on their forum and was told to email comcast cares and that the weekend employees were not trained for CableCards AT ALL. Within 20 minutes I had an email back asking me for my phone number. About 30 mins later a local tech called me who knew what the hell she was doing. She was the only one who knew how to actually pair a card. After all that it started working but none of the HD channels showed up!!!

So a tech came out this morning and he was like "the last guy who did your drop didn't do it right". He said there was a filter for basic cable and that my line had a lot of noise. He replaced everything. Redid the drop from the pole, replaced my cabling and redid the outside connections. Great guy and he got everything to work within an hour.

All that said, once it started work, it worked beautifully! The Network Tuner Sharing is so damn simple and just works. I have one tuner tuned to the PC in my office for my PC/TV/Testing. Two tuners to the Living Room TV and the last tuner in my Master Bedroom.

a drop is good for 10 years max. as oxidation sets in, performance on the high frequencies goes first since they ride on the outside of the conductor (skin effect). if there's a partial break in the conductor, highs will pass while the lows cannot. the mantra is "low end can't jump, high end can't swim".

 

[LikeLinus]

a drop is good for 10 years max. as oxidation sets in, performance on the high frequencies goes first since they ride on the outside of the conductor (skin effect). if there's a partial break in the conductor, highs will pass while the lows cannot. the mantra is "low end can't jump, high end can't swim".

Understood, the problem is it was done about 2 years ago and the guys said it was done incorrectly and a filter was on there that shouldn't have been. That is why I was unable to get HD channels, but all SD channels. Either way, everything works and I'm not trying to integrate WMC7 w/ XBMC. Creating menu items that open each for their different uses. I SOOOOO wish XBMC could do Live TV

 

[Patranus]

Someone really needs to write a tuner pooling/scheduling application for MCE.

I would love to get a pool of machines with a bunch of these tuners to drive every TV in the house as well as manage recordings across all tuners.

It would be nice to be able to not have dedicated tuners for each TV and be able to control recording centrally from any TV.

 

[BornStar]

Someone really needs to write a tuner pooling/scheduling application for MCE.

I would love to get a pool of machines with a bunch of these tuners to drive every TV in the house as well as manage recordings across all tuners.

It would be nice to be able to not have dedicated tuners for each TV and be able to control recording centrally from any TV.

That wouldn't really work with the copy protection as it is however if you have a central HTPC and use extenders at the other locations it works just great. All my shows record on one PC and the extenders access those shows. Basically, it's not possible or already exists by default depending on your usage model.

 

[Patranus]

That wouldn't really work with the copy protection as it is however if you have a central HTPC and use extenders at the other locations it works just great. All my shows record on one PC and the extenders access those shows. Basically, it's not possible or already exists by default depending on your usage model.

I don't really think it would be hindered by copy protection.

Essentially you have a tuner "server" and just points the extender to a free tuner when you want to watch TV or a free tuner depending on your centralized recording.

Edit: Here is a start http://babgvant.com/blogs/andyvt/ar...-Automated-Recording-Conflict-Resolution.aspx

http://thedigitallifestyle.com/w/index.php/2010/01/20/dvblink-how-tuner-pooling-works/

 

[The Boston Dangler]

update: cablecard installed, provisioned and working!

i ran through wmc setup and all seemed well, but no tv signal was detected. i did it again and chose "configure settings manually" picking the obvious options, and it works. i updated the firmware and had to run setup again. the diagnostic tool is telling me a CCV signal has to be sent to the card, although it seems fully functional at this time.

 

[BornStar]

I don't really think it would be hindered by copy protection.

Essentially you have a tuner "server" and just points the extender to a free tuner when you want to watch TV or a free tuner depending on your centralized recording.

Edit: Here is a start http://babgvant.com/blogs/andyvt/ar...-Automated-Recording-Conflict-Resolution.aspx

http://thedigitallifestyle.com/w/index.php/2010/01/20/dvblink-how-tuner-pooling-works/

Recorded television that is marked as copy once can only be played back on the computer that recorded it. Extenders count has the original computer so they're able to play content recorded on the main HTPC however another computer on your network (laptop, office desktop, additional HTPC, whatever) wouldn't be able to play that content. Obviously this doesn't matter if you're recording copy freely content (depends on the cable provider and channel being recorded) but if you're sharing a tuner to another computer and you record some copy once content on that computer, you aren't going to be able to play it back on anything else.

Now, if you're talking about one HTPC with extenders at your other locations, 7MC does this scheduling just fine on its own. I've recorded 5 channels at one time with no tuner conflicts.

I'm going back to my original point which is: depending on your usage model this is either a non-issue because it's already included with Windows 7 or not possible due to CableCard rules.