Oh, but he can only watch Clear-QAM channels. So no HBO, Showtime, etc on anything except Windows (due to cable licensing and regulations)
Cable card tuners do allow you to see movie channels depending on your provider, like Comcast for example.The cablecard tuners like the HDHomerun Prime and Ceton cards do not work with ClearQAM. They allow you to see the "normal" encrypted-QAM cable channels (i.e. Discovery, ESPN, etc), just not the "movie" channels (HBO, Showtime, etc).
Clear-QAM is an unencrypted signal over cable and being rapidly phased out across the US due to a recent FCC regulation change. Things get more complicated when you have Switched Digital Video channels. I'm not sure if these are supported by any PC based tuners.
I wonder if SteamOS is going to be good for this purpose. I would hope so, since it was basically designed for HTPC's.
Seems like most people use Windows for their HTPC. I'm not too keen on paying for a Windows license.
What's the best free OS for a HTPC?
Is there anything Debian based? I use Debian or Ubuntu on all my machines, so I'm already familiar with it.
Use XBMC and OpenElec.
That's what a LOT of people use for their HTPCs.
The cablecard tuners like the HDHomerun Prime and Ceton cards do not work with ClearQAM. They allow you to see the "normal" encrypted-QAM cable channels (i.e. Discovery, ESPN, etc), just not the "movie" channels (HBO, Showtime, etc).
Clear-QAM is an unencrypted signal over cable and being rapidly phased out across the US due to a recent FCC regulation change. Things get more complicated when you have Switched Digital Video channels. I'm not sure if these are supported by any PC based tuners.
Oh, but he can only watch Clear-QAM channels. So no HBO, Showtime, etc on anything except Windows (due to cable licensing and regulations)
Both.Can you use OpenELEC on a regular PC or is it just for devices like the Raspberry, etc.?