InfiniTV - Does it save $$ with your Cable Provider?

[oasistech]

I'm in the process of building a new Media Server that acts as a PVR and features LiveTV.

Is the Ceton InfiniTV card only a Tuner card? Does it work as a Video Recorder (PVR)?

Does the Ceton InfiniTv Cards work with Dish Network and/or Charter Communication?

Does it save money with the providers? If so, what is your monthly savings?

What is the quality of your channels (HD 1080p) and can you receive the "Big Five":

1) ESPN,ESPN2, ESPNews, etc...
2) NFL Network
3) Golf Channel
4) BigTenNetwork
5) FoxSports

Thanks for your assistance.

[TeddyR]

The Ceton Infinitv4 (or SiliconDust HD Prime for that matter) are only Tuners that can use CableCards to get protected content to you PC

Although there are other PVR software availible under windows or linux, currently the only PVR software that is able to recieve protected content (HBO/NFL/ESPN/etc) is Windows Media Center. WMC comes with Windows 7 for "free", and is a paid addon for windows 8.

CableCard tuners (Cetons or SDs) do not work with Satellite TV or ATT Uverse. They do work with Cable like Charter and Verizon FiOS.

With an appropriate setup, the quality is as good or better than the DVR provided by the cableco.

With "extenders" and WMC like the echo or xbox 360, you can use your "server" as part of a whole house DVR system.

The costs OTH depends on how you calculate the ROI and would depend on what the cableco charges for the items. For me it was worth it....YMMV.

[wilkcards]

It's a CableCard tuner. It will work with Cox, but not satellite. There is no hard drive.

http://cetoncorp.com/products/infinitv/

You should read up on it...

Also this....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD



Also yes, you can save money. In my case I save about $17/month on the services I have...no DVR rental, or HD service fee.

[erkotz]

CableCARD tuners only work with Cable providers (which includes FiOS, but does not include UVerse, DirecTV, or Dish Network). In my case, the savings are substantial - a CableCARD is $2/month, whereas a HD DVR I believe is $9.95 + $12.95/month. Given I currently have about 15 CableCARDs, I suppose that's a savings of $313.50/month
The CableCARD tuner receives the same bitstream as a cable box would.

[Crash2009]

Does the Ceton InfiniTv Cards work with Dish Network and/or Charter Communication?

Infini TV does not work with Dish. If dish is what you want, there is a dish solution. Have a look at some of the Dish setups over here: http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewforum.php?f=15 If you decide to go the cable route, the Infini4 is a great choice.

[mdavej]

I have Charter. They currently charge $20 for DVR service plus $5 for each DVR. They charge $2 for a cable card. Using the InfiniTV in lieu of 3 DVRs saves me $33/month (about $400/year). The picture quality of all channels on the Ceton is identical to my old DVRs. In my area, Charter picture quality is significantly better than Dish, and they have several more HD channels. But, as others have said, the Ceton will not work with Dish.

[lithium630]

CableCARD tuners only work with Cable providers (which includes FiOS, but does not include UVerse, DirecTV, or Dish Network). In my case, the savings are substantial - a CableCARD is $2/month, whereas a HD DVR I believe is $9.95 + $12.95/month. Given I currently have about 15 CableCARDs, I suppose that's a savings of $313.50/month
The CableCARD tuner receives the same bitstream as a cable box would.

15 cablecards X 6 tuners = 90 tuners. Where do I sign up? I'll need a bigger recording drive though.

[STC]

E=mc2(+infiniTV6)

[makryger]

I'm with Comcast. By not renting a HD DVR cable box, my bill is $17 less a month. (And that's for a dual-tuner DVR with a crappy comcast interface). Plus, I get a bonus $2.50 discount for using my own equipment. The CableCard itself is free. So basically, I am spending $20 less each month by using my own HTPC. I'm pretty sure I've already made back made a return on my investment, as I've had the same HTPC for over 4 years now. I've dropped probably $1000 in it for all the hardware and software, from what I can gather. That's almost exactly $20 per month over 4 years. So I basically got a superior DVR experience for free

--not including the blood sweat and tears that went into troubleshooting during the early days, and any software profits--

[Pacmania]

I get a bonus $2.50 discount for using my own equipment.

Hi,
I know that this is quite an old thread but I was just wondering how you were able to get a $2.50 discount for using your own equipment? By the way, I don't have the Infinitv4 tuner yet. I was about to pull the trigger a couple of weeks ago but I inquired with Ceton tech guys and told me that my previous 780i motherboard with an Nforce chip is not going to be compatible with the tuner. That's the main reason for the delay as I have to purchase a new cpu, ram, mobo to be up and running. Now, I'm going to pull the trigger today in order for me to receive the tuner on Tuesday since I already have the Comcast cable card on hand almost a month ago.

On the other hand, I currently have the Comcast dvr/hd combo but this is just going to be free for three months. I was just wondering if an hd box is needed in order to stream hd channels using just the Cable card with the Ceton tuner?

I also think that I'm going to choose between the Xbox 360 and the Linksys as a media extender.


System:
Core i5-3570K
Asrock z77 extreme4
Corsair Vengeance 8 gig DDR3-1600
Evga GTX 570

[Crash2009]

I get a bonus $2.50 discount for using my own equipment.

Hi,
I know that this is quite an old thread but I was just wondering how you were able to get a $2.50 discount for using your own equipment?

Take 2, they will pay you $5.00. Wonder what the max is? What if I had 10 cableCARDS?

[foxwood]

I was just wondering if an hd box is needed in order to stream hd channels using just the Cable card with the Ceton tuner?

No, you don't need the box. When you install the card in the tuner in your PC, your PC becomes your HD box.

[Pacmania]

Thanks for the reply guys I appreciate it.

@Crash2009,

I think I'll just have to return the dvr just to get the $2.50 discount and use a media extender for the bedroom and HTPC in the living room.

@foxwood,

thanks for the info.

[makryger]

I get a bonus $2.50 discount for using my own equipment.

Hi,
I know that this is quite an old thread but I was just wondering how you were able to get a $2.50 discount for using your own equipment?

This is their website:
http://www.comcast.com/equipmentpolicy/

I'd just call them up and make sure they apply it after you put your order through.

[Crash2009]

I think I'll just have to return the dvr just to get the $2.50 discount and use a media extender for the bedroom and HTPC in the living room.

You might want to keep the Comcast DVR around for awhile. Until you get your new system up and running. S__t happens. At least you'll have something to watch if you run into a bad day.

If you look again at the picture of my Comcast bill, Additional outlet $9.95 plus HD DVR Service $5.00 is what they charge for the Comcast DVR that my wife uses. You don't have to return their equipment to get the $2.50 off for the cableCARD. I might have found a loophole. Comcast is paying me for a cableCARD I'm not even using. That's why I was wondering what the max is. It appears that I could go down there and ask for 10 cableCARDS and they will pay me $25.00/mo just to store them at my place.

[Pacmania]

You might want to keep the Comcast DVR around for awhile. Until you get your new system up and running. crap happens. At least you'll have something to watch if you run into a bad day.[/quote]

You are spot on. Received the Infinitv4 yesterday and encountered some issue. Service unavailable on all channels and took a bunch of diagnostics and emails to tech support. Anyhoo,the tuner is already working.

By the way, I notice that the HD video quality on the media center compared to the HD/dvr is a little bit grainy?
Do you think the video quality will improve if I will put my dedicated GPU back on ?

[Crash2009]

By the way, I notice that the HD video quality on the media center compared to the HD/dvr is a little bit grainy? Do you think the video quality will improve if I will put my dedicated GPU back on ?

I don't know. Maybe, probably not. For grainy I would start with the basics, confirm all the coax connections are tight. Wiggle the coax near the connections while watching the grainy picture, to see if grainy gets better or worse. Possible bad splitter, cable end, etc.

Next I would move on to signal strength. Here is a link to a recent success story. http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... =68&t=4557

I wouldn't go after the video card until all the simple stuff was eliminated. What is the model number of the video card/chip you are using now? What is the model of dedicated GPU that you are proposing to install?