Basic questions for WMC setup

[mmurley]

I've been wrestling with the concept of using a Media Center PC and a Ceton InfiniTV 6-ETH tuner with a cable card to replace my Time-Warner HD cable box / DVR.

I have a home network / home server and experience with various streaming media boxes, xmbc, etc. And I'm pretty conversant with Windows 7 (Professional).

I've watched the Ceton InfiniTV 6 ETH set up videos. I understand I'll need a TWC cable card and tuner adapter, will not have 2-way services (On Demand, etc).

But I don't understand the physical layout of the Media Center / PVR PC to the TV. The remotes all seem to interact with the Media Center PC, not the Ceton InfiniTV, so doesn't my Media Center PC have to be next to the TV?

And (and this is maybe a Media Center question), can I record to my home server using the Ceton, or only to the Media Center PC?

[tzr916]

..But I don't understand the physical layout of the Media Center / PVR PC to the TV. The remotes all seem to interact with the Media Center PC, not the Ceton InfiniTV, so doesn't my Media Center PC have to be next to the TV?

Your setup is going to depend on how your local Time Warner copy flags your channels. Any channels that are copy flagged will only be viewable on the WMC PC that does the recording and official WMC extenders (ceton echo/xbox360). That means copy flagged channels/recorded shows cannot be viewed on networked PC's, xbmc, etc. Regardless of copy flags, you can put the WMC PC next to your Tv or you can put it anywhere then use an official extender next to the Tv. Here, Comcast only copy flags HBO, SHO, etc so all the other channels/shows can be shared on any networked PC, device, player (that can play mpeg2 WTV files). Don't know about your "home server" question... more info?

[adam1991]

No matter what, the remotes always interact with the MC PC--specifically, the WMC software.

I think you're confused about the tuner being ethernet-connected. That the tuned channels travel to the WMC PC over ethernet is immaterial with regard to watching TV. You don't watch the tuner; WMC watches the tuner and records the shows, and you watch WMC.

You can connect a simple monitor to your WMC PC and watch it on that, and control things right there at your desk with keyboard and mouse. Or you can connect your WMC PC via HDMI to your TV and enjoy WMC's 10 foot experience; you can control things via keyboard and mouse if you like, or you can get a WMC IR receiver and remote, and treat your WMC PC like a cable box (that's what I do).

You can also connect one or more WMC extenders (you have two choices: XBox 360 or Ceton Echo) to your network, connect the extenders to your TVs, and watch WMC via the extender. Because the extender is a network device, this gives you the option of not connecting the WMC PC to your TV at all. Some people leave it stuck away somewhere handy, just recording TV signals, while they use their extenders everywhere. And the extenders use the exact same WMC remotes as does a suitable-equipped WMC PC.

Or you can have a combination of the above, like I do. WMC PC is directly connected to a TV, while three other TVs in the house are viewing via extenders.

The extenders give you a 100% identical WMC experience as the WMC PC itself. They are quite literally running a very special remote desktop session (or sessions, simultaneously) on the WMC PC. The video you see on remote TVs is being played on the WMC PC and is streaming over the network to your extenders. Because of this mechanism and the fact that the recorded shows are actually being played on the WMC PC itself, this means that TV shows marked with DRM can be played not only to any TV hooked to your WMC PC itself, but also to any extenders in your house.

DRM protected shows that are recorded on your WMC PC cannot be shared to another PC and played back. The extender mechanism is the only way to watch such shows remotely.

[mmurley]

I think I answered my own home server question.

I have a headless home server running Windows Home Server (the orginal). There is a function in that allows Windows Media Center PCs and WMC extenders to access media stored on my home server.

I think (not having actually configured WMC on my laptop) that I would just point WMC to the appropriate share on my WHS box as the location to physically record the media).

Based on what you posted, tzr916, if my HTPC is directly connected to my main TV, then copy-flagged channels would be viewable on that TV, but not on an extender?

So, hypothetically (incorporating what adam1991 posted), I'd have my HPTC with Ceton IniTV 6-Eth with TWC cable ccard inserted and tuner adapter attached in the den with the HPTC directly HDMI connected to the "main TV", recording over my hardwired home LAN to my WHS home server through WMC on the HPTC, and then have an WMC extender (connected to the LAN and HDMI to the TV) on my upstairs bedroom TV - which [edited] should be able to view copy flagged (DMR) recorded TV.

ETA: OR (alternately) I could have the HPTC / Ceton / cable card / tuner adapter upstairs by my home server, and use extenders on my TVs?

And since the Ceton InfiniTV has 6 tuners, I assume I could watch different shows on each TV (main and extender), while recording 4?

[tzr916]

...Based on what you posted, tzr916, if my HTPC is directly connected to my main TV, then copy-flagged channels would be viewable on that TV, but not on an extender?

...And since the Ceton InfiniTV has 6 tuners, I assume I could watch different shows on each TV (main and extender), while recording 4?

Official extenders can access copy flagged channels/shows.

Yes, each Tv can watch a different tuner/channel.

[adam1991]

And (and this is maybe a Media Center question), can I record to my home server using the Ceton, or only to the Media Center PC?

I just want to make extra sure we cover this base: the Ceton tuner does not record anything.

Nothing. Not a thing.

Windows Media Center records shows. But the Ceton tuner doesn't do any recording, or playback, or anything.

The role of the Ceton tuner is to be the gateway, the traffic cop, that allows something else to view channels you're entitled to, and prevent viewing of channels you're not entitled to. The list of rules it uses to do its job comes from the cableCARD that's inserted, and the cableCARD gets ITS rules from the cableco head end.

But it's that "something else" that is responsible for the actual viewing (or recording). In theory, with the right drivers, that "something else" can be some non-WMC Windows software, or Linux software, or Macintosh software. In theory.

However, the ONLY thing that allows DRM protected content to be recorded is Windows Media Center.

[JohnW248]

The Ceton tuner does not record (it has no hard drive, no mass storage) and neither does the SD Prime. These devices are tuners that use a cableCARD to decrypt cable television signals and pass them on to the computer. If program material is marked as CCi 0x00 or copy freely, then the material is available to numerous other programs that can record and display that information.

However if the program material is restricted such as copy once, then currently the only program that can display or process that information is Windows Media Center. Media Center doesn't record the information, the computer hard drive does and Media Center just has the necessary code and protection to handle that programming. This is part of the restriction put on program usage by Cable Labs and the methods of protecting the content are dictated and tested and licensed by Cable Labs. MSFT had to write a program that would meet the protection requirements of Cable Labs.

In theory others could do the same thing (in fact Tivo did) but the operating system has to be protected end to end (from signal in to display device) and secret which leaves out Macintosh and Linux. So it isn't a matter of "drivers" but operating system protection and encryption and licensing by Cable Labs and that isn't cheap.

So far, no other company has undertaken the necessary steps to become authorized.

Any protected content can only be displayed on the computer that was used for the recording or a paired Media Center V2 extender. BTW if you have multiple displays on your host computer, you must set them up as an Extended Desktop and not Cloned. A Cloned desktop violates the copy once provision and won't work. This is kinda funny since you can play the same protected content on several extenders at the same time...(you have a similar issue with Blu-ray playback if you connect a second display and clone the desktop and the disc won't play).

And you can lose the ability to playback your protected content if you re-install Windows or a few other things like messing around with PlayReady, having to re-activate Windows and the like. The DRM doesn't survive. Personally I've changed HDD in a couple of computers and successfully cloned the operating system with Acronis and had DRM live on, others have not been so lucky.