InfiniTV 4 USB Turns a PC Into Cable Set-Top Box
The InfiniTV 4 USB device is out to replace your cable box using Media Center on Windows 7.
Ceton has released a cool gadget that will turn your Windows 7 desktop or laptop into a streaming cable box. Called the InfiniTV 4 USB, it allows users to watch and record up to four live channels of HDTV at once, using their hard drive as a DVR. It will also stream live HD channels or recordings to multiple HDTVs throughout the home via a Media Center Extender like the Xbox 360 console. All it needs is a cable connection and a single CableCARD like this one.
"Adding InfiniTV 4 USB to your PC with Media Center brings all of your TV and video content together in one device, including four simultaneous channels of basic and premium high-definition cable TV plus DVDs, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and any Internet video service you can access online," the company said. "Windows Media Center is a free feature included in most versions of Windows 7, so you can get rid of those expensive set-top box rental costs and annoying monthly DVR service fees and use your PC with InfiniTV instead."
The device is reportedly compatible with most US-based cable providers, and it's even compatible with Switched Digital Video (SDV) Tuning Adapters. Yet with multiple viewers watching multiple channels throughout the house, you'd think the "source" PC would need beefy specs, but that's not the case.
According to the requirements, consumers interested in using the InfiniTV 4 USB device will need a computer with a 2.0 GHz or faster dual core or quad core processor, 3 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended), an HDCP-compliant graphics card or on-board graphics, HDMI output or DVI output with separate 5.1 audio output required for Dolby 5.1 surround sound, and 350 GB of available hard disk drive space to record 50 hours of HDTV recordings. PC's also need Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate installed. Other requirements include the Multi-stream CableCARD (M-Card), available from your cable TV provider, and of course a cable TV subscription.
"With today's economy, consumers are looking for ways to get more out of the gear they already own, and shave a few costs in the meantime," said Gary Hammer, Ceton CEO. "Windows Media Center and InfiniTV 4 USB help families actually get more out of their cable subscription, lets them ditch cable set-top boxes and monthly rental fees, all while giving them a better way to enjoy TV."
InfiniTV 4 USB is available starting today at a suggested retail price of $299 from Amazon, Cannon PC, Fluid Digital, Micro Center, the Microsoft Store, Newegg, Velocity Micro and Zones.
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freedom from expensive STB's
I'm really dying to try this out, actually. Not this one, but the internal card along with a cablecard. I don't know how it'll work with my Verizon FiOS, though.
Given how much cable hardware fails, I don't want to attach this to my computer.
It would cost me roughly $2,000 to outfit my 4 TV's with media center extenders, build the HTPC, and buy this device. Where is the savings vs renting 4 cable boxes? It costs about $14 a month right now to rent them. It would take over 12 years just to recoup the initial investment. That's assuming the technology would even last for 12 years without needing to be updated. I guess it would work well for people who already have a PC and extenders/xbox though.
Not bad.
"It would cost me roughly $2,000 to outfit my 4 TV's with media center extenders, build the HTPC, and buy this device. "
No, One device. Then any computer on your internal network can play the contents. Not cheap ($300 plus whatever the m-card costs you) but not $2K.
How many family members can you get around your PC? It make more sense to get internet on your TV (like GoogleTV for $99.99) , not everyone wants to sit at their PC for a 2hour movie! I will & have, but my wife won't.
If this requires a "CableCARD" then what good is it? Most CableCARD's come with DVR type software.
To me this is a......... FAIL!
It would cost me roughly $2,000 to outfit my 4 TV's with media center extenders, build the HTPC, and buy this device. Where is the savings vs renting 4 cable boxes?
You can't really put a price on sticking it to the cable company.
Besides, It's a value add. You get essentially free DVR services with this device that you'd have to pay quite a bit extra for on those 4 boxes. More than that, it can record 4 channels at once, on one device. You only need the one device, on one PC to do this. You use MC extenders to view the programing on the other TV's. I get the impression that there is a solution on there that allows you to stream this content to DLNA capable TV's sans MCE. If that be the case, you'd only need one server with a cable connection, and the rest of your TV's would be golden.
How many family members can you get around your PC? It make more sense to get internet on your TV (like GoogleTV for $99.99) , not everyone wants to sit at their PC for a 2hour movie! I will & have, but my wife won't.If this requires a "CableCARD" then what good is it? Most CableCARD's come with DVR type software.To me this is a......... FAIL!
Your comment is a....fail. You use your TV for the PC monitor hence: HTPC. Get out of the 90's ffs.
it costs 5$ a month to rent the set top box for us with dvr. it would take 60 months, or 5 years to pay for the box alone
Your comment is a....fail. You use your TV for the PC monitor hence: HTPC. Get out of the 90's ffs.
This. I already have a PC hooked to my TV and use it quite a bit.
Of course, this device costs more than the PC it'd be used with, but there it is. Record 4 different channels? That's twice what I get right now, and would save me the hassle of torrenting the stuff I can't record.
I'm really dying to try this out, actually. Not this one, but the internal card along with a cablecard. I don't know how it'll work with my Verizon FiOS, though.
using a fios cable card with my happauge WinTV-DCR-2650 (same as this, but only a 2-tuner, but only $150 too) and it works flawlessly, i love the thing!
I'm really dying to try this out, actually. Not this one, but the internal card along with a cablecard. I don't know how it'll work with my Verizon FiOS, though.
I have the InfiniTV internal with FiOS, it works flawlessly.
All you need is to rent the CableCard from Verizon and have the tech come and program it. Install the card and run the Digital Cable Advisor beforehand tho, to make sure everything is working properly.
You also have to remember this CableCARD tuner givers you 4 Tuners, which means you can record up to 4 things at once or watch 4 stream at once. I doubt your current cable box can do that. Also storage of recorded video can be significantly larger than your existing cable box (I have 2TB drive in mine, which currently has over 100 recordings). With media Center, you have a built in Netflix App, a Hulu Desktop Plugin and if required a browser to access other content. You also control the energy usage of your device and mine usage significantly less power than my old comcast box, so there are energy savings you should calculate as well. If you kid has an xbox 360 already, you have an instant extender. I could go on and on but hopefully you see the benefits.
Gotta love TWC. Rather than giving you an opportunity to save, they bake the rental fee for the STB and remote into their standard pricing, so that you only get a benefit after you already have at least one STB by avoiding the need to purchase more.
Looks like a really cool option, how ever I bet my cable company Optimum online will create some sort of "compatibility problem" that makes this device unusable. You know the monthly cable box and programing fee is pure profit. They are not about to allow a 3rd party cable box take that revenue. Rember back in the 80s and 90s you could use any cable box you wanted or you could just use the tuner in your TV. Not any more plug your tv into the cable with out a box and you get a blue screen that says "this device is not authorized to view this channel" on every channel. They dont even give you the basics any more.
I was simply stating most people don't want to sit behind their PC/desk for a 2 movie. I even said I will!
"your Brain ....Fails" to understand I also said it wouldn't work for me hence: "FAIL for me" because I have GoogleTV for the whole family to enjoy in the living room! That is where most TV's are set up!
I live in America freedom of speech here. I was talking about the product never did I bash anyone about their opinions, as you did! But, You have a blessed day any!
I have the PCI-e 4 tuner adapter they sell and love it! You can actually watch TV on other computers in the house without getting a media center extender. You can actually dedicate one or more of the Tuners to another PC on your network. So what you can do is dedicate 2 to the main dvr pc and if you have a tv upstairs hooked up to a pc that is networked you can dedicate the other 2 tuners to it and watch/record live tv. You can only record/watch 2 channels at once on each pc though if you go that route.
If you don't want to go that route, you can just keep all 4 tuners on the DVR pc and just watch recorded shows on any other computer as long as they're on the same network and have windows/windows media center installed on them.
It would cost me roughly $2,000 to outfit my 4 TV's with media center extenders, build the HTPC, and buy this device. Where is the savings vs renting 4 cable boxes? It costs about $14 a month right now to rent them. It would take over 12 years just to recoup the initial investment. That's assuming the technology would even last for 12 years without needing to be updated. I guess it would work well for people who already have a PC and extenders/xbox though.
The savings is for those of us that already have an htpc built and/or have either Win7 boxes or XBOX360's already. I have the internal tuner and LOVE it. For folks like me, the initial $300 investment for Tuner card and $2/mo for the cablecard, beats the hell out of 2x $15/mo for HDDVR's.
@Bucknutty
All cable companies are required to support cable cards whether they want to or not. I think it is the FCC that requires this. There should be no compatibilty issues. I've used cable cards with Comcast and Verizon with relatively no problems. Comcast it was easy, you just read some letters/numbers off the screen to a tech and in a few min you're watching TV. Verizon they insisted on sending someone out to set it up.
@khaydin:
The fact that they are legally required to support them doesn't necessarily mean that they jump at the opportunity to do so. If you read the reviews on similar products (such as the PCIe version), you see that some cable operators seem to put artificial barriers in the way. Or the tech doesn't know what you're talking about and gives the initial answer that it's not supported or can't work. So unfortunately, "required to support cable cards" does not translate directly to "should be no compatibility issues." Heck, my TWC-issued cable box has a cable card built into it, and they even manage to screw that up once in a while.
@neon871: your comments don't make sense to some of us because you have failed to say why you can't / won't hook up a computer to a TV in a living room. If your computer is chained to your desk, then yes that could be a problem. If your TV is mounted on the ceiling, then perhaps that too could be a problem. Your statement,
implies that you have to sit at a PC (I'll assume you mean PC monitor) to watch content on a PC. Since that's not the case (HDMI/DVI/VGA ports on TVs and computers are compatible, and computers can be placed - elegantly even - in a living room setting, allowing you to show PC content on a large HDTV hanging on your living room wall), your statements are nonsensical to many of your fellow commenters.
Ceton has a PCI version already.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6815706001
Also there is the Silicondust Homerun Prime which works with your router.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6815345007
It would be nice if Toms would test these products head to head. I would like to see that.
I picked the wrong Silicondust product. I meant this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6815345006
My bet is ComCRAP will not allow use of this. The tuner built into my TV is better than in their stupid HD box but we have to use theirs or no signal. So, how is this better other than DVR use? It still needs a cable card, guess who you'll have to get that from... They still get their monthly $$
@khaydin:The fact that they are legally required to support them doesn't necessarily mean that they jump at the opportunity to do so. If you read the reviews on similar products (such as the PCIe version), you see that some cable operators seem to put artificial barriers in the way. Or the tech doesn't know what you're talking about and gives the initial answer that it's not supported or can't work. So unfortunately, "required to support cable cards" does not translate directly to "should be no compatibility issues." Heck, my TWC-issued cable box has a cable card built into it, and they even manage to screw that up once in a while.
I've also had TiVos on both verizon and comcast and they had no issues setting it up. CableCARD is a standard, I don't believe there are different configurations that are sent to your device depending on the make/model. If you have an InfiniTV 4 and tell the tech it's a TiVo it shouldn't matter at all - The only thing that matters is the pairing info you provide to them.
The last time I called comcast to pair my InfiniTV 4 PCIe adapter they never even asked what kind of device it was, nor did I tell them and they got it working in 5 minutes.
My bet is ComCRAP will not allow use of this. The tuner built into my TV is better than in their stupid HD box but we have to use theirs or no signal. So, how is this better other than DVR use? It still needs a cable card, guess who you'll have to get that from... They still get their monthly $$
Comcast doesn't charge you for using a cablecard monthly. Verizon did but it was like $2 or something small monthly.
I had no issues getting it setup with their cablecard activation department, just call them, give them the pairing info from the Ceton InfiniTV diagnostic program (you have to do that part as they can't help you get that info)and they will pair it and you're watching Tv in like 5-10 min.
You also need to setup Windows Media Center after that, then you need to run a Digital Cable setup to be able to watch certain digital only channels.
My bet is ComCRAP will not allow use of this. The tuner built into my TV is better than in their stupid HD box but we have to use theirs or no signal. So, how is this better other than DVR use? It still needs a cable card, guess who you'll have to get that from... They still get their monthly $$
they are required to support it, though comcast may add a tuning adapter for the sdv (switched digital video) channels that hooks up via usb.
for me on fios i didn't even have to call them, just go to the verizon store to get the cable card and a full self-install, no 'technician' needed
What ever, I said I had GoogleTV!
My bet is ComCRAP will not allow use of this. The tuner built into my TV is better than in their stupid HD box but we have to use theirs or no signal. So, how is this better other than DVR use? It still needs a cable card, guess who you'll have to get that from... They still get their monthly $$
While they are required by law to let you use cablecard tuners, the Comcast office here absolutely refused to let me do a self-install. I put in a complaint but apparently they can and have made it policy (here) to require a technician visit. Oh, they also charge $50 for this visit.
It was still worth it, just beware.
I've had the PCI-E internal version of this installed and running smoothly with Comcast since late July.
@ac21365 - Effective 1 August, 2011, the FCC mandates that any cable provider that offers ANY type of self-installation package (be it cable or internet) MUST provide a self-installation kit for this device as well. I'm also a Comcast customer and I was just too early for getting a self install package (I understand they are available here now). If you're local Comcast office does offer any type of self install package, I'd call them back and demand a refund.
@SplatU - I use mine to record various TV shows; many of which are not DRM protected. This allows me to copy/re-encode these shows for any other device I have (say my smartphone). Kind of handy for those long bus commutes. Also, you're not limited on drive space like you are with TIVO type devices.
@Teramedia - I know what you mean by the visiting tech not knowing what s/he's doing. I ran into that exact situation. Basically all the tech was able to do was hand me the M-Card, watch me install/configure it, and call the codes in when I gave them to him. Fortunately, due to other circumstances, the tech visit fee was waived. I would also note that when I first contacted Comcast, they had no idea what I was talking about and had to explain it to the support tech. The initial response was, "We may support it, but I don't know". I then talked to another tech who knew a bit more about it and said yes. They do support it.
@Alidan - The key here is there are four tuners. If you wanted to type of capability from your set top box rentals, you'd need four of them or $20/month (for you). So instead of five years, you're looking at fifteen months.
-Wolf sends