Building an Home Theater "Server"

[GenTsoChiken]

So, I had just recently gotten an Ceton InfiniTV 6. For those that don't know, in short, it's a 6 stream cable tuner. http://cetoncorp.com/products/infinitv-6-pcie/

Figure you guys would be interested in my experiences and how the setup is coming along. So far, I went to the Verizon FiOS store and picked up a Multi-stream CableCARD. Currently, I'm in the process of installing it in my second desktop, which unfortunately is in dire need of clean-up... As soon as that's all taken care of, then the real meat and potatoes of the install can take place!

The current plan, which after some research, I'm gunna run Windows Media Center on it, use the PC as a DVR, and "Loan out" some of the tuners to Extenders around the house on my 360s.

I'll try to answer any questions if I so happen to be able to...

[Digger[NJLP]]

Yes I am interested, keep us posted!

[GenTsoChiken]

So far the only hiccup was getting the CableCARD activated on my account. Took about an hour or so with a Verizon online chat tech to get the card activated/validated. As it stands, I can see all the channels I'm subscribed to. Next thing is to get more/bigger drives for all those HD shows I'll be recording.

Everything went mostly according to the instructions.

1. Acquire CableCARD from Cable provider and insert into InfiniTV
2. Install the tuner into the PC and connect the coax
3. Install the drivers and diagnostic software
4. Run Windows Media Center and install the digital cable add-on
5. Run the signal setup in WMC and activate the CableCARD with provider when prompted
6. Test tuner to see if encrypted channels are available

Like I said, the activation process was the generally the hard part of the process. Some sites say activating with Verizon was a coin toss... Most cases the Self-Service Activation went smoothly. In my case, it activated but didn't attach to my subscription, so not all my channels were available. Started a chat with the online Verizon tech and after a few mins, the card was on the account. After a bit longer, it was seeing all the channels, even the premium channels like Showtime.

After all that, it was a bit late so the last thing I did was set up one of my 360s as a WMC Extender and see how the picture looked. The set up to do that is relatively simple, the extender gives an 8 digit code that is paired to the WMC Server and VOILA!!

[Murdock]

Very cool!

So how did the picture look on the 360?

[GenTsoChiken]

The picture looked surprisingly good but it was a quick peek. I'll need to do an A/B comparison to have a better idea.