Happy Tuesday! Chris Lanier is a great source for Media Center information. He posted this last week
http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2009/09/03/1720490.aspxI've been so busy that I almost missed it!
I've complained in the past about CableCards and the DRM that ensues:
http://www.peterf.net/blog/2008/10/10/WhyIsCableCardDRMBad.aspxChris's information comes in two flavors:
A: Next firmware will support SDV (switched digital video)
B: Next firmware will support relaxed DRM on specific channels
Now while nothing is final until I see it on my tuners and working, this is a bright ray of sunshine coming for those of us in this deep hole. By "us", I mean the early adopters that knew they could get screwed at any moment since there was no public roadmap on how to handle different cable TV specifications.
What does this mean?
- Current ATI DCT owners will not get left behind as their Cable Operator moves to SDV
- Many current owners will be able to get the same channels as their Tivo/Cable operator box
- All recordings will no longer be laced with DRM (only recordings that are requested to have DRM will be laced)
- Opens a window for DCT users to watch TV episodes on other computers since the extender model was the only way to watch DCT DRM laced shows previously. You will be able to watch DRM-less recordings on other computers
I expect all of this to be Windows 7 only. Always good to support Vista, but I won't complain.