So what exactly is "Premium Content"?

[irishScott]

I'm looking into building a Media Center PC that would essentially be used as a TiVo. However, I'm something a noob to HD/Cable formats in general, and the article mentioned that the new "Clear QAM" cards were unable to support "premium content" and "on demand video". While the latter is not an issue, the former is pretty vague. Google brought up a number of completely unrelated results.

 

[Mutilator]

HBO, Cinemax, Showtime... etc.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: Mutilator
HBO, Cinemax, Showtime... etc.

So basically anything beyond basic cable?

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: irishScott

Originally posted by: Mutilator
HBO, Cinemax, Showtime... etc.

So basically anything beyond basic cable?

Yep, sometimes they leave in some random channels, like I get Toon Disney and the Sleuth channel.

 

[zinfamous]

I had one of those samsung ht260f or whatever QAM tuners for a few days. do these separate tuner cards have the ability to tune unencrypted QAM, or somehting?

b/c you can't tune channels that your cable provider doesn't feed...

 

[jkresh]

I don't really understand your last question. The cards can take unencrypted QAM but QAM only deals with channels from you cable provider, if you want channels that your cable provider isint giving you can try atsc (all qam tunner's also tune atsc) but that requires an antenna.

 

[zinfamous]

the responses above suggested that premium content designated HBO, Showtime, etc, and that the QAM tuner would simply tune that in. My understanding (based on my expereince with a separate STB QAM tuner--TV has built-in NTSC/ATSC)is that a tuner will only tune unencrypted channels provided by the cable company.

so, to get QAM HD channels with a QAM tuner, you need:
1) A live cable feed,
2) unencrypted channels. (ESPN, HBO, and better cable HD channels tend to be encrypted, hence no tuner will tune them unless you pay for that service. IE, HD STB through cable provider only)