Which tuner card?

[flxnimprtmscl]

Posted this in the AV forum, but no one is responding so I'm posting it here.

I want to run my cable through my htpc using vista media center. I currently have Comcast SD cable (hd isn't currently available for some reason). I'm really behind the times on what formats are currently/will be after Feb 09. I need a card that will work with SD now, work with SD after Feb, and hopefully work for HD in the future when it becomes available here.

Btw, are there any tuner cards that can upscale a signal? I've got a 720p Samsung DLP which is why I ask.

 

[ViRGE]

The digital transition will only affect OTA, it won't change your cable system. Comcast will eventually upgrade it for different reasons, but it's not related to the Fed's mandate.

As for your options, you don't have many, it's a clusterfuck. Since you have a STB I'm assuming they're at least a digital system. You can either keep the STB and use a Hauppauge HD-PVR to capture & digitize the analog output of the STB, or you can buy a brand-new HTPC that is CableCARD certified. You need the CableCARD to access all the digital channels beyond the the nationals, and you can't install a CableCARD receiver in a non-certified machine since they don't want you to be able to easily pirate things.

 

[themisfit610]

I have Comcast (in San Jose, CA), and can go straight into my QAM tuner on my TV, and get all the digital channels, even a few in HD. No cable box required.

So, that leads me to believe that in some places Comcast does broadcase clear QAM. If you want premium channels, on the other hand, you'd better have a CableCard PC, or an STB with analog output to a capture card.

~MiSfit