Digital Cable TV in the PC

I am looking into this and was hoping for
any info thats possible.
Inputting true digital tv into the computer with it being video in.
With the noise about analog tv shutting off. I am suspecting that a standard analog tv tuner card will not work anymore.
Channel changeing is done inside the program that you use
IE: Vista Media centre,Nero Mediahome, Power Cinema.
Cable tv is now inputting directly into the tvtuner card and the channels are
converted in there.

Now as I understand it, that wont happen with digital tv as you need the digital tuner box to unscramble the signal.
To me that means we loose the ability to change channels inside the computer and it becomes nothing more then a video in situation, with you having to have the digital box close by to use the remote on.
Thats a pain to me, and seems quite dumb. Now i see digital tv on the computer as inevitable.
I have read about 1 product.
http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html
That cannot be nought as a consumer. Apparently it comes as part of a system from the big boys. Dell HP,Compaq,Toshiba.
I guess what I am wondering is does anyone know of alternatives and info on this subject.

Sound off if ya have some info.

P.S. I have no tv,I watch it all through the computer. Its convenient and easy to record my stuff and I dont like the sound of analog tv disappearing even if they pushed it back a year.
http://************.com/p/articles/m...4/ai_n21199784

Sadly I only heard of a USB device of it but I don't recall where to find it.

In the UK you can buy dtv tuners for the pc no problem. When you say digital, do you mean high def?

this seems a good place to start

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSit...+Pro+Stick.htm

The transition is for over-the-air broadcasting only. If you have cable you shouldn't be concerned.

Well yes Ceebee i can still connect the cable to the analog tvtuner but that seems to be missing the point. I mean whats avaliable hardware wise to use in the pc to directly decrypt the digital cable signal and allow me to use Vista Media Centre to control it.
There is no issue buying a digital cable device and connecting it to the cable service like this one
http://www.shaw-cable.com/digital-terminals.htm
But that means that must be used to control the channel changeing. And yes I can send a video out to my system.
I just thought there has to be something to go directly into the pc to accept digital cable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NooNoo

In the UK you can buy dtv tuners for the pc no problem. When you say digital, do you mean high def?

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Yes thats my understanding NooNoo
I should note I have a buisness connection to shaw cable.
This includes basic cable service.
For an extra 2.50 a month using the Digital service I would recieve 22 Hid Def channels.
Point being that i need to switch to digital service

There are many digital cable receiver cards on the market, but I guess you need a CableCard compatible one since you want to receive premium channels... Sorry but looks like you're at a loss here.

Hello Ferrit,
I use a the Slingbox Solo, http://www.slingmedia.com/. It's not exactly what you want but it is a great device. You simply connect the slingbox to a digital cable box and your internet connection (Cat5). Then you can access your cable box on your home network or anywhere in the world via the web. Hi-def is available but I need to improve my upload speed for it to be functional in hi-def. It's very cool I love it. Now when I access my slingbox it brings up a replica of my very own remote and I can access my Tivo and all my channels. I got it for Christmas and I use it regularly.

I know it's not precisely what you were looking for but it is a viable solution to your problem. You do need a cable box but no TV. Hope this helps.

If you have a tv tuner with a QAM tuner you should be able to get digital cable signals free.

I have a bud who bought a new HD tv, and it has a built in QAM tuner, he gets a bunch of free digital cable channels because of this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Auric

If you have a tv tuner with a QAM tuner you should be able to get digital cable signals free.

I have a bud who bought a new HD tv, and it has a built in QAM tuner, he gets a bunch of free digital cable channels because of this.

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Yes but you can't get any that is not in the "basic" plan. For that you need a CableCard-ready tuner. Some TV's are CableCard-ready, but AFAIK there is no computer-based solution.