Back for #91!  It’s an email extravaganza this week and we walk right through all of your great communiqués.  We had some really great questions presented this week.  In fact, we got a few that Josh and I just don’t have the answer to.  That’s where you come in.  If after listening to the show you feel you can help people out, please leave a comment below.  Everything is better with a strong community!  And thanks in advance!
While there wasn’t much news this week, we did learn about a Media …

You’re getting the show a bit early this week!  I decided that since August 19th is the two year anniversary of the show, I didn’t want to miss it.  It was this day in 2008 that the audio adventure began.  Thanks for sticking with us all the way through!
This week’s title for the show comes straight from the content.  Between the Tuner Salad release and the fact that CableLabs recently decided to allow tuner sharing, it’s all tuners this week.  Check the links below for all the info!
Our 100th episode …

One of the features that the Ceton InfiniTV4 was poised to offer was tuner sharing.  This would allow you to have your InfiniTV4 in one HTPC and assign tuners to other HTPCs in your home.  Unfortunately CableLabs put the kibosh on this rather quickly.
Luckily, they’ve seen the light and as of Friday, tuner sharing is now approved in OCUR devices.  That means you can install multiple tuners in a single PC and spread them throughout your home.  While Ceton will obviously be the first to benefit from this new feature …

Let’s just face it.  The news this week revolves around one thing and one thing only:  people are finally starting to receive their Ceton InfiniTV4s!  Media Center users throughout the US are going nuts as these cards start to ship from retailers.  It’s taken some time to get them out but between the reported ease of use and the help we provide this week, you should be all set once you unbox that bad boy.
Josh and I are joined by Jeremy Hammer, VP of Systems Integration for Ceton this week.  …

Today we received official word from Ceton that they have begun shipping their InfiniTV 4. The first batch of units has already been sent to their retail partners. If you were one of the first to pre-order then you will probably receive your tuner next week. Demand for the card was higher than the rate in which they are able to manufacture them, so not all pre-orders are being sent out this week. Orders are being fulfilled on a first-ordered, first-shipped basis.
To coincide with the release Ceton has also updated their support page to …

With summer being such a slow news period there just isn’t a whole lot going on anywhere.  Media Center related or not.  Everyone is spending time outside and our HTPCs just don’t get the workout that they do in the fall.
That said, Josh and I were able to find some MC related stories this week.  They’re not all directly related but the articles and topics covered will help add to your enjoyment of your media.  Have a look at the links below.
Don’t forget that our listeners help make our show …

Really short show notes this week folks.  Not really a whole lot to say about the show other than Josh and I are joined by Alton Marschall from down around Texas way to share his setup and ideas on Media Center and Sage TV.  Have a good listen this week.  I have no doubt it’s going to generate some feedback!
We also take time to cover the 5th Circuit Court’s recent DMCA related decision.  This could end up being a big decision and we share our opinions during the show.
Click here …

Its not often that a product comes along that really shakes up a niche market like ours. With few exceptions we are accustomed to every product acting like all the others. Price or brand recognition ends up being the determining factor in hardware choices.
What happens however when a product comes along and challenges our notions of the HTPC landscape?
Way back in January of 2009 we learned about an exciting product that really deserves the much-overused title “game changer.” Ceton’s InfiniTV 4, a pci-express card that can record up to four …

There seems to be a lot of confusion around the concepts of encryption and copy-protection when it comes to getting television from your content provider, so the DMZ is here to clear it up for you.
Before we get into defining what encryption and copy-protection are we must point out one thing that is perhaps misunderstood the most: copy-protection and encryption are not the same thing! With that cleared up, let’s dig a little deeper.
Encryption
Encryption is actually a pretty simple concept to understand.  When a cable company provides a video stream …

We used to have the full deal.  Digital Cable and all the trimmings.  HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, you name it.  Slowly, over the years we’ve cut back.  This was mainly because we realized that we simply didn’t use the services we were paying for.  We’re a movie family for sure, but we had already seen everything that was hitting the big movie networks.  Kinda pointless to pay for something you’ve already seen and have no interest in seeing again.
When we moved to northern New York, we started out on Dish Network.  …