With the upcoming general public release of Windows Vista just around the corner there has been a lot of talk about the new Media Center features it brings with it, as well as its limitations (i.e. DRM). One of the biggest offerings though is its ability to recognize and use CableCard technology. Although this improvement has been widely touted by Microsoft, we haven't heard a whole lot from manufacturer's in the way of implementation, until now.
Vidabox, the makers of various Media Center powered HTPC systems, announced this morning that they will be introducing new systems which support dual tuner digital cable receivers via CableCards. This is great news for anyone who wants to start recording HD channels without the hassle of trying to get a cable box working with Media Center.
Other improvements to the line include the addition of Blu-ray and HD-DVD drives and the option to add more than 3TB of storage via RAID-5. Also noted in the press release is the ability to stream HD content recorded via CableCard to an Xbox 360 (and presumably to other next-generation media extenders).
1. Anyone know any release information on CableCard 2.0?
Posted at 10:52AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Lawrence