ATI cable tuner, what's your deal?

How does it connect to your PC?

(Credit: ATI)

We're not exactly sure what the whole story is with ATI's newly announced TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner. We do know that it's a digital cable TV tuner and that it will support the PC CableCard standard, bringing digital cable, analog cable, and over-the-air high-definition content to your Windows Vista-equipped laptop or desktop. It sounds like it will come only bundled with new PCs (starting January 30), which makes sense, given that we learned last year that you won't be able to build your own CableCard PC from scratch.

What we don't get is how it connects to your PC. From the picture, it looks like an external device, so we wonder if that means that there's a proprietary interface added to the guts of the system you purchase it with. If not, what's to stop you from adding it to any other system? We're scheduled to meet with AMD tomorrow, so hopefully we'll come away with a better idea of how this thing works.

Update: Our meeting with AMD this afternoon helped us wrap our brains around the TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner a little better. It will be available from most major desktop and laptop vendors, including Dell, Toshiba, Sony, HP, Gateway, Alienware, NiveusMedia, and Velocity Micro. Pricing will vary by vendor, but AMD estimated about a $200-to-$250 premium. It will come in both internal and external models (and the external one has a removable stand), and both connect to your PC via USB 2.0.

We also found out that in case you're thinking about buying PC with the tuner in order to use it on another system, you'll find CableLabs standing in your way. In order to get permission to sell the a PC with the TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner, each PC vendor must submit a letter to CableLabs requesting certification. In exchange, CableLabs provides custom BIOS software, which closes the encryption loop. Without that custom BIOS, you're out of luck.

[microvb]

Can't you just do a bios hack like they did for the various Windows Vista copies floating around on the Internet. Basically the hack works something like this.

1. PC Manufacturer submits a hardware profile.
2. Microsoft provides a small piece of hardware which initializes at post, containing a unique key.
3. Vista is installed, and does not require a license key as the hardware provided all the unique information and authorization required.

The Hack::
1. A linux boot loader such as grub is installed in the MBR
2. Upon initialization, after POST, the copied BIOS (from a hardware licensed PC), is loaded into memory containing only the specific instruction that Windows is looking for (aka, the specific memory offsets where the hardware key are located and authorization is located)
3. Windows starts up, and can not tell the difference between the REAL hardware, or the Emulated copy as it is outside of the operating system launch. Any calls made from within windows for that information are directed through the emulator, and any instructions the emulator doesn't understand are handed directly to the BIOS.

In other words, before initialization, emulate the BIOS instructions cable card looks for by mimicking an already existing piece of hardware which contains what they are looking for. Pass any unhandled instructions directly to the REAL BIOS.

Or... a better idea would be if all the companies got off their high horses and stopped putting limitations on hardware they are SELLING!!!! If you make it, let people BUY it and USE it, else don't create/sell it!!!!

I am so sick of everyone protecting their not fully functional products by placing limitations on the device --- in other words --- "look at our fantastic product ... hahahaha... you can't have it.... but if you do want it, pay me lots of $$$$, and I will give you an overly complicated crappy procedure which will slow you pc down, and make it more unstable than manson on crack because of all the unwarranted protection systems i put in place" ..... someone should really put a stop to these money hungry mongrels.

I feel that corporations who do this are very predatory, and remind me of someone not unlike Hitler with regards to the whole I will dominate with my one true way kinda BS.

Please C|Net ... have a bit of a chat with the monsters at CableCard. We never had this type of difficulty with Analog tuner technology, and such it should be with Digital.

Thank you

[bkigkane]

I have the externat ATI wonder digital cable tuner and have had no problems in windows vista home. i have a fujitsu laptop and a pc that i buil it works great on eather one. i got the place i bought my laptop from to give me one for free. so all this **** about you have to buy a pc to have the thing work is BS it works fine out of box. no limitations, no protection. will work on any pc with media center or at least my two computers and my laptop or pc did not come with it.

[JCitizen]

Be sure your entire computer hardware list meets DRM standards, or the cable card and ATI reader module will either one or the other(or both) shut down any configuration or usage. Right now all information anywhere I've read, points to the fact that this module is more commonly sold with factory OEM cable standards compliant hardware and software. Sold only as custome OEM built units. Their is a list of them at ATI at the information page for this cable module. Unless you are a cracker head, I wouldn't suggest beating your head against a wall to try and slop something together.

Even the Media Center installed with my Vista x64 Home Premium installation had its own product key; during the MCE configuration process you will be asked for that key. The Microsoft site for media center FAQs were the most helpfull. It also details the network consol of your ATI All in Wonder cable card module. Hewlitt-Packard forces customers to use a special version of the Vista Home Premium x64 operating system to make all this compliant. This sight: thegreenbutton.com is the most helpfull for newbies, would highly suggest joining them BEFORE you purchase any equipment like this.

I find the claims here for hacks and plug and play curious, as I have become very familiar with the problems of this device. Sure you can just plug it in and, if the cable company cooperates you can get analog low tier content. You can get that with any OpenQAM system; but if you want top tier digital high definition content, good luck with that.