I purchased the Ceton Infinitv 4 USB as soon as it was released. Set up with Windows Media Center was very easy. Bit of advice, download the latest drivers from Ceton's Support site prior to installation. I had a couple of problems and Ceton's support was quick to answer my questions. The problems were not with the device, but rather the user. Activating the cable card with my cable company Comcast was difficult. It took three days to actually get it working correctly. The problem was not with the device, but rather the cable company. They had to make sure the Cablecard was in their inventory as a one-way card then they actually had to activate as a one-way instead of a two-way card. Once they had it activated it worked flawlessly. I am running Windows 7 with 3ghz processor and 8gb of ram and have no problem recording up to 4 shows and watching tv through 3 xbox media extenders at once. This device works great and now my wife is no longer bugging me to buy 3 tivo's with lifetime service to replace the cable company's sub-par dvr. I highly recommend this device if you want true control over your tv. I have 2 3tb drives for my recordings and can store over 600 hours of hd programming. The combination of Windows 7 Media Center and the Ceton Infinitv 4 USB give you great customization options and works flawlessly.
The Ceton PCIe unit has been by far the easiest set up, most stable and the best card of the three. It has never had a glitch, it was set up and running in no time, the cable company techs had very little difficulty getting it going and it has never ever shown so much as a single pixel of picture faults. No "tiling" and no slow downs. No over demands on the computer. The only cons with the Ceton PCIe card are the heat inside the box and the lack of tuner pooling. Until I could get the other tuners up and running I was sharing the PCIe tuner with two other PCs running Media Center which worked flawlessly on a wired network. However, without tuner pooling I had tuner conflicts like no tomorrow!! 4 tuners are not enough for cable recording. Not even close without pooling. You should think very seriously about heat dissipation if you are considering putting two of these inside your computer.
The HD Homerun Prime was more (a whole lot more) difficult to set up, but that really is more a function of Charter Cable's difficulty in keeping two CableCard installs straight at the same time. I can't fault the picture quality, though it seems to be ever so slightly more grainy than the Ceton PCIe. On the Panasonic VT-25 the picture was very, very good though just a bit more grainy than with the Ceton PCIe. However, on the Sony touchscreen computer (VPCL234FX/B) in the kitchen there is a significant diffidence in picture quality which, I think, is more due to the Sony's NIC than anything else. (Though the Ceton PCIe streaming to it never had any issues and a clearer picture.) Whatever problems that people had on the roll out of the HD Homerun Prime are no longer an issue with the latest firmware installed as of 12.28.2011. Once the Charter people got all their ducks in a row the 6 tuners have been running like a charm. Did I mention that the tuners pool!!
The Ceton USB tuner has proven to be a bit more difficult to set up. It shares the same cable feed as the PCIe card, but I regularly experience SDV error 1 codes. The Charter tech measured the signal and said it was a very strong signal. When looking at the card on the Ceton diagnostic tool it claims that the signal is too weak. The result is that the card is unable to resolve tuning. Moreover, when I can get card working it has significant tiling. Also to note is that the USB version is very hot... like a small space heater hot. While it is good to get that kind of heat outside of the CPU box, know that it is not at all cooler running than the PCIe. Though I continue to have problems with the card, so much so and so regular that I decided to turn it off after Charter got it properly paired up, I should say that it is very well made with an impressive metal casing. It is worth noting that I have been using the USB off the same cable feed and through the same computer as the PCIe card. Additionally, I'm using all the latest Nvidia drivers and up to date USB 2.0 and 3.0 drivers. The CPU is a quad core 3.0+ Ghz Phenom. Nothing about this computer is even mildly taxed with all 14 streams, but the USB still struggles.
I think that it is worth noting the complications and tribulations of getting a CableCard properly installed. I have used the Charter techs and also picked up and installed my own CableCards. Sometimes it works like a charm and other times it is a two day task of seeming total impossibility. First, the billing side of the house must be in order properly. This is to say the card must be correctly coded into your account. Then the various numbers must be all correct when you call to activate or the card will not pair correctly. In my case I have experienced various different errors which are almost always due to a clerical error on the part of my cable company. Just keep making the techs come back until you get the right one who is smart enough to ask the right questions. Better an actual Charter tech than a subcontractor as they seem to have more access to the advanced video help back at the mothership. I can't fault any of these manufacturers for set up woes... All the tuner cards are actually incredibly simple to set up and use. The only issue between you and HD cable recording bliss is the total lack of knowledge on the part of the cable company. Know what you are getting yourself into before you buy one of these cards as making it through the gauntlet of the cable company could be very difficult. Reserve three days and hope for ten minutes of set up time.
Buy Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB - 4-channel External Cable TV Tuner Device for CableCARD Now
This product works like they said it does. Had to call Comcast twice to pair the cablecard, second time worked. They had left the data number off the first time. Can now watch TV and record 3 programs at once. Quality of the picture is as good or better than with Comcast's DVR. Great product.I have one Ceton 4 USB running on a Windows 7 64-bit Media Center with Comcast providing service. Be prepared to get what is a Cablecard when ordering since most have not embraced this technology. I have had experience with a previous vendors offering for many years on RCN and was very excited to see the Ceton handles switch service without any addition hardware and four HD channels at once. My initial install was on a Windows 7 32-bit installation and setup was a snap; with the longest time allocated to time on the phone with Comcast to pair the Cablecard with the Ceton. Once up and running a problem did develop with the device disconnect/reboot for no reason while recording or watching programs live.My Windows 7 32-bit install was a carryover from a SageTV/DirecTV/HDPVR configuration and with tweaks for that configuration which I thought might be the reason for my stability problems. A residence change resulted in my change to Comcast and this configuration. As a result of the disconnect/reboot issues with the Ceton I performed a wipe and rebuild on 7 64-bit to prevent any possible conflicts. My initial findings on 64-bit were very promising with stability for 10 days before the problem occurred with disconnect/reboot.
Based on other reviews here on Amazon I opened a trouble ticket on the Ceton support center and described my problem with a request for the updated firmware. I received an almost immediate response with a link to download the update and instruction on how via the Ceton diagnostic tool. All seems to be smooth, and have not had the problem since.
Since the problem is correctable I would not hesitate to purchase another, or recommend to a friend.
4-Stars for the product; there is no mention of the problem in the knowledge base and should be listed as a potential problem, but correctable
5-Stars for Ceton support for quick response and resolution to the problem.
Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB
** Update 19 March 2012**
My unit had dropped twice on the new firmware after Microsoft Updates in Feb 2012; after report to Ceton the recommended the following:
Power Options:
Sleep:
Sleep after: Never
Allow hybrid sleep: Off
Hibernate after: Never
Allow wake timers: Enabled
USB Settings:
USB selective suspend setting: Disabled
Want Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB - 4-channel External Cable TV Tuner Device for CableCARD Discount?
I had been hesitant to purchase this type of device because all the reviews seem to speak highly of it, but each says they had to jump through multiple hoops (usually with the cable card company) to get it to work.However, I went to a Comcast office here in Atlanta (on Cobb Parkway in Marietta) after an online chat said I could pick up an "anyroom dvr" at that location. After a thirty minute wait they told me they had to come out to install it, I gave up and ordered this device.
It arrived promptly (we have Prime) and came with a quick start guide which I simply followed. I won't repeat the steps here, but I just did what Ceton suggested.
I installed it and then went to Comcast Saturday afternoon, waited less than five minutes and picked up the CableCard to use with my "Tivo" as the online advice had recommended.
The only issue I had was that Comcast said that it showed pairing on their end, but through MediaCenter it continued to have the "thinking" spinning wheel. I exited out of MediaCenter and pulled up the Ceton diagnostic tool which showed that the CableCard was paired, all green check marks, but number 10, "entitlement," wasn't checked but it said it could take up to ten minutes. I hung up with Comcast, restarted MeciaCenter, and all was good.
Four digital tuners, all channels. It was truly easy and I thank all the people who put up with a bunch of hastle with the PCI version so that mine went flawlessly. No second calls. No repeated install, uninstall, etc. I have Avast antivirus and that didn't require any attention either.
Of note, you can't tell from the pictures, but the device is actaully beautiful. It is a brushed aluminum or something that is very attractive.
Now, the only thing Ceton needs to do is use the same enclosure to house a MediaCenter Extender for $99, and all will be good. Seriously, can someone get them to do that, please?
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