Vista Media Center CableCARD FAQ
Every question you’ve ever had about CableCARD on Windows Vista is answered by Chris Lanier in his detailed FAQ. In it, you’ll learn why you can’t build your own CableCARD compatible PC, what it takes for an OEM to get certified, who can add additional CableCARDs to your new system, what functionality CableLabs and the studios bestow on the users, and more. It’s definitely worth a read and a handy reference, if you own or are thinking about buying a CableCARD compatible Windows Vista Media Center PC.
Noteworthy:
- Vista MCE supports up to four tuners (two CableCARD tuners and two OTA tuners) – all of which can record simultaneously.
- Premium high-definition content from your cable provider is supported via CableCARD in Vista, however, on-demand services are not (one-way cable programming only).
- You can transfer CableCARD recorded content to a network attached storage (NAS) drive/server but you can’t record to one directly.
- All content recorded via CableCARD is protected and can only be played back on the same PC or streamed to an approved media extender like the Xbox 360 – no editing, DVD burning, streaming to PCs, or transcoding to portable media players is possible.
Related Resource:
Microsoft - Windows CableCARD™ and Digital Cable FAQ

Greg Wishart – 1 hour 48 minutes ago