Vista Media Center Plus CableCard Equals No TV

notthatwillsmith writes "ATI's internal CableCard readers are finally available, and Maximum PC got hands-on time with a couple of Vista-powered systems built using the FCC-mandated technology. The short version? It doesn't work. From the article: 'The tech told me he'd receive training direct from Microsoft, but none of it covered internal tuners. We both agreed that the process should be the same, since the only difference is that the slots are inside the case, versus in an external box. The tech then proceeds to install the CableCards, connect the tuners to coax line, fire up the PC, and begin the software configuration. This step involves activating the TV Wonder with a product-activation code, and calling the Comcast office to exchange some information. We should have had a picture at this point, but we didn't.'"

Comments

In my experience

[Anonymous Coward]

Windows Media Center plus a lot of things equals no TV.

Stop the presses!

[gentimjs]

Wait, something in Windows ... gasp ... doesnt work!?!

Say it aint so!!

Re:Stop the presses!

[Ramble]

Gasp! This doesn't work in Linux either!

Re:Stop the presses!

[Drooling Iguana]

Then I'd suggest you update your system and stop running RedHat 6.1.

Re:Stop the presses!

[dedazo]

Task: Make a SanDisk multi card reader work under Linux and Windows. Same machine dual-booting between XP Pro SP2 and Fedora Core 6.

Fedora:

• Boot and login
• Plug card reader in
• Nothing happens (duh)
• Fuck around with Google searches, useless mailing list posts, udev, mount and CONFIG_SCSI_* and CONFIG_USB_* flags for three hours
• Some more of the above
• Finally for some reason, it worked, except that the next time I booted it was gone again (duh)
• And some more of the above
• Done

I figure I should have stopped the presses after #3 here. Your thoughts?

Windows:

• Boot and login
• Plug card reader in
• Wait a few seconds
• A nice little balloon that says "your hardware is ready" appears in the taskbar
• Done.

Think of the dollar signs!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh my god! Think of the children!

It amaze$ me year after year how people ju$t take it from Microsoft. And no, I am no Linux fan boy. I ju$t don't like to $ee bad companie$ like Microsoft time and time again $crew up.

I gue$$ it i$ true. Never...and I mean NEVER buy anything from Microsoft that i$ ver$ion 1.0.

Vi$ta ha$ been D.O.A. month after month, bug after bug, $pyware attack after $pyware attack, $low op code after $low op code. I$ it time to go Mac? (And no I am not an Apple fan boy either...I'm ju$t $o FREAKING tired of thi$ all thi$ bull).

Mod parent clueless.

[twitter]

I'd like to see a link to the actual reason, but it's obvious no good reason was given to the reviewer by press time. Everything published after that bomb is going to be backpedaling and bullshit. Of course a reason like:

Once paired with a device they need to be reset before they can be paired with another.

Would be another stupid M$ problem, even if NONE of these people who should have known said so. If the ringer cable tech did not know it, why didn't the M$ tech or the product manager? If it's true, then the only reason non of these people thought of it is because M$'s policy of marrying equipment together and forcing you to by another everything if you swap out a stick of RAM is abominably stupid. The service should just carry with the card and the card should just work when you plug it in, so you don't have to go through all sorts of trouble to upgrade a component in your $7,000 media PC.

You trolls are sooo much fun.