How to install a CableCARD tuner in your DIY Media Center
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted May 12th 2009 11:00AM
posted May 12th 2009 11:00AM
Access to premium HD on computers has eluded most for way to long, so as soon as we heard that it was finally possible for anyone to add a CableCARD tuner to just about any Media Center, we just knew we had to try it for ourselves, and more importantly, share with you exactly how to do it. This doesn't really require any hacking, or anything illegal for that matter -- we're not lawyers -- but it isn't cheap. The internal version of the ATI Digital Cable Tuner pictured above can be found new on eBay for about $195, or new from PC vendors like Cannon PC for just under $300. If that doesn't seem like a bad deal to you and you already have an HTPC up to the challenge, then you should join us on our journey to HD bliss by clicking through.
What you need
It should go without saying that in order for this to work you'll need a pretty new computer running either Windows Vista Premium (or higher) or Windows 7 as well as an ATI Digital Cable Tuner (DCT). The first requirement you probably already have, but the second can be a bit more difficult. Both the internal and external version of the DCT have the same functionality with the only real difference being where it is mounted. Some prefer the external since it is easier to swap out and doesn't require opening the case to install, while others will do just about anything to eliminate yet another box with a wall wart from their setup. We will warn you if you're leaning towards the internal though, it is pretty big and puts off some heat. So to accommodate the internal version you're going to need a decent size case as well as an internal USB port and free floppy power plug.
**UPDATE**
Microsoft now offers Digital Cable Advisor utility that will enable just about any computer to use a Digital Cable Tuner. If that utility fails then you might still want to use OSFRLoader, otherwise this next section is depreciated.
Prepping the system
We suggest you run through these instructions before calling your cable provider to come out and install the CableCARD, otherwise you might run into problems and then you won't be ready when they come.
The first step is to get by the requirement that has been holding us back up until now, which is that Windows will only allow you to use a DCT if your BIOS has the required OSFR table. Although unlikely, it is possible that your BIOS has the required table so first thing you want to do is download the OCUR BIOS Check Utility and find out.
Using the utility is really easy. Unzip it and double click on OCURCHECK.bat and you'll probably see the failure message "The ACPI table 'OSFR' is not present" like in the example above. If you are lucky enough to see a successful message, then skip the next section where we explain how to make any BIOS OCUR ready.
How to make any BIOS OCUR ready **this section is depreciated, see the update above**
Recently an ingenious member of The Green Button forum figured out how to make any BIOS appear to be OCUR compliant by modifying an old utility known as VistaLoader. Basically all it does is load Grub4Dos before Windows boots and change the memory where the BIOS information is stored with the "correct" information. The cool thing about this is that it is relatively easy to uninstall and makes no changes to the actual BIOS like a firmware update would -- be warned that if you have a Dell, you'll have to reactivate Windows after installing this utility. It also appears it would be resilient to any types of checks Microsoft or CableLabs might attempt to use to prevent this from working in the future. All you have to do is download the utility from here and unzip it. Then open up a Command Prompt as an Administrator in the directory where you extracted it and execute install sony and reboot. After your system boots back up, rerun OCURCHECK.bat again and now it should display "The PC BIOS is OCUR compliant" like the next image.
Installing the hardware
Now that your BIOS is up to snuff, it's time to install the tuner. If you have an external tuner, just shut down your PC, plug the power and USB in. If you have an internal you'll have to open up the case and plug it into a free PCI Express port -- which is nothing more than a mount -- then plug in the USB and power.
Setup the tuner in Windows
After you boot the computer one of the LEDs on the DCT should be solid green and if you go into device manager you should see a device called ATI TV Wonder OpenCable Receiver listed under Network -- notice it's not listed with the rest of your TV cards.
Double click on the ATI DCT and your default browser will open displaying the DCT's configuration web page. On the top right of the screen will be the firmware version, you'll want to make sure it's running the latest -- at the time of this writing that is 1.19.12 but the latest can usually be found on Windows update.
After you download the firmware updater and run the installer you'll eventually be presented with the firmware installer UI. It should find the DCT and allow you verify once again that it needs to be updated. If so, hit start and let it run.
Configuring Media Center
When you launch Windows Media Center for the first time you should be prompted to install the a tuner, if not go to Settings>TV>TV Signal>Set Up TV Signal, and follow the wizard. Along with your other tuners, the ATI DCT should be detected like in the screen shot below -- this image is from Windows 7, Vista looks a little different.
Next up you'll see the Digital Cable Tuner product activation screen. You'll need a valid product ID to get past here, but you can try the generic key we found online: 263DJ-2Y9YT-6X9G6-W28DB-697TF. (You won't need this key if you ran the new Digital Cable Advisor tool)
With any luck it should activate successfully and since you'll be running through this setup without a CableCARD the first time, you're going to see the following warning in the screen shot below. Don't worry, choose "Continue without a CableCARD" and you can still use the tuner as a clear QAM tuner until your CableCARD install. This way you know everything is going to work before the installer arrives.
Now after the wizard is complete you should see your channel lineup and be able to watch clear QAM channels. When the installer comes with the CableCARD, after plugging it in and ensuring the other LED lights up green, go back to the web page to the "Card" tab and click on the "Host ID Screen" link to get the host info -- this link is only there if a CableCARD is inserted -- this will display the details the installer needs to activate the CableCARD with the cable head-end. After the cable installer says the card is paired, go to the "IP Service" page to see if the "Auth Status" is "CP Auth Received." You can also get this information from Media Center, but we find it easier to just use the web page and then go back to Media Center and re-run TV Setup when we know the CableCARD is all set. Either way you should probably make the installer wait until after the setup wizard is complete so you can test as many channels as possible. You'd hate to let 'em go only to find out you have a signal strength issue or aren't subscribed to all the channels you expect.
When things go wrong
Troubleshooting CableCARD problems is well beyond the scope of this how to. If you can't even get the DCT installed or activated you're best best is going to be The Green Button thread where the utility was published. But odds are those steps will go smoothly and you'll have problems with your provider or the tuner itself. If that is the case, then you'll want to head over to The Custom Integrators show where they dedicated five episodes (7-11) to CableCARD tuners and how they work. Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes.
A special thanks to Utah, Dan and Derek for all the help on this post!
Anyone try this on Windows 7 x64? I'm not sure if it would matter, but the hack seems to have no effect. Yes, I ran the command prompt as Admin, and yes, i typed install sony. :-(
NM. Dude. I got a Dell :-(
I tried the same thing. You need to navigate to the directory of the expanded files and run the install.cmd not sony. It seems to have worked on my system (HP), now I just need to get the cable card and a tuner.
Andrew, I wasn't able to load the hack either. I'm running Win7 x64 on a system with XP and Vista, each in separate partitions. The boot manager is loaded in the XP partition. I "un-hid" XP in Win7 and assigned a drive letter. install.cmd was then able to find the partition (drive) and load. Everything works fine (although I haven't tried booting into XP or Vista yet, they may be hosed).
Very cool guide.
wow, so many negative remarks. i guess i should be very happy with my Satellite HD card. Way easier to setup than this junk.
Satellite? Easy, I've been trying for two weeks man and still no go!
Hey Andrew I have the same prob any solution yet?? I get no disk in drive errors....
A few weeks ago, I would have been happy to see this, but now that I've installed the Windows 7 RC, I've found that Media Center picks up ClearQAM just fine, so I've got all my local netwoek stations in HD on my HVR-2250
Ben,
you guys rock!
I have my win 7 media center set up, but want Satellite TV you know a place for any how-to's for that?
Great guide Ben, as usual. But man!...you're stuck with cable and Media Center no matter what. The HD-PVR (with it's own quirks, admittedly) lets you use any Software, and any source device...the average mortal will never see the re compression difference. But its awesome that you VMC guys have figured this out!
PF
This is my current setup. I have a AMD 8450 Triple core(low end). 4gb with vista premium and a 1.5tb external drive for dvd rips and recording tv, and any other video stuff i get.
I have a ati 650 card attached with composites a cable box, a OTA antenna for my local HD. And a cheap little wire from my receiver i found so I can get FM that I connect to my analog part of my tuner (coax). All work well with streaming to my 360. When i record on my cable box I, have the local attenna free or i just watch a previous recorded show. To change channels through my 360 I got (from ebay) a MS IR receiver that I connect to the cable box and it changes channels like that. The OTA and FM well they are direct coax connects and no IR is needed. I have about maybe 30hours of HD and about 60 of SD and I think i have only used 350gb last time I checked. I stream to my sons room all his sponge and cartoons and I stream live tv to my bedroom and i can still use my PC with no hick up. Each stream takes around 6-9%cpu power with a 1gb lan. + I get media streaming, of my music, dvd mpgs and videos, FM and what I love is how easy it is to find movies, You can search for movies on NOW, NEXT or Later all with there Pictures and info, I love how I can just look at the sports now or later or by day or how you can get detail info on and even videos on Todays finished games along with current scores. Those are just a few things you get when you have it hooked up with a TV service. For those of you hating MC just havent really used it.
This Cable card setup is something i wanted for a long time but no way in hell i would of bought a new computer just for that. Now with this hack I may now want to find a Cable card from ebay or somewhere just to try this out. Great news.
Ceton corp is also making a cable card with up to 6hd streams with a SINGLE card
http://www.cetoncorp.com/ProductsVista.php
But I have a feeling it will be bundle only with New PCs. (bummer)
I also read a while back that directv is also working on a directv with card tuner for MCE. I bet alot of new cards will be more driven to when Windows 7 launches. For now atleast we can get a this hack for HBO hd and other premiums HD we cant get through QAM or OTA hook ups.
@Douglas
Ceton has been saying they are coming out with the world's greatest cable card tuner for over 2 years. It's not going to happen.
I got to give you guys credit; I followed your instructions and it worked perfectly. I have been trying to get this to work for over a year without having to buy a new computer. Now is someone could only figure out a hack to allow CableCard recordings to be streamed over Orb, it'd be perfect.
Mark
Well, it worked for 5 days and then just stopped working. Did Micro$oft do something?
Mark
uh-oh! I was just about to buy the ATI TV Wonder when I saw the previous post. Can anyone confirm/deny if this has stopped working due to a recent MS Update?
Worked like a charm, running windows 7 build 7100 on my m3n78-pro motherboard and works great with northeast Ohio time warner cable cablecard. THANKS BEN!!!!
Well, I got it working again. It turns out that Windows considers the ATO DCT to me like a network card. After trying a number of different things, a greenbutton.com forum member suggested turning off my firewall. I had to first unplug the DCT, turn off the firewall, remove the cablecard, reboot the computer, enter media center setup, and insert the cablecard when directed by the software. After all of this, everything started working again, including of of the HD channels.
Mark
Time warner just left, it works like a charm! Using an HP, it did NOT work on my Dell, the OCUR would not take. Only odd thing (and this is cable cards in general, not just a DYI one) I had to put my modem on a different splitter or the cablecard would not have reception, thought id mention that.
Honestly I think the most important reason for a HTPC is because when you subscribe to cable, your paying them to provide you with there Broadcast, It should not be contingent on the hardware or even how many tv's your viewing it on, or for that matter, what you do with it after you have received it. Im sorry if you want to record House off tv rather than buying the Box Set at Scammart. Its what VCR's where being used for succsefuly for how many decades now? Just because we want our shows to be easier to access and not take up a wall of the house is not a good reason we should have to rent extra receivers, for each room of the house we watch tv in.
Im not advocating stealing Cable. But I am really disgusted that our Monopolies have gotten away with not only Charging us for each TV we watch tv on (which btw, I bought fair and square and installed the wires to myself) but also are now getting away with encrypting the information they send us so if we dont buy there special equipment we can only watch it once.
Even if my cable provider can sell me a card to tune there programs in, I will not rent it, and I wont even consider buying it unless it will allow me to store and do what I want with it after wards. I want to delete comercials, I want to be able to broadcast it within my house via Wi-Fi to other computers (most likely through Myth TV). Id like to watch it at work. And if I choose to share it with friends or others, Just like a VHS tape, there welcome to sue me and send me to jail.
America is letting private industry's get away with to much when we allow them to tell us what we are and are not allowed to do with products and services we purchase.
Would you accept it if your local grocery store told you that the ground meat you just bought was only allowed to be used for Taco's and Not Burgers, Meat Loaf, exc?
No.
Why are we allowing this from our entertainment venue's?
I know someone smart enough is reading this forum who can devise a bypase after the encryption/deincryption faze. I would love to keep the quality, but at this point Im about ready to record to VCR, then take the tapes and record them to the PC. Might not get the High Deffinition channels, but I can atleast record my favorite shows on HBO exc.
My IP status says nothing about "Auth received". Still I am getting all the HD channels through my cablecard. Hooray for EngadgetHD!
This cableCard setup here seems hokey at best. Dependent on DRM-crippled media, Windows and whether or not your cable provider supports cableCard as well.
Best solution for recording SD, HD is:
mythbuntu
hauppauge TV tuner
dedicated cablebox controlled via LIRC [IR-cable mouse to change cablebox channels]
That way you can record every channel you subscribe to including HD if you have the correct type of tuner. Mythbuntu can then transcode, remove commercials, etc. Content could be viewed back on home theater via Mediatomb and a PS3.
so, has anyone built a media center from scratch and have any suggestions on mother board / casing to use that minimizes footprint, has good quality, etc.
-avi
Great 'how to' on a product as difficult to find as a Unicorn.
What's the deal in Canada? do we have a different cable system?
I am trying to hook this up, but can't seem to find the right power connection. The card has a small 4-pin PCI Express connection. Whereas in my case I have a 6-pin PCI Express cable available and a 2-pin floppy.
Any advice on how to power this thing up? Many thanks!
A two-pin floppy? Not sure what you mean, but I connected my floppy power pigtail right to the internal DCT.
Anyone happen to know what ATSC/NTSC Duel Tuner cards they are using in this walk throu?
have someone got this hack to work on a aopen mini pc mp45?
i hack works fine on my hp touchsmart pc. but it refuse to work my aopen mini.
have any one gotten this hack to work on a aopen mini pc mp45?
For you windows 7 users, dont forget to follow the special install note from the following thread:
http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/73065.aspx
Anyone know of an ideal Mobo fro this trick. I am planning on building a THPC so i want to find a more ideal board.
@ JazJon
Thanks fror the update on Win7!