[mythtv-users] New ATI Tuner that supports Cablecard

[Joseph A. Caputo]

On Thursday 05 January 2006 9:35, Steve Adeff wrote:
> On Thursday 05 January 2006 09:19, Joe Huffner wrote:
> > If someone already posted this, sorry for the dupe. I saw this at 
> > work 
> > and I don't have access to my home email and I wanted to post this
> > asap.
> >
> > This looks very sweet and hopefully won't be too difficult for some 
> > decent 
> > developers to get working with Linux and Myth. (However, I suspect 
> > there 
> > will be some nasty DRM somewhere)
> >
> > http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2662
> 
> you won't be able to license use of cablecards without "proven" DRM 
> which is  
> why only Vista will support it (cause MS paid enough money to convince 
> them  
> Vista has solid DRM support).

Ummm.... unless ATI has built DRM directly into their card/device (i.e., 
making it impossible for an open source Linux driver to be developed), 
then the only way this wouldn't (eventually) work under other OSes 
would be if ATI (or OEMs) were denied a license to develop hardware 
based on this design using the CableCard APIs, protocols or whatever.

Other than that, if the card is manufactured (and it might only be OEM 
for WinMCE PCs, but that's what eBay is for...) then I don't think your 
cable company can legally refuse to give you a CableCard to plug into 
it.  And, since it's only CableCard 1.0, I don't think there's any way 
they could selectively disable just those receivers without obsoleting 
their entire installed CableCard base.

Am I way off base in this?

-JAC