Digital Cable Coming to Media Center

Some future Media Center PCs based on Windows Vista will be able to receive digital cable signals in the United States, a feature long requested by customers. However, these PCs, which Microsoft says will be available by the 2006 holiday season, will not support any features that require sending a signal to the cable system, such as ordering movies on demand. Many other details, such as copy protection limitations and hardware requirements, have not been announced.

CableCARD with Caveats

Windows XP Media Center Edition is an edition of Windows XP that allows remote-controllable access to home entertainment functions, including the ability to record TV programs for later viewing. Microsoft has hinted that Media Center will no longer be a separate edition when Windows Vista is released in late 2006 but instead will be incorporated into one or more consumer Vista SKUs.

To date, Media Center PCs have not been able to receive or record TV programs from digital cable systems because they’ve been unable to unscramble the signals. This is set to change: in Nov. 2005, Microsoft and CableLabs, a cable industry body that oversees standards for cable TV equipment in the United States, announced an agreement under which some Vista Media Center PCs will support the CableCARD specification. CableCARD is designed to allow users to unscramble and receive digital cable signals simply by inserting a standard card into a slot in their PC or consumer electronics device (many newer HDTVs have CableCARD slots), rather than having to use a set-top box provided by the cable company. In theory, this allows users to switch cable companies-for example, move to a new city served by a different provider-and still receive digital cable without requiring new hardware. It also allows cable providers to shift hardware costs to the consumer.