Re: Review: Ceton InfiniTV 4 Quad CableCARD Tuner – Part I

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August 26, 2010 at 11:50 am #337
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Participant

    I just had a CableCARD installed in my Ceton tuner yesterday.  I had previously gone through the setup with a CableCARD I had picked up on ebay, but obviously I could not activate it on the FIOS network.  I just went through the entire setup and, even though I did not activate the CableCARD, I was still able to download the guide data for FIOS in my area.  According to the Ceton installation instructions it says that guide data cannot be downloaded until the card is activated, which is apparently not true.

    I removed the card after going through the lengthy install process.  I also have four ATSC tuners connected to my HTPC so it took some time to search through all of the channels for the TV signal setup.  When it came time to setup the CableCARD I was pleasantly surprised that it skipped past the initial setup phases and jumped right to the CableCARD screen.  The Verizon tech copied down the info and headed out to his truck to connect to the mothership with his laptop.  He had to come back and recheck the data because it was asking for a POD entry that confused us both.  I assume he contacted the home office and got it straightened out because I had live TV from FIOS up and running in about 15 minutes.

    The point is, if you want to streamline your Ceton installation, go ahead and run through the complete setup before the CableCARD installer arrives.  When it asks you if you want to set up a CableCARD just say Yes and then click Next.  The actual card activation is never verified and it will let you download your guide data.  When you get the CableCARD just insert it and begin the TV signal setup.  You’ll be prompted again if you want to set up a CableCARD.  Click on Yes and then Next and you’ll be taken to the CableCARD info screen where the tech can get the info he needs to activate the card.  When activation is finished you’ll be prompted to scan for more channels.  You can either say yes or decline and exit the setup.  I ran the extra scan ahead of time so I didn’t see the need to do it again.

    One caveat is that I did have a CableCARD uinstalled in the tuner for the initial setup so I don’t know how it would affect the process if you do it without a card installed.  I don’t see how it would cause any problems so give it a shot and see how it goes.  It will make the actual installation and activation much quicker and easier.

    FWIW, the tech had never done a CableCARD install in an HTPC before so he was intrigued by the setup.  I gave him a quick tour of Windows Media Center and showed him a Blu-Ray streamed from my server.  I then took him upstairs and showed him the FIOS feed through the Ceton via one of my media extenders.  Needless to say, he was more than just a bit impressed.  I could see his eyes light up with each new feature I demonstrated.