General

Q: What is the Ceton InfiniTV 4?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 is a digital cable tuner and the world’s first multiple-tuner solution for receiving premium, encrypted digital cable TV on the PC. It enables advanced, multi-channel cable TV services natively on Media Center PCs.

• It supports playing or recording up to 4 high-definition cable TV channels simultaneously, including premium channels, without the need for any cable set-top boxes.
• It also enables secure distribution of all TV programming, including live and recorded shows as well as premium and encrypted channels, to additional TV sets in the home via Media Center extenders like the Xbox 360.

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Q: What makes the Ceton InfiniTV 4 special?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 is the world’s first multiple-tuner solution for receiving premium, encrypted digital cable TV on the PC. The only solutions for digital cable on the PC up until now have been single-tuner products. Ceton has integrated 4 digital cable tuners in a single PC card that requires only 1 CableCARD, as opposed to the alternative, which is 4 separate single-tuner cards with 4 separate CableCARDs, at a significantly higher cost.

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Q: When will InfiniTV 4 ship to consumers?

A: Updated June 28 – We hope to be able to start shipping units to consumers in July, and units will ship on a first ordered/first shipped basis, regardless of which retailer you ordered from. At this point we expect that products ordered through the InfiniTV 4 Pre-Order Program will ship in a couple of batches, as opposed to all at once as we would have preferred to do. The first batch will hopefully ship within the next few weeks and the rest following that.

Once shipping details are firm, we’ll announce it through our newsletter, which you can sign up for here.

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Q: Does InfiniTV come with it’s own remote control?

A: InfiniTV does not come with a separate remote control.  Some Media Center PCs come with their own remotes and InfiniTV is compatible with third-party remote controls that are Windows 7 compatible.

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Q: How much is the Ceton InfiniTV 4 card and when will it be available for purchase?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 card is available for retail purchase today at Zones.com for $399, and is expected to ship later in 2010.  At this point we are unable to provide an exact ship date but believe it will be roughly around mid year.

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Q: Can I be a beta tester? How can I sign up?

A: We appreciate your interest in testing the Ceton InfiniTV 4, however the beta program is closed at this point.

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Q: Can a PC be a Windows Media Extender?

A: Unfortunately no. The Media Center Extender functionality is built into the Xbox 360, including the entry-level system. Also, Linksys and D-Link offer dedicated Media Center Extenders.

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Q. In what configurations will the card be available?

A. Initially the Ceton InfiniTV 4 card will be available in a 4-tuner PCIe low profile configuration, enabling a single Media Center PC to watch and/or record up to 4 live HD channels at once.

Over time we plan to introduce an entry-level 2-tuner version as well as a premium 6-tuner version for specially pre-configured OEM PCs, as well as additional products.

Our focus for the next several months, however, is on the quad-tuner card.

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Q: What kind of PCs can I install the Ceton InfiniTV 4 card in?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 card comes in a PCI Express low-profile form factor, making it an ideal solution for desktops, towers and slim entertainment PCs. It is not a solution for laptops or most All-in-One PCs, however, as they do not have PCIe slots for expandability for cards like this. We are working on an external USB-attached version as well as other form factors that will bring the Ceton technology to these other platforms in the future.

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Q: How much does the Ceton InfiniTV 4 card cost?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 card has a Suggested Retail Price of $399.00 and is available to pre-order today. For reference, competitive solutions are single-tuner products that cost $200+ per unit ($800+ for 4 units needed to have the equivalent 4 tuners). In addition, each single-tuner product requires its own CableCARD, which you lease from your cable operator for $2 to $6 each per month ($96 to $288 per year for 4 CableCARDs). The Ceton DCT requires only 1 CableCARD for all 4 tuners.

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Retail and OEM Availability

Q: I am a System Builder/Customer Installer/HTPC integrator/small retailer/reseller and would like to be able to purchase InfiniTV in bulk quantities. Will that be possible?

A: We are working on a program for bulk purchases that can be made through a distributor and will announce details on the program when they are available.

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Q: Will PC OEMs offer a lower price upgrade from existing OCURs?

A: We certainly hope that PC OEMs will offer both pre-configured and upgrade options, though it is ultimately up to them to decide which options work best for their customers.

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Q: Which PC OEMs will I be able to buy it from?

A: We’re in discussion with a number of OEMs, as well as with other potential partners, and interest has been very high. We haven’t announced our partners yet but expect to soon.

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Q: Where can I buy InfiniTV 4?

A: InfiniTV 4 is available today for pre-order from Zones.com.  Over time we expect it to also be available from additional retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar stores) as well as from leading PC OEMs (as both a pre-installed option on new PCs and as an upgrade option in OEM accessory stores).

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Q: When can I purchase InfiniTV 4?

A: InfiniTV 4 is available today for pre-order from Zones.com.  Units are expected to ship to consumers approximately mid-year of 2010.

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Q: How come the 6-tuner card will be available only from certain OEMs and not from all OEMs, or as a retail upgrade option?

A: The Ceton PC card supports 4 tuners, which is the maximum number of TV tuners that are supported in the retail versions of Windows 7 that include Windows Media Center.

Certain OEMs license the Advanced Entertainment Pack (AEP) for Windows, which enables support for more than 4 tuners on a PC. The Ceton 6-tuner PC card is a solution for those OEMs and systems.

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Q: Will InfiniTV be available at retail or only bundled with PCs from certain OEMs?

A: Ceton InfiniTV digital cable tuners will be available for purchase at retail as well as pre-installed by PC OEMs in the future.  InfiniTV 4 is available today for pre-order from Zones.com.  Units are expected to ship to consumers approximately mid-year of 2010.

Note that, with the September 2009 changes related to digital cable tuner requirements on the PC that were announced by Microsoft and CableLabs, consumers can now upgrade existing, compatible Windows 7 PCs to include a digital cable tuner like the Ceton InfiniTV 4. Prior to that change, digital cable tuner products were only supported on PCs designated as “cable ready”.

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Support for satellite and non-US cable systems

Q: Will the Ceton InfiniTV 4 work for satellite TV?

A: Cable and satellite TV providers use different technologies and different technical standards for delivering their TV services.  In fact, even between the satellite operators in the U.S. the technologies are different.  These technologies are also different from country to country.  So it would not be feasible today to develop a product like ours that works across all the cable and satellite networks.  Our first set of products are designed specifically for cable TV systems in the U.S.

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Q: Will InfiniTV work outside the US, for example in Canada or Europe (DVB-C or DVB-T)?

A: For Canada: since CableCARD support is not a regulatory requirement in Canada as it is in the US, some Canadian cable operators support CableCARD-based devices like InfiniTV, while others do not. You’ll have to check with your local cable operator.

For Rest of World: InfiniTV 4 today is designed specifically for cable systems in North America that support CableCARD-based devices.  Cable systems outside the US and Canada use a different set of technologies and technical standards for delivering TV services, such as DVB-C in Europe for digital cable or DVB-T for over-the-air digital terrestrial broadcasts. It would require a different version of our technology to work in those other markets and with those other technical standards.

It is possible we will introduce a product for international markets like Europe or elsewhere at some point in the future, but right now our focus is on North American cable.

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Windows Support & System Requirements

Q: What are the recommended system requirements?

A: The recommended minimum system requirements for the Ceton InfiniTV 4 are:

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate
• 2.0 GHz or faster CPU minimum, either 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64) – 2.7 GHz or faster dual-core CPU is recommended
• 2 GB of RAM minimum – 3 GB or more is recommended
• 1 PCIe slot, which can be either an x1, x4, x8, or x16 type slot
• HDCP compliant on-board graphics or graphics card
• HDMI out, or DVI out with separate audio out
• Multi-Stream CableCARD™ (M-Card) – available from your local cable provider
• Digital cable subscription from a U.S. cable provider

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Q: How much power does InfiniTV 4 require?

A: Power consumption will vary by the duty cycle.  As an average, the card requires approximately 14 watts when all four tuners are running.

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Q: When will I be able to build my own system and use InfiniTV?

A: Consumers can pre-order InfiniTV 4 today to build their own system as long as it meets the published system requirements in this FAQ.  Units are expected to ship to consumers approximately mid-year of 2010.

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Q: What kind and how many PCIe slots do I need?

A: InfiniTV 4 requires only 1 PCIe slot, which can be either an x1, x4, x8, or x16 type slot.

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Q: What are the dimensions of InfiniTV 4?

A: InfiniTV 4 is a PCI Express (PCIe) Low Profile form-factor card with dimensions of 6.6″ (L) x 2.535″ (H) x 0.68″ (W).  It requires only 1 PCIe slot.  It should fit in most slim form-factor PCs (just make sure the PCIe slot you choose has enough space for the full length of the card) as well as in full-sized towers and desktops. The card comes with both low-profile and full-height backplates so you can swap the backplate if needed, depending on the type of case you’re installing it in.

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Q: Can I use any motherboard?

A: This is difficult to answer broadly because there are physical constraints on many motherboards for PCIe Low Profile cards. InfiniTV 4 requires 1 PCIe slot (x1, x4, x8 or x16) and enough room for the board’s length.  The dimensions of the board are 6.6″ (L) x 2.535″ (H) x 0.68″ (W).

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Q: Will InfiniTV work with Vista or will I have to upgrade to Windows 7?

A: Ceton InfiniTV digital cable tuners have been designed for Windows 7 specifically and have been extensively tested with Windows 7 by both Ceton and Microsoft.

We will support InfiniTV on new or upgraded PCs that meet the published system requirements and that are running a version of Windows 7 with Windows Media Center (Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate).

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Installation

Q: What home network configurations does InfiniTV 4 support?

A: We recommend a wired Ethernet or coax (MoCA) network be used between the Media Center PC and any other devices connected by Media Center Extenders. In order to send high-definition content from the Media Center PC to other TVs in the home without degrading the quality of the picture, you will need bandwidth and quality of service that exceeds the capabilities of most WiFi networks today.

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Q: How do I connect multiple TV sets to the main Media Center PC?

A: Ceton InfiniTV digital cable tuners takes advantage of standard Media Center Extenders including the Xbox 360 to distribute live and recorded programs to multiple TV sets in the home. No special installation or configuration of the extenders is required by InfiniTV 4.

Depending on which versions of Windows 7 and InfiniTV you have, you will be able to distribute either 2, 4 or 6 live TV channels around the home with a single CableCARD installed and using a single RF connection.

So in a typical 4-tuner home installation, you could have 4 different TV sets in 4 different rooms, each watching or recording (or some combination of watching and recording) a different show in HD at the same time.

Of course you could have other configurations as well such as the following with the 4 tuner card:

• 1 TV set watching live TV while the Media Center DVR records 3 other shows at the same time (4 live streams total)
• Four HD channels recording on 1 TV set while other TVs in the home are playing back previously recorded shows.
• 2 TV sets each recording 2 live shows at once (4 live streams total)
• 2 TV sets watching a different live channels each, while 2 other TV sets are each recording 1 different show to the DVR (4 live streams total)

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Q: How easy is it to set up a Media Center PC with Ceton InfiniTV?

A: If you purchase InfiniTV as a standalone retail product: Ceton and Microsoft have extensively tested the set-up and installation process for InfiniTV 4 to make it as easy and foolproof as possible. Once the card is physically installed in the PC, you’ll need to download and install the driver from the Ceton website and then run the standard Media Center set-up process, which will recognize the Ceton card and configure the tuners. Once you set up your Media Center PC, you will need to contact your local cable company and request a CableCARD M-Card that is compatible with the local cable system. They will either send you the card or schedule an installation date (some cable operators still require that they install CableCARDs themselves). Once the CableCARD is installed you would just go through the normal set-up procedures for a Media Center PC and, if applicable, any Media Center extenders you have.

If you purchase a new PC pre-configured with InfiniTV: If your Ceton InfiniTV card comes bundled with a PC from an OEM, the card itself will not require any additional installation. Once you set up your Media Center PC, you will need to contact your local cable company and request a CableCARD M-Card that is compatible with the local cable system. They will either send you the card or schedule an installation date (some cable operators still require that they install CableCARDs themselves). Once the CableCARD is installed you would just go through the normal set-up procedures for a Media Center PC and, if applicable, any Media Center extenders you have.

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TV Features, Cable Operators, CableCARD and Tru2Way

Q: Does InfiniTV support Switched Digital Video? (SDV)

A: InfiniTV has been designed to support SDV via SDV Tuning Adapters (TAs) that are available from your cable operator.  Depending on your specific cable operator and the type of equipment they use, you’ll need either 1 or 2 Tuning Adapters to support all 4 TV tuners in InfiniTV 4.  Motorola TAs support 4 tuners per TA, so if you’re on a Motorola system then you’ll need 1 TA.  Cisco/Scientific Atlanta TAs support 2 tuners per TA, so if you’re on a Cisco system you’ll need 2 TAs for all 4 tuners.

In either case you get full functionality with InfiniTV 4 as long as you have the correct number of TAs for 4 tuners.

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Q: Does InfiniTV support 3D TV broacasts?

Yes, Ceton InfiniTV 4 supports 3D TV broadcasts as long as you have a 3D graphics card like the NVIDIA® 3D Vision installed in your Media Center PC  and you receive 3D broadcasts from your cable provider.

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Q: Does InfiniTV support network tuning and tuner sharing?

A: We’ve seen some confusion and incorrect information online about network tuning and tuner sharing and we want to set the record straight so there’s no confusion. The Ceton InfiniTV 4 can utilize the network bridging capabilities in Windows 7 to expose the tuners to other PCs on your network.

However, since current DRM and OCUR technology do not have sufficient capability to distinguish between another PC in a user’s home and a PC in another nearby residence but on the same network, tuner sharing between PCs is prohibited by the OCUR specifications.

InfiniTV 4 can be used over a network with network bridging but in order to be compliant with the OCUR specification, all 4 tuners must be connected to the same PC.  So, for example, you cannot use 2 of the InfiniTV 4 tuners on System A and the other 2 tuners on System B.  This applies to any OCUR product and not just InfiniTV 4, regardless of whether or not network bridging is used or the device has Ethernet integrated.

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Q: Will the Ceton InfiniTV 4 tune analog, Clear QAM and/or ATSC channels in addition to encrypted digital cable channels?

A: The Ceton InfiniTV 4 is a digital TV solution.  In addition to encrypted digital cable channels, it will also tune Clear QAM (e.g. unencrypted cable) and ATSC (e.g. over-the-air HD broadcast) channels.  As a digital TV solution it will not support analog channels however.  There are many low-cost analog TV tuners available on the market that you could add to a Media Center PC if you require analog TV support in addition to digital TV.

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Q: Does the Ceton InfiniTV 4 support Closed Captioning?

A: Yes.  Ceton tuners in a Windows 7 Media Center PC support closed captioning for digital channels.

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Q: Will the Ceton InfiniTV 4 support Tru2Way services from my cable operator?

A: Tru2Way is a combination of hardware and software and requires that your local cable operator offer Tru2Way services on their cable plant.   There is very limited deployment of Tru2Way services to consumer homes in the US currently.

The Ceton InfiniTV 4 is hardware that integrates with the Windows 7 Media Center software to enable the user experience (TV guide, live channels, DVR, search, etc.) that you see today.  A cable operator could develop a Windows 7 Media Center application that takes advantage of the Ceton technology to enable Tru2Way services on the PC, however no such applications are available currently.

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Q: How much hard drive space do DVR recordings take up?

A: DVR recording space will vary by show, especially for HD content, depending on what bit-rate the show is encoded and broadcast in.  Sports shows like a football games tend to take up more space than movies, for example, since they’re typically encoded and broadcast at higher bit rates.  As an average assume the following:

• 60 min HD show – 6 GB (500 GB hard drive = 83 hours of HD)
• 60 min SD show – 1 GB (500 GB hard drive = 500 hours of SD)

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Q: What is CableLabs?

A: Founded in 1988 by cable operating companies, Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®) is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those technical advancements into their business objectiv

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Q. What is CableLabs Certification and why does it matter?

A. The US cable industry has a required certification program that is designed to make sure products like set-top boxes, cable modems, TV tuner cards and other devices that connect to a cable network comply with the relevant cable industry specifications. Once a product has passed the certification process, it becomes CableLabs Certified and can then be sold commercially.

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Q: Does the Ceton InfiniTV 4 support Tru2Way?

A: Currently, InfiniTV 4 does not support True2Way as there are very few Tru2Way services available to consumers today.  If the True2Way market evolves such that there is enough demand to add that functionality, then it’s something we would certainly consider seriously.

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