Ceton Infinitv4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card

This week I received my CETON Infinitv 4 and M-Card in the mail. Bristling with excitement at finally being able to view HD TV content on my homebuilt HTPC, I started the installation with visions of sugar plums and viewing pleasure dancing in my head. The installation of the Infinitv 4 was uneventful, and setting up the cable card was a breeze. My homebuilt HTPC, which is based on the Intel 980X 6 core processor with 8GB of RAM (water cooled of course) was more than up for the task. However, once the installation was complete, I noticed that my Windows 7 Professional system needed some critical updates, which required a reboot. After rebooting, I immediately attempted in vain to get Windows Media Center (WMC) to recognize my cable card. Reinstalling the Infinitv 4 drivers, firmware updates, and further reboots did nothing. Two hours in, I decided to uninstall WMC and started over. Once I got my system up and running again I was pleased at how well WMC acts as a cable box. HD video was as clear as the Verizon HD DVR. Changing channels was quick and easy and the ability to record 4 channels at once was pure bliss. After turning my system off to fix dinner, I returned later in the evening to realize that shutting off my computer again required reinstalling WMC to get TV watching up and running again. I was reminded why I switched primarily to using a MAC Book Pro for computer tasks and work. Say what you want, but I've never turned my MAC off and been faced with problems after turning it back on. However, undaunted, I scanned the web to see who else was having similar issues hoping someone had already found a solution to this dilemma. No amount of troubleshooting, and internet forums presented me with a solution to WMC not being able to find the cable card after a reboot. However, I was able to find a shorter solution to fixing the problem without reinstalling WMC. By using CETON's very cable utility, I can now clear all the settings in WMC, but I still have to set up the TV signal each time my system reboots. I can live with the lack of VOD and having to call Verizon for PPV content, but either CETON or Microsoft has to fix this rebooting problem. But what about Placeshifting and my Slingbox? With no ability to get component out from my HTPC without a HDMI to Component converter, I decided to try out Orb Caster. No amount of troubleshooting could get the Orb software to recognize my cable tuner. So much for place shifting for now. I may break down and buy the convertor, but I hope to get Orb working eventually. Overall, I'm pleased with my current setup. I can quickly switch from watching TV to watching Blu Rays on my HTPC. In addition, the picture quality is superb and the speed of WMC is unmatched by any cable box I've used in the past. My universal remote works great with my HTPC as well. Since I rarely power down my HTPC, I can live with the setup inconvenience for now. I will see how the PPV works tomorrow when I order the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight. If you've never considered using a HTPC, you really don't know what you're missing. Especially, since online video broadcasting of most shows is becoming more prevalent. CETON's Infinitv 4 does allow for viewing from any Windows based PC on your home network. But alas, all my other PCs are MAC products. I do plan to assign one of the 4 tuners in the M-card to my kids Xbox. This will allow me to get rid of all the cable boxes in my house. More savings. :-) Currently, CETON doesn't offer MAC support, but you can't have everything. Good first effort with this product, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make this a 4-5 star product.