Vista Media Center 2008 TV Pack w/ClearQAM Support



If the following is your situation:

1) You have Vista Premium or Ultimate for your OS

2) You want to use Microsoft Media Center for your TV tuner application

3) You have cable

4) You have a PC TV tuner that is QAM (digital cable) capable

5) You want to record/watch clearQAM (unencrypted digital cable) on your PC

6) You don' t plan to upgrade to Windows 7 anytime soon

then you might be interested in installing the Vista Media Center 2008 TV Pack.

Originally created for special OEM Entertainment Center PC's, the 2008 TV Pack (somehow) found it's way to the internet. It is available for both x86 and x64 versions of Vista. For you, this is an unsupported upgrade, however Microsoft has not made any efforts to have it removed from distribution.



PROS:

  • Support for clearQAM tuners
  • New, faster encryption program (Playready) for recordings
  • Standard digital channel numbers (example 2-1 as opposed to 1021)
  • Guide includes all sub-channels for over-the air stations, not just sub-channel 1.
  • Can configure 2 analog, 2 over-the-air digital, and 2 clearQAM tuners
  • You do not have to have a "clean" install of Vista to install the TV Pack, however it is recommended.


CONS:
  • Must install unsupported software
  • Media Center recordings made on TV Pack 2008 cannot be played on standard Vista Media Centers (because of new encryption)
  • Hybrid tuners cannot be configured for both analog and digital
  • The install wipes out all previous Media Center settings, including recording settings


This not a supported upgrade for anyone not getting it from an OEM; however, if you look HERE you just might find a way to download all the files necessary for a successful install.

All the tuners on the compare tuner page that support QAM will work with the Vista 2008 TV Pack with the exception of:

  • the Onair Tuners
  • the Pinnacle tuners
  • the Kworld tuner

Vista Service Pack 1 is required for the install. If you plan to do this upgrade I would strongly suggest doing a full backup prior to installing the TV Pack.

For more info on the TV Pack go here.


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