Time Warner Cable, WMC and ServerWMC?
#1
Before I spend some money on a cable card tuner, can someone verify that I can watch and record Time Warner Cable channels?

I will have a Windows 7 WMC with ServerWMC installed with the PVR.WMC addon installed on three separate openelec machines.
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#2
Not being from the US I may not be able to answer your specific question regarding the provider but if you happen to know how they flag channels I can definitely confirm that you won't be able to view any channels flagged as COPY_ONCE or COPY_NEVER in ServerWMC/XBMC

I understand that some providers over there only flag "premium" channels like HBO etc like this, meaning you can watch most normal channels OK. But Ive also read that some providers have started to flag EVERY channel, meaning those users are S.O.L

You could probably search here in the sub forum to find various mentions from users as to their DRM woes with particular providers as it's a topic that comes up semi frequently. I just dont recall the names of many providers and who is/isnt nice to their user base Smile
pvr.wmc TV addon and ServerWMC Backend Development Team
http://bit.ly/ServerWMC
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#3
It is a shame that the same methods that cable companies use for whole house DVR solutions can not be open sourced.....I mean I am ok with DRM solutions but I should not be locked into having to pay the cable company for their whole house DVR solution. COPY_ONCE - I have one copy on my Windows media center, I am not copying it to my neighbors - I just want to view it on my xbmc/openelec media center.
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#4
I'm pretty sure TWC is one of the bad ones. In fact you can look at this other very recent thread:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=203794

It might vary by area, but I doubt it.
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
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#5
With the exception of the channels that you can get over the air, Time Warner Cable marks all content as copy-once. This limits a lot of options, but you can still use a cable card though. You will be limited to Windows Media Center for recording and viewing since at present it is the only software that is licensed to work with a cable card. For TV recording and viewing, it isn't bad. It just doesn't have the movie and other features of XBMC.

If you want to view content from more than one TV, you will need a Windows Media Center extender. There are only two being sold now. The Ceton Echo, although abandoned by Ceton, is still sold. It is a little buggy and a huge let down from what Ceton had committed to. A better choice is the XBOX 360 (not the XBOX One). It is a little worrisome that both products are already in a end of life state by their manufacturers. Regardless, both of these can connect to the HTPC running WMC and enable you to view recorded content, even content marked as copy-once. Unfortunately, the XBMC experience cannot be sent to the extenders so you will need another XMBC box at each of the satellite TVs.

The serverWMC software here will only work with the DRM free content. It will not play or allow you to share copy-once content. From within XMBC, you can see what recordings are going to happen, and schedule new ones, including channels that are copy-once, but you cannot play the copy-once content directly within XBMC.
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Time Warner Cable, WMC and ServerWMC?0