InfiniTV 6 PCIe, Windows 8, Dynamic Pooling & Tuner Sharing

[cghirardi]

I have read so many conflicting things about the InfiniTV 6 and Windows 8.1 with dynamic pooling and tuner sharing. Can I have tuner sharing and dynamic pooling with the InfiniTV 6 PCIe in Windows 8.1? If not, can I have tuner sharing and dynamic pooling with the InfiniTV 6 PCIe in Windows 7? Thanks in advance!

[adam1991]

http://cetoncorp.com/product-support/

Do InfiniTV devices support sharing tuners between more than one Media Center PC?

A: InfiniTV 6 ETH is the supported solution for Network Tuner (a.k.a. Tuner Sharing) capabilities between more than one Media Center PC on a home network. It is a network-connected device that is designed specifically for such scenarios. Network Tuners with InfiniTV 6 ETH is supported on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems.

InfiniTV 4 PCIe supports Windows Network Bridging capabilities when running on Windows 7 systems. Network Bridging is a workaround solution that enables individual tuners on an InfiniTV 4 PCIe to be assigned to additional Windows 7 PCs. Network bridging with InfiniTV 4 PCIe is not compatible with Windows 8.x.

InfiniTV 4 USB and InfiniTV 6 PCIe do not support Network Tuners or Network Bridging.

[cghirardi]

Yes, very good Adam. What I've read conflicts with what the Ceton website says. I have read some people mention that with the latest beta firmware and beta software all tuner sharing and dynamic pooling does work with Windows 8.1 Pro with the PCIe InfiniTV. Can anyone confirm this?

[cwinfield]

You can only do network bridging which is incompatible with windows 8.x

[erkotz]

Yes, very good Adam. What I've read conflicts with what the Ceton website says. I have read some people mention that with the latest beta firmware and beta software all tuner sharing and dynamic pooling does work with Windows 8.1 Pro with the PCIe InfiniTV. Can anyone confirm this?

This is absolutely not true. Dynamic tuner sharing is a feature of the InfiniTV ETH only, and other products do not have this feature.

[erkotz]

You can only do network bridging which is incompatible with windows 8.x

Network bridging with the InfinTV 6 PCIe is an untested (and unsupported) solution. For a network 6-tuner device, we recommend the InfiniTV 6 ETH.

[cghirardi]

So this makes me wonder how 6 tuners in one PC that can only be used by that PC is helpful at all.

[erkotz]

So this makes me wonder how 6 tuners in one PC that can only be used by that PC is helpful at all.

We have many customers (and I am included in that) that record enough to need 6 (or more - we have customers with 2 InfiniTV 6 cards in a single PC) tuners. Additionally, they can serve extenders. For instance, my parents have an InfiniTV 6 serving one PC, but that PC has 2 Extenders on it serving a total of 3 TVs.

[adam1991]

So this makes me wonder how 6 tuners in one PC that can only be used by that PC is helpful at all.

Why wouldn't it be helpful?

For those who use WMC as it was intended--a single tuning/recording "tank" with extenders at remote TVs--6 tuners is quite handy.

[cghirardi]

I guess I'm thinking more specifically to my situation in which I don't want to use extenders but rather client HTPC's. All of this information is helpful though, thanks guys.

[adam1991]

I know I've always been confused as to why the want/need to use separate Windows computers at each TV, instead of the extender system. At the least, it compromises the recording concept and takes you back to the old days of the cable company, where you have to remember where you recorded something and you have to strategize on where something should be recorded based on space or whatever.

But that's just me.

[cwinfield]

I know I've always been confused as to why the want/need to use separate Windows computers at each TV, instead of the extender system. At the least, it compromises the recording concept and takes you back to the old days of the cable company, where you have to remember where you recorded something and you have to strategize on where something should be recorded based on space or whatever.

But that's just me.

Right, I think it is just a matter of the right tool for the job. If you want a HTPC server then you need a larger case with plenty of storage with a pci-e tuner and extenders. If you want several laptops and lower power NUC computers to play live TV or unprotected content then an ETH or HDHRP is just a better choice.

[cghirardi]

Having been able to setup network bridging with the InfiniTV 6 PCIe in Wondows 8.1, though not officially supported, I again see the awesomeness and power of the InfiniTV cards.

[AltSean]

how did you setup the network bridging cg?