@Paul:
Agreed.

@sirshannon:
This is true about the OnDemand, PPV, and dual 1 way cards for recording two shows… BUT they should come out with newer M-cards that will have two tuner recording capability in just one card. They should be two way cards so they’ll have access to the dynamic guide, and I’m assuming OnDemand and PPV would be something they could handle too.

The real problem is that its just too darned expensive to do this… $600 for just two ATI Digital Cable Card receivers, another $1000 at least for the PC, then if you’re not using the HTPC in the room where your home theater is, there’s getting the DRM protected content to your living room. The only answer? The xbox 360. And while I believe it is the best gaming console on the market with no hesitation (I own one). I do not believe that it is the best media extender option… The fans are just too loud, and the unit (if used only as an extender is just too expensive if used for only that purpose).

I’d love to go HTPC with dual cable cards. I just can’t justify buying a new computer when I already have one capable of handling two HD capture cards that’s running Vista premium. Sorry Microsoft. I’ll wait for the DirecTV PCI card (if it ever comes)… supposedly that can be purchased without buying a whole new PC. But even then, I’d want to read some reviews of how well Vista MCE (Premium) works with the 360 as an extender…. over an ethernet network. If users complain about anything (for example) channels changing slow on live TV, or constant disconnection issues, etc. I”m going to scrap this entire idea and maybe try to go with MythTV or one of the other similar products.

Want HBO OnDemand? you need a cable box.
Want PayPerView? you need a cable box.
Want to record 2 channels? You need a dual-CableCARD MCE.

Digital cable is cool and all but without on-demand, dual recording, and PPV, I’ll stick to having a cable box and a dual analog tuner MCE.