New CableCard tuner lets your Windows 7 Media PC record four HD shows simultaneously

Nonetheless, those attached to their Windows 7 Media Center desktops in the living room should take refuge in a new CableCard tuner from Ceton. Called the InfiniTV 4 and now available for pre-order, this PCI Express x1 card lets your PC record up to four HD shows at the same time, which doubles the capabilities of my current cable set-top box. Better still, it will stream HD broadcasts to other HDTVs around your home via Media Center Extenders (of which the Xbox 360 is the most popular). Unlike earlier incarnations of CableCard, the latest models can access premium channels, so you should be able to record Spartacus on Showtime Starz while watching The Ricky Gervais Show on HBO. According to Engadget, the InifiniTV 4 doesn't include a fan, so it should keep noise levels down from your HTPC.

You'll still have to wait until May 31 for the tuner, and you'll pay dearly for it—$399. You'll also need to deal with your cable provider in order to obtain the multi-stream CableCard to work with the InifiniTV 4 tuner, which can be a headache of its own.