First Look at CableCard Diagnostics Tool for Windows Media Center

CE Pro has the first look at the new CableCard diagnostic tool from the Media Center Integrator Alliance.

The so-called Digital Cable Tuner Diagnostics (DCTD) tool is pretty slick stuff, as we saw in a sneak preview at the two-day Media Center University, which begins today at EHX Spring.

Here are some highlights of the new tool:

Channel Pairing. First and foremost, the new DCTD ensures that channels on a CableCard (Digital Cable Tuner) installed on a Windows Media Center are correctly paired with the channels provided by the MSO (cable operator).

Click the "Scan" tab on the diagnostic tool, and away it goes, scanning the channels that the tuner sees.

Here in Orlando, Fla., Microsoft's Todd Rutherford checked the scanned channels against the channel lineup on the BrightHouse Web site to make sure he was getting them all.

"This is a great way of validating channels – what you think you're getting versus what the cable company is giving you," says Rutherford.

Channel Strength. How does the cable guy usually ensure that are your channels are in fine working order? He goes channel by channel on the TV and eyeballs it. If you're lucky!

He usually leaves you to find the bad channels after he's already left the premises.

With the diagnostic tool, installers can quickly and easily check the viability of each channel.


(Click to Enlarge) Here, the Media Center with CableCard is connected to the cable company and has the proper pairing (top left), but some channels are too strong (yellow) and some too weak (red). MCIA has established acceptable ranges for digital and analog tuners. The firmware is not up-to-date (bottom left). It should be updated to the latest version 1.17. For more screen shots, check out the slide show.

"You can do it while the cable guy is still there," says Rutherford.

Through trial and error, MCIA itself established "acceptable" ranges for various tuner formats.

"QAM has different ranges than analog," says Microsoft's Doug Berrett, who helped create the tool. "So go by the color, not the value."

Look for a green indicator in the "Level" section. Red indicates the signal is too low; yellow suggests it's too high.

On the spot, the cable guy should be able to amplify or attenuate those channels.

Are you connected? The top left section of the tool basically tells you if you're connected to the cable system.

"OOB" or out-of-band is the channel in which the CableCard talks to the cable head-end. If it's red, you don't have a connection.

"Paired" tells you whether or not the tuner is actually paired up with the cable company's computer system "so they know who you are," Berrett says.

The "Virtual Channel Table" is the schedule that comes from the cable company, telling your tuner which channels are mapped to which frequency.

Tuner Details. In the "Details" section, check the Host Firmware to ensure that you have the latest version.

The details also give you information about the various tuners, which is useful for Media Centers that have multiple tuners.

Encryption and Authorization. Here you can determine if you're getting the channels you're paying for. If you subscribe to HBO and you see "False" on that channel, then the cable company has some explaining to do.

One especially handy feature is the "Encryption" section which lets you know if the user can copy freely, copy once or copy never.

Pity that this information is available only to the installer and not the consumer.


(Click to enlarge) Here, there are two cable tuners and they are incorrectly paired (red buttons). Note also the "Encryption (Enc) Level" on the bottom screen. It indicates whether a channel offers copy freely, copy once or copy never protection. Unfortunately, this information is not exposed to the consumer. The "Auth" section, which is not supported on all systems, indicates which channels the customer should be getting from the cable company. You might see "off" for HBO, for example.

CableCard Tool Good for Installers

Obviously the Digital Cable Tuner Diagnostics tool is good for installers. It's also good for manufacturers.

Brian Paper of Niveus, a manufacturer of high-performance Media Centers, says that "almost all Media Centers that ship with CableCard get one tech-support call."

The call usually comes during the set-up.

If the installer doesn't have access to the diagnostics tool, Niveus can use its own software to run the diagnostics on the remote PC.

Paper believes the tool could help cut CableCard installation time by half.

He adds, "No matter how much prep work a dealer does in the shop, he still has to do the CableCard on site. The [dealers] may test it at the shop and it takes one hour, and then in the field it takes eight hours. They didn't budget for that."

Sadly, the diagnostic tool is available only to members of the Media Center Integrator Alliance, so most Media Center installers and cable guys won't have access to it.

Join MCIA ($500) at http://www.mediacenterintegrator.com. MCIA is sponsor of Media Center University at EHX.


Six Windows Media Center stations are set up in room 240 at EHX. Each is equipped with a CableCard. Students at Media Center University will get hands-on instruction on CableCard installation and using the diagnostics tool. On Friday, all EHX attendees are welcome to try it for themselves. Experts will be on hand to answer Media Center questions, and a Windows 7 demonstration is available as well.