Diamond TV Wonder 650 Theater PCI-E TV Tuner Card ATSC NTSC HDTV FM with Rogers.

[Cabal2000]

I just got this card online for about $50, looks nice and I need another TV in the house so I am going for a TV PC so to say.
At present I had Rogers (Canada) but only the basic analog channels upstairs in my daughters bed room.
I checked the hookup box on the outside of the house and took the filter off, the TV my daughter has is a regular analog CRT so I did not expect any changes and there was not.
My question is this, is there a way to get rest of Rogers package, HDTV and what not by using this card? Is there a specific software other then what comes with the card? I don't have the card yet as i ordered it today but I am trying to get this figured out ahead of time.

Much Thx
Cabal

[usually_quiet]

Assuming you have a good strong signal coming into the card, your analog channels will be available. If you have any unencrypted (clear) QAM channels available, and have installed PVR software that supports QAM, it will display those as well. However, if the situation in Canada is the same as in the US, it is likely that most of the HDTV channels carried by your provider will be encrypted. (In the US, the only HDTV channels in clear QAM most of us get are local stations.)

The disc that comes with the card should have ATI's Catalyst Media Center PVR software included. The specs for the card say ATI Catalyst Media Center features full PVR and time shifting functionality, DVD playback software, DVD authoring software, and ATI Theater™ Video Converter software, though reviews I have read say it isn't the greatest. The card also comes with an "AMD LIVE!™ CD featuring AMD LIVE! On Demand", but I don't know what that is.

Windows 7's Media Center is supposed to work well with that card, though QAM channels often have to be added manually. (True for any tuner card, not just that one). There are Windows 7 drivers available for the Theater 650 chip, if you have Windows 7 Media Center. If you have Vista or XP and don't like Catalyst Media Center I'd look at GBPVR to see if it supports that card.

I've been looking at the same card for a few days now.

[usually_quiet]

I decided to use Google to find out what Canadian cable subscribers are likely to find in clear QAM. After reading a number of posts on the subject, some from Rodgers subscribers, I found the answer is nothing. It seems that the only way to view any DTV offerings via a cable box.

Apparently there is no requirement for even digital locals to be carried unencrypted, so they aren't. ...and to make matters worse, there is nothing like a CableCARD available, so the CableCARD tuners that are beginning to be offered for sale in the US are not going to be an option for Canadian HTPC enthusiasts.

[Cabal2000]

Thanks, I was guessing that to from the posts and forums that I have been reading.