CableCard for Windows Media Center finally arrives

Exceptional Innovation is demonstrating CableCard support in Windows Vista at the Electronic Home Expo. CE Pro reports that Exceptional Innovation has a demo unit consisting of a Sony XL3 Media Center PC and 1080p Sony Bravia TV.

Up until now, the only way to get high definition programming on a PC running Windows Media Center was with a HDTV card that can pick up over-the-air broadcasts.

Niveus will also be showing off the ability to stream CableCard content to multiple Xbox 360s serving as Media Center Extenders at the Electronic Home Expo. Of course, all the demos in the world aren't going to help your local cable guy better understand how to install CableCards in your PC. TiVo Series3 owners are full of stories of cable installers trying to put CableCards in the TV rather than the TiVo.