Archive:Set up CableCard with HDHomeRun UPnP

Here's an easy method of using XBMC, HDHomeRun Prime, and CableCard, to easily set up live TV for all of your XBMC boxes in HD. CableCard is a cable TV technology for the United States.

I got an HDHomeRun Prime. What's great about the Prime is that if you don't need to record, as you indicated, then you can easily set it up in XBMC by adding it as a UPnP source and no additional software or hardware.

Get an HDHomeRun Prime and then call up Comcast and find where a local customer service center is so that you can go and pick up a Cable Card. They'll charge you a small fee for picking it up or activating it or something, but the card itself should be free of monthly charges. In fact, I think they will give you a credit on your bill since you are providing your own tuner hardware (the Prime). Make sure to mention this, as sometimes people get mistakenly charged for the Cable Card, but the first one you get (that is not in Comcast branded hardware, so existing cable boxes don't count against this) should be free.

Go home and insert the card into the Prime. Sometime now, even before you get the Cable Card, be sure to go to http://silicondust.com and grab the latest firmware update, in case the firmware on the Prime doesn't already have the UPnP update. The Prime should also instruct you on how to load up the Prime's interface in a web browser, which will tell you some numbers off of the Cable Card that you will need to activate it. Comcast should also tell you which phone number to call to activate the card, which for some reason has to be done while it is in the Prime, so it can't be done when you pick up the card (which is silly, I know). Once activated, it should be able to scan for channels from the web interface, and you should see a bunch of them show up in a list.

In XBMC you can now simply add the Prime as a UPnP media source ( http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=UPnP/Media_source ). It's pretty basic and doesn't have a TV guide or anything, but it is possible to add those later if you wish. Here's a great YouTube video that also explains this process. In the video they use Raspberry Pis, but the process is the same for any XBMC install (except that in most cases you do not have to buy an MPEG2 codec license, so you can ignore that part): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKpqmkpkyOA

XBMC can access channels that are "flagged" as "copy freely", which includes most Comcast/Xfinity channels. The only channels you can't access in XBMC are premium channels like HBO, Showtime, etc. There were one or two sports channels that also didn't work for me, but most sports channels did seem to work, like ESPN, Fox Sports, etc. You can still use those channels with the Prime, but they require a UPnP client that can work with "copy once" channels, like a PS3, or HDHomeRun's Android app.