A reader sent me an interesting question via e-mail last week, one that I get at least once a month. I thought it would be worth answering here so that others could benefit. Here’s the question:

I have a new Media Center desktop PC from HP with an HDMI port. If I get a high def converter box from Comcast, will I be able to watch and record in high def from my PC?

Good question, and unfortunately, the answer is no. The problem is that high-definition cable signals are encrypted, and there’s no easy way to get the signal from the box to your PC. Here’s a breakdown of options for residents of the United States:

Over-the-air (OTA) high-definition broadcasts
With a good antenna and a relatively inexpensive tuner, you can record any OTA broadcast in full quality. You can save it on your PC, edit it, and copy it to another PC or device. This works for any broadcast signal, with no cable subscription required. I have two digital tuners here, and the quality is superb.

Cable or satellite signals via converter box
Either of these options requires a converter box, which is keyed to your subscriber ID and is encrypted. You can send output from an S-Video connector to a TV tuner in your PC, but the output will be standard-definition. You also have to connect your infrared remote to the input on the converter box so the the Media Center can change channels for you. If you are happy with SD, then this option works fine. The only device that I am aware of that can take output from an HD source and use it in a Media Center is the Hauppauge HD PVR. It takes the output from the component output on your converter box and saves it as high-definition H.264 recordings. Personally, I find this option way too complicated, but if you want to investigate, try this article from GeekTonic and this very long discussion thread at The Green Button.

CableCARD
For cable customers only, you have the option of using one or more digital cable tuners (DCTs) that can be internal or external (USB). This is the solution I use. The cable goes directly from your wall outlet to the tuner and does not use a cable converter box. Instead, the cable company supplies a card that plugs into the tuner and does the work of identifying you as a subscriber and decrypting the incoming signal. You rent the CableCARD (typically for a buck or two a month), and it must be installed and configured by the cable company.

The CableCARD solution works great once you get it set up. I have three CableCARD tuners here, and they allow me to record any standard or high-definition signal on my Media Center. I can view the recorded programs on a Media Center extender over my network or watch them on the PC where they were recorded. Windows Vista supports CableCARD tuners. Windows 7 does a much better job.

However, there are some restrictions you should be aware of:

• Currently, CableCARD tuners can only be sold with a new PC that has been certified by CableLabs and is specially modified with a BIOS that supports the devices. You need a special product key to activate the tuner. This restriction is about to be lifted so that you’ll be able to buy a DCT and install it on a system you build or buy. According to Microsoft, that change is coming very soon. You can read some details about the change here.
• Currently, all programs recorded via CableCARD are copy-protected. That’s true even of broadcast programs that would be completely unrestricted if you recorded them over the air. The copy protection is due to be relaxed soon, with a firmware update to existing tuners. But again, this change has not happened yet.
• CableCARD devices are tied to a particular PC. That will continue to be true even after the recent changes take effect. When you set up a CableCARD tuner, the cable company takes a unique ID from your PC and from the CableCARD and “pairs” them. If you want to move a CableCARD tuner to a new PC, you have to get the cable company to come out and replace the card and set up a new pairing. And at that point any recordings you made on the old PC will not play back on the new one.

A company called Ceton is promising to offer a new multi-tuner CableCARD device soon, at prices to be determined. When that happens, I’ll certainly be testing it and writing about it here. Don’t get too excited, though. This device was “coming soon” way back in March 2008!

Meanwhile, satellite subscribers are still in limbo. DirecTV once had a Media Center tuner under development, but the project is officially dead. There are conflicting rumors of a Dish TV tuner, including a report last month that it was killed and a report that it was sighted at CEDIA (a professional tradeshow) earlier this month. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Got questions? Ask away in the comments.

Way back in May 2008, I noted an annoying, longstanding bug that surfaces when you install Adobe Reader on Windows Vista x64. The preview function, both in Windows Explorer and in Outlook 2007, is broken. The only fix I could find at the time was to replace the broken previewer with a third-party alternative such as FoxIt PDF Preview Handler.

Now, 16 months later, there’s a new 64-bit operating system, Windows 7, and a new version of Acrobat Reader (9.1). And the bug is still there. Here’s what you see if you try to preview a PDF file in Windows Explorer under Windows 7 x64:

But yesterday, Leo Davidson pinged me via e-mail with news that he had discovered the cause and, more importantly, had a fix for it. As Leo notes, the problem is caused because Adobe registers the wrong preview handler, even though Microsoft explicitly documents the correct settings, The fix involves replacing the incorrect registry value with the proper one.

If you are running a 64-bit Windows version and you’ve experienced this issue, you can edit the registry by hand, using Leo’s step-by-step instructions. An easier fix is to create a Registration Entries file (.reg extension) that makes the changes automatically when you double-click it. You’ll find a downloadable version of this fix-it file at Leo’s site as well, just above the instructions for manually editing the registry. Download and unzip the adobe_pdf_x64_fix.reg file and follow the prompts.

As I discovered during my tests, this fix requires one extra step if you’ve previously installed the FoxIt Preview Handler. Open Control Panel, double-click the entry in Programs and Features for Adobe Reader, and run a Repair installation. After you complete that preliminary step, the fix should work just fine. Here’s what the preview pane looks like when it’s working properly:

As Leo notes, it would be nice if Adobe would fix this bug. (Actually, he’s a bit more forceful than that, and he’s right. Hey, Adobe, fix it!) It would be trivially easy to do so, and they could win some friends by getting it right with the next release of Reader.

Today’s Wondermark comic from David Malki is priceless, one for the ages. If you’ve ever known an engineer, make him (or her, I suppose, but far more often him) read this:

I’m back, only slightly jet-lagged, wonderfully relaxed, and ready to write an insane amount of non-book-related material between now and approximately October 22.

Today’s the start of the Labor Day Holiday here in the U.S. See you next week.

Oh, and if you don’t visit Wondermark regularly, you’re missing out.

We just signed off on the cover of Windows 7 Inside Out. Coincidentally, I got an e-mail from a reader a few minutes later, who made his wishes known in very, um, forceful fashion:

Do you know when your book will be for sale? I HOPE IT IS BASED ON THE RTM NOT THE RC.

Actually, I think his Caps Lock key just got stuck, but I got the message. It should be off to the printer this week and in stores on September 30.

And as for the RC-versus-RTM question, we had the same goal (felt just as strongly) when we were planning this book. We set aside several weeks in the schedule for a full review of page proofs (final count is 1056 pages) to take place after we received the RTM code. We finished the review on August 14, which gave us nearly a month of hands-on testing with the RTM build. During that process, we found dozens of little changes that we incorporated into the book. (One picky example: the default headings used for Details view in the Pictures library changed based on usability feedback.) We also had the opportunity to look at the release candidate of Windows XP Mode and completely rewrote that section at the last minute.

We’re very happy with the way the book turned out. Given its size and scope, a project like this is always exhausting, but it seemed somewhat less stressful this time around. Of course we did much of our original research and writing using the Beta and RC releases, but we deliberately chose to be later than the competition in order to make sure we got everything right. We’ll still be on bookstore shelves a few weeks ahead of the GA release of Windows 7 on October 22.

If you’re interested in pre-ordering Windows 7 Inside Out, you can do so at Amazon.com right now, where the current price is $31.49 with a pre-order price guarantee. I’ll let you know when my first copies arrive.

Judy and I are heading out for a week’s vacation in Ireland tomorrow, where I’ll have a notebook mostly so we can look at each day’s digital pictures and share them with friends and family. I’ll be back to a more normal work (and posting) schedule after Labor Day.

(Oh, and before any bad guys get any bright ideas, I should warn you our house sitters have a Great Dane and a pit bull who will be here with our two Springer spaniels. Seriously.)

Talk to you in September!

I was poking around Dell’s support site today and ran across this page, which I hadn’t seen before:

Windows driver install order for desktops and laptops

The following list is an overview of the correct order to install drivers on Dell desktops and portables. After reinstalling Microsoft® Windows®, follow the order listed when reinstalling drivers. It is recommended that you print this list for reference when installing drivers.

Note: Some devices may not function properly if the drivers are installed out of order.

Although some of the information is specific to Dell’s support site, the general principles are pretty good ones. Here’s a shorter version of the list with my commentary:

1. Notebook system software – This option usually enables any special features, such as hardware buttons. The Dell list includes “desktop system software” as well, although I’m not sure I can think of any systems where this is really necessary. Update: I just checked in a brand-new Dell notebook and had a chance to look at the system software for it. It includes four hotfixes, all of which resolve issues that could affect a system’s ability to boot properly. In this case at least, I would certainly install that package first!
2. Chipset – This isn’t, strictly speaking, a driver. Instead, it’s a group of  INF files that tell the OS what components are available on the mainboard and allow it to install additional drivers for those components. I would only install a replacement chipset driver if I knew for certain that it was a perfect match for my PC.
3. Display adapter – If possible, you want a WDDM 1.1 driver for Windows 7. Drivers written originally for Vista are typically WDDM 1.0. Intel, Nvidia, and ATI all have Windows 7-certified display drivers.
4. Wired network interface card (NIC) – Wireless comes later.
5. Notebook management software – On a Dell, this refers to the Quickset or Dell Control Point Manager (DCP) program, which controls power management, ambient light sensor, wireless profiles, and security features. In many cases, this software duplicates functions performed perfectly well by the OS.
6. Audio adapter – This driver might also include support for a webcam on a notebook. If the Windows 7 setup program installs a generic High Definition Audio device, consider replacing it.
7. Modem – I can’t remember the last time I used a dial-up connection, but if you use fax features or travel in places without broadband access it can be useful.
8. Wireless network card – A driver written specifically for your device often includes additional configuration options on the Device properties page.
9. Touchpad, Pointer, Trackstick, Mice, and Keyboards – This is particularly important for enabling extra features like panning on a Synaptics Trackpad.
10. Other devices – Bluetooth modules, fingerprint readers, touch-screen digitizers, etc.

This is especially timely advice for anyone considering a Windows 7 upgrade. A clean install often uses generic drivers that enable a device at a fairly low level of performance, often without advanced features. To unlock all the features of a device, you need to find a driver written especially for it.

I’ve seen a lot of Windows 7-specific drivers delivered over Windows Update, and you can find more at OEM web sites. (Dell, for example, now has Windows 7 drivers available for download on some business PCs.) If you want to look for a specific driver, try the Windows 7 catalog (include “Windows 7 client” as one of the search terms). You’ll find an RSS feed here.

Shortly after Vista shipped, I put together a list of Vista device drivers that became one of my most popular pages. We’ll see if there’s a need for a similar page for Windows 7 after October 22.

If you haven’t yet seen firsthand how Twitter can be genuinely useful, maybe this story will help. Yesterday, I asked a quick question via Twitter:

Router recommendation, anyone? Looking for rock-solid Wireless N and wired gigabit Ethernet

Within a few hours, I had dozens of responses. If you follow me on Twitter, you saw the question, but because of the way Twitter is designed, you probably saw only a handful (if any) of those responses. So, by request, I’m summarizing the results here.

One response was an interesting link to performance test results for a bunch of wireless devices (thanks, @LANjackal). And, amusingly, the two market leaders in the router category, Linksys and D-Link, each got the Crossfire treatment from some followers. @chriskhall said "just dont buy anything from Dlink," while @KSalamehI called the D-Link line of Wireless N devices "simply amazing." Similarly, @toomers recommends "anything Linksys" while @pinggoat says "as long as you avoid linksys you should be fine."

Aside from the ironic symmetry, I think those responses do a good job of illustrating one weakness of individual recommendations. By their nature they usually encompass one person’s unique experience, which might or might not reflect the experience of a larger population. Fortunately, the sample size is good enough that I was able to identify some trends.

D-Link got the majority of positive mentions. Four recommendations called out the D-Link DIR-655, including one from my Windows 7 Inside Out partner Carl Siechert (@carlsiec), who says "they’ve supposedly fixed o’heating problems, and it’s worked well for me. Win7 friendly too!"

I got two very strong recommendations for the DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router, including one from Mike Torres (@MITorres), who calls himself a "big fan" and says he "went through 4 different routers last year before settling on this one. Only one that hasn’t failed me."

At the higher end of the D-Link line, there was a thumbs-up for the DIR-825 ("rock solid and real dual band APs") from Media Center guru andy vt (@babgvant) and a vote for the DIR-855 from my ZDNet colleague Adrian Kingsley-Hughes (@the_pc_doc).

Linksys has its share of advocates as well, with the Linksys WRT310N getting the most recommendations (four). Microsoft’s @brandonleblanc says it’s been "working fantastically." As a cautionary note, @chrisdaida points out that it "gets hot" and recommends a vertical mount. There’s one vote strongly for and one strongly against the WRT610N, however, with @robertmclaws saying he’s "had all kinds of trouble" with that model.

A handful of devices from other vendors got cameo mentions. @leemathews says "We just switched to an Asus WL-500W two weeks ago. Have yet to drop connection once!" Windows Home Server MVP Donavon West (@donavon) confesses, "I know it’s an odd choice for a PC guy, but I’ve been using the Apple Airport Extreme Gigabit edition. Reboot *maybe* once a year." Rounding out the list were the TRENDnet TEW-652BRP and Netgear RangeMax NEXT Wireless Router WNR854T.

Because of the layout of my home and office, I can’t get by with a single wireless access point. I currently have a pair of D-Link devices in service, a DIR-615 and a DGL-4500, both configured as access points only. They’ve been mostly reliable performers, but I’ve been having some problems lately with the DGL-4500 in the living room, which has been regularly dropping wireless connectivity. The system log complains that a local PC "Received deauthentication," which is invariably followed by an annoying "wireless restart." I tried flashing the firmware to the most recent version, disabled QoS features. I’ve just replaced the unit with another, identical model, to rule out hardware problems.

[Update: Hmmm, seems like the A1 version of this D-Link hardware might be defective.]

In the past, I’ve used the comments section of this blog to do similar research. This option was faster and much more focused. Thanks to all who responded!

For an upcoming post, I’m putting together a list of the programs that someone is most likely to download and install after completing a clean installation of Windows.

Here are the programs that I come up with quickly:

• Firefox
• Picasa
• Skype
• iTunes + QuickTime
• Windows Live Essentials
• Adobe Reader
• Flash
• Java

Of course, I have more entries on my list of personal faves, and there are some essential categories where there isn’t a clear leader—antivirus and security programs, for example. There’s also a second tier of popular but not essential software, like file compression tools, disk utilities, and disk-burning software. But right now I’m looking for the ones that are really , where someone is very likely to want a quick download link.

Which programs did I forget?

If you’re an MSDN or TechNet subscriber, you can now download the official Windows 7 RTM bits. You can also get up to 10 product keys for each version covered under your subscription. That means 10 keys each for Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate, as well as options for additional keys for Starter, Home Basic, and Enterprise editions. You can use each key with x86 or x64 editions (but not both). Of course, you’ll need to check your subscription agreement to see what uses are permitted for these copies.

MSDN subscribers will get the fastest download speeds from the Top Downloads page, which uses the Akamai downloader.

The downloads for Windows Server 2008 R2 will be available on August 14.

If you’re a Microsoft Action Pack subscriber, you’ll get access to the final bits on August 14.

Wondering about supported upgrade paths? See my chart over at ZDNet.

On Twitter, hypermax posts a request:

@edbott I’ll be glad if you could post your reaction to the news of Newsgator Online ending somewhere.

Yeah, that’s one I can’t answer in 140 characters.

Short version, from the NewsGator FAQ:

One of the most popular feature requests from FeedDemon and NetNewsWire users was synchronization with Google Reader– so we are delivering that today.

NewsGator Online will no longer be available for consumers as of August 31, 2009. If you would like to continue to take advantage of the power of RSS, we recommend FeedDemon (for Windows), NetNewsWire (for Macs and iPhones), and/or Google Reader (for online).

NewsGator Go! for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile [and] NewsGator Inbox will no longer be available for consumers as of August 31, 2009. We recommend Inbox users try FeedDemon or Google Reader.

I love FeedDemon (it’s one of my favorite Windows programs of all time). Nick Bradbury’s baby has been a part of NewsGator and has used NewsGator sync engine for as long as I can remember. NewsGator Online, however, was a well-meaning but messy online alternative that I can’t remember using in the past couple years. The Windows Mobile version was similarly flawed. I gave it a fair try and finally said “no mas!” When I want to read my RSS feeds on a phone, I use Google Reader, which in my case is always out of sync with NewsGator.

So selfishly, I’m glad Google has won. It’s the default online RSS reader, and I think they’ve done a fine job with it. I can still use FeedDemon and NetNewsWire on Windows PCs and Macs respectively.

The latest release candidate of FeedDemon 3 integrates with Google’s sync engine, and I transferred my settings over to Google a couple days ago. Only one feed out of 260+ failed to transfer properly, but it was flagged for me and I imported it manually. The reliability of the service doesn’t seem to have changed. I’m seeing slight indications of differences between the sync engines. For example, I see more items in some feeds now than I did before; I’m also noticing more posts where the Author is unknown.

In the bigger picture, I hate being beholden to Google for yet another service where they can watch what I do and who I watch. But I’m willing to trust them, just as I’m willing to trust Microsoft on many issues.

I’m interested in your feedback as well. And now I return to reading page proofs for Windows 7 Inside Out.

Here, I’ve condensed Walt Mossberg’s latest column for you:

Microsoft will finally release a new version of Windows [to replace] the deeply disappointing Windows Vista [and] the sturdy, 2001-vintage Windows XP …

[For XP users] the upgrade process … will be frustrating, tedious and labor-intensive … painful … you will have to undertake a long, multi-step process … And the pain doesn’t end there …

[Y]ou’re likely facing a painful process should you choose to transition it to Windows 7.

OK, we get it. Painful. It’s pretty predictable Vista-bashing, although calling Windows XP “sturdy” is a nice rhetorical flourish. For some reason the column doesn’t include the usual exhortation to buy a Mac. I’m sure it was just an editing error.

For years, Walt has been bad-mouthing Windows Vista and counseling people to stick with XP if possible. So anyone who followed his advice is stuck with the “frustrating, tedious, labor-intensive, painful” upgrade process. Whereas those who purchased Windows Vista can expect the following experience, as narrated by Mossberg:

By contrast, if you’re using Vista, the upgrade to Windows 7 should be a fairly easy, straightforward process. Because the new version shares most of the underlying guts of Vista, it installs itself on your current machine relatively quickly and smoothly, preserving all your files, folders, settings and programs. In a test of this process earlier this year, using a pre-release version of Windows 7, I upgraded a Vista laptop with no problems and little effort in about an hour.

“No problems, little effort.” Imagine that.