CableCard goes mainstream on July 1

Coming soon: Motorola CableCard DVRs

(Credit: Connected Home 2 Go)

On paper, CableCard sounded pretty great. Instead of a cable box, your local provider would give you a small smartcard--the exact same design as a PCMCIA card--that would fit into the back of your TV (or DVR). In theory, you were getting the benefit of "the good old days" of analog cable with a digital makeover--just plug the wire into the back of the TV, and you'd get access to all of your digital and HD channels. In reality, CableCard has been plagued with problems. The existing technology is one-way, so you don't have access to any interactive features (pay-per-view, video on demand), and the current cards are single-tuner only, so you lose the possibility of picture-in-picture and recording one show while watching another (unless you include two CableCard slots, as the TiVo Series3 does). Meanwhile, even though the setup was originally envisioned as a DIY affair, the cable companies still require an on-site visit from the technician to get things up and running. So the cable companies see CableCard as a big money loser (sapping their PPV and VOD revenue stream while still requiring them to roll trucks for service calls), the consumer loses entertainment choices (again, no pay-per-view, video on demand, and interactivity), and the equipment manufacturers get stuck adding the costly feature to their products, whether or not anybody's actually using it.

But CableCard may be getting a new lease on life, thanks to Uncle Sam. The FCC has mandated that cable companies "cease deploying navigation devices (e.g., set-top boxes) with integrated security" as of July 2007 (a PDF of the FCC document is available here). The requirement for removable security essentially means that cable boxes distributed after July 1 will need to require CableCards. The deadline has already been pushed back twice--it was originally January 2005, then July 2006--but the FCC has since rejected the cable companies' request for further waivers. As a result, set-top makers such as Motorola and Cisco's Scientific Atlanta have ramped up production of new CableCard-enabled versions of their stalwart cable boxes--essentially, grafting a CableCard slot onto the exact same model that you probably have under your TV right now. (Presumably, these models will include whatever extra hardware or software is needed to be able to access pay-per-view and VOD functions on a given cable system.)

One interesting side effect of the CableCard requirement is that more third-party CableCard-enabled DVRs will be available at retail. To date, the TiVo Series 3 was the only alternative, but CC-enabled Motorola DVRs will soon be available, followed by Digeo Moxi models. CableCard-enabled Vista PCs that will soon be hitting stores as well.

If this all plays out, it means that consumers will have the possibility of enhanced choice when it comes to choosing a cable box and (more importantly) a DVR. To date, you've pretty much been stuck with whatever box your cable company selects--which often entails problems ranging from the annoying (a lousy user interface) to the exasperating (HDMI compatibility issues). Adding CableCard as a requirement--rather than a near-secret option available only to knowledgeable enthusiasts--should mean that customer service would improve. And the competition among third-party DVR manufacturers may actually mean--finally--that you could walk into Best Buy and choose from a selection of affordably priced high-def DVRs that work more or less identically whether you're a Time Warner, Cox, or Comcast subscriber, anywhere in the country. And while these third-party boxes may have drawbacks--such as no access to video on demand--they may also offer advantages to the cable companies' default boxes. For instance, models from both Digeo and Motorola are said to be capable of streaming recorded programs throughout multiple rooms of a home, and Motorola has even demonstrated the Slingbox-like ability to stream programming to a cell phone.

The irony, of course, is that CableCard may be going mainstream just as its successor technology is ready to leave the lab. Downloadable Conditional Access System is essentially a software version of the CableCard technology that promises to correct all of the current standard's shortcomings. But it won't be ready for deployment until 2008 at the earliest.

Additional sources: Zatz Not Funny, Connected Home 2 Go, Multichannel News

[jemclimber]

PCMCIA form factor

I can't help but wonder how far in the future PC cards that utilize the technology. As a DirecTV fanatic, I really wonder how far away the technology is...<br /><br />John

[sbf1]

Could CCs make Verizon's FIOS worse?

So why do customers even NEED any cable box if not using PPV or VOD services, much less Premium subscritpions? Switching to FIOS meant a cable box for every one of my TVs, ALL of which had fully capable tuners, some NTSC only, Some also with ATSC/QAM. And the package I have is the Premier package which is similar to any other cable company's enhanced basic. With cable, I used the feed ONLY, no boxes, no rental of redundant tuners. Now, curiously, by opting for the "advanced Technology of fiber-optics" I am FORCED to bypass the tuners in my Sony HDTVs which cost me a premium, deliver better performance, and will tune all that I want. Verizon can feed subscription channels over the QAM with lockout control, and I won't get them. Seems like the cable feed I gave up gives me the value I want. And Verizon can't do the same thing. Or won't. <br />Of course, let's not forget that it isn't JUST PPV and VOD that makes money: RENTAL of HD cable boxes is just as important a revenue stream. MUCH more important than customer satisfaction. And I bet cable cards will be used to generate their own revenue stream in new ways, predictable and otherwise.<br />Besides, my sets are not equipped with cable card slots because Sony perceived the low market demand. So I am still stuck with renting a box to get the basic packages with HD channels. Hell, my rabbit ears get a full bandwidth signal off-the-air from the locals. Why pay for an HD box when they are charging already for HDTV that I can receive by antenna?<br />So where is the plan, direction and goal for this increasingly unregulated service to the home? In the hands of the new players re-inventing ways to use the old cable business model: charge for everything, and charge more for what is not included. Give me A LA CARTE selection of channels, so I don't pay to have 25 Local Origination channels I will never watch, so I won't be an atheist with 20 religious channels shoved into my rental plan, and I can choose whether I want Disney and Nick channels when NO children will be in my house to see them.<br />Cable card, set-top box, fiber-optics; what good are they to us if we can't shop for what we want and how it is delivered?

[Bishop12]

FCC making up for bad model....

Allowing the cable companies to change their service so drastically when switch to digital was huge mistake. The extensions were asked for in an attempt to gain a larger share of the market and get people used to the idea they had to have cable box at each tv. Instead the FCC should have mandated that the CC's be required to provide unscramble signals into the household, thus only requiring additioal equipment for premium services (PPV and the like).<br /><br />However with the requirement that CC provided set-top-boxes to use cablecards will open the door for more tv's and other devices (DVR and third party STB's) to become more available. Unfortunately for those who have moved to the digital realm early (still a relatively small portion ~20% of cable viewers). Their efforts may have been somewhat in vein. <br /><br />I've been a little slow to move and done a lot of research and this is the first I've heard they have this requirement. I guess it explains why they are actually working on the 2nd generation of cablecards with bi-directional communication.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

Why no CableCard slot on new HDTV's?

Why is the CableCArd slot being eliminated from new 1080p TVs?

[foxt2372]

Get your facts straight. The FCC document that you reference specificaly states: "The 12-<br />month deferral is intended to afford cable operators additional time to investigate and develop a<br />downloadable security solution that will allow common reliance by cable operators and<br />consumer electronics manufacturers on an identical software security function without the<br />additional costs of physical separation inherent in the CableCard solution." This virtualy gaurantees that the cable card is dead.