C|Net Posts FAQ on the CableCard

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/FAQ+CableCard+Whats+that/2100-1041_3-5542400.html' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/FAQ+CableCard+Whats+that/2100-1041_3-5542400.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"If you're shopping for a new TV or personal video recorder (PVR) this year, you should know something about CableCard. At this month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, TiVo, Hewlett-Packard and others unveiled new products incorporating the technology. Most new digital television models including HDTVs now include CableCard hook-ups. So what is CableCard? And why haven't we heard much about it until now? The following CNET News.com FAQ explains the ins and outs, the pros and cons and the whys and wherefores."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/cablecard.jpg" /> <br /><br />I can't see buying a HDTV or DVR that doesn't support the CableCard. I sure wish they had this 2 years ago when I bought my HDTV, but you can be sure my next DVR will have one.

[Phoenix]

It's interesting to me that they can reduce the basic components of a basic set top box down to a little PC card. I think that's great in and of itself.

But just as the article said, it certainly isn't going to replace cable boxes with DVR capability, although it will supplement other DVR boxes, like TiVo. And naturally, it needs to support interactive programming, such as video on demand, or I couldn't see any reason for it to widely succeed.

Based on the above, it sounds like the finished product is still years off.

I'll be interested to see how it progresses, though.

[bdegroodt]

I second everthing above, but would also scratch my head and wonder why this just isn't built into the TV from the manufacturer. Send the data to the card that's built into the TV (ala cell phones IMEI). In fact, assigning a unique ID like an IMEI to a TV could really open up some cool possibilities. Real interactive TV--Press the order button on the remote for pizza delivery. Custom weather and traffic reports. Send/receive SMS...

[Felix Torres]

The lack of two-way comm is odd, since the primary beneficiaries are the cable companies (well over half of cable customers limit themselves to basic cable, after all) but, I guess they *really* had to get something out to appease the FCC, and they probably figured that a one-way spec wouldn't hurt their set-top rental business.

As is, however, the current spec is a perfect fit for Media Center PCs since they let you bypass the cable company for the interactive services.
Of course, this means less profits for our friendly neighborhood monopolies so they will likely:
1- Fail to deploy cable card until they absolutely, possitively have to
2- Rush to get the bidirectional spec out there ASAP...

My guess is they will get something out the door this year.