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NYT dissin' the CableCard

The New York Times recently ran a tech story "A CableCard That Hasn't Been Able to Kill the Set-Top Box" talking about how the CableCARD standard was included in a lot of TVs but hasn't taken off, so many TV manufacturers are scaling back their support of CableCard.

What is annoying about this article is that it hinges entirely on quotes from companies producing hardware, cable company spokespeople, and industry analysts, including this gem:

"The CableCard is essentially dead," said Mr. Doherty of Envisioneering. "It will go down in history like the Edsel."

I really wish the writer mentioned the other side of the story. Cable companies dragged their feet supporting CableCard and only did the minimum to meet FCC regulations. The TV manufacturers released CableCard-ready hardware years ago, before most companies offering programming had their act together. From what I've heard from other Comcast customers like me, it's apparently difficult to get a CableCard and they try to talk you out of it (since they end up losing the $5-10 per month you'd be paying for a box). Most importantly, the big CableCard applications like the Series 3 TiVo and Microsoft Vista Media Center systems will be some of the first DVRs that can record in HD thanks to the CableCard.

CableCard uptake has been low for several reasons. There aren't too many compelling reasons to opt for one today (aside from simply having a cleaner/cheaper cable TV setup). There are specifications for hardware and software that take quite a bit of time to pass muster. Now that the standard has been in place for a few years, we'll finally see some good applications later this year when feature-rich DVR apps come out of TiVo and Microsoft, and people will be lining up to get them.

This story in the NYT reads like a premature eulogy, told from industry insiders with a vested interest in seeing the standard fail miserably. In a few years when there are millions of Series 3 and Vista Media Center boxes floating around, the story of CableCard will surely be rewritten as one of success, and something that empowers customers who weren't getting the features or flexibility in the cable company DVRs of the past.

by Matt Haughey July 5, 2006 in Op-Ed

Comments

I sure hope you're right. I can't wait to get my hands on a Series 3 Tivo.

Posted by: Tim P. at Jul 6, 2006 6:19:30 AM

The problem is (and will continue to be) that consumers must pay a premium to use this technology. Since CableCard first popped on the scene, it has cost up to $1000 more just to include that feature (comparing identical models of LCD and Plasma TV with and without the feature). Many of these units only support CableCard 1.0 which is pretty much useless for interactive content. To top it all off, the cable companies have already announced that the 2.0 spec is on its way out and a new "OpenCard" standard is coming.

Flooding the market with product with no real support is hardly a way to rally people to your standard.

Read the whole mess for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cablecard

Posted by: Ron at Jul 6, 2006 6:58:04 AM

After reading the NYT article, I have to agree with them, the technology is dead for better or worse.

Considering the tax cuts to the cable companies in the 80's were supposed to mean fiber to your home in the 90's I have no idea why people are suprised that these sort of projects never get any support from the cable giants. Its not in the best interest to sell you anything other than a set top box and an overpriced "entertainment package".

Posted by: Ron at Jul 6, 2006 7:06:11 AM

I am a Time Warner Digital Cable Subscriber who has been using a CableCARD with a Panasonic PDP for more than one year. My experience is the CableCARD has lived up to all of my expectations which are: my TV renders a better picture with the CableCARD than an STB and has overall been hassle free in terms of installation, use and support. So "if" the MSOs and TV manufacturers "want" to support this technology... they can do so successfully.

BTW... I also rent (2) STBs from my cable provider and pay more than $100 per month as a Time Warner subscriber. So I don't see how leasing a CableCARD from Time Warner has had any adverse impact on their revenue.

After purchasing (2) HDTVs during the past five years and subscribing to Time Warner services to the tune of $100 - $150 per month... my pledge is to not buy another piece of expensive A/V equipment until DRM issues have been resolved and some form of DCAS and/or M-Cards become reality.

Posted by: optivity at Jul 6, 2006 7:44:15 AM

The whole issue of CableCard 1.0 only being one-way is really not that big of a deal. This means it can't handle program guide info but that isn't required if you're using a Series 3 TiVo or Vista MCE as they will have their own, far superior, program guide.

Not having VOD or PPV is a bit of an inconvenience but this services are less necessary when you have a good PVR (unlike the boxes offered by the cable cos) and VOD content may be available in other forms - i.e. over the internet (for an MCE box) which won't make cable cos. happy as they don't get a slice of the pie.

Posted by: Wayne at Jul 6, 2006 10:09:31 AM

This story misses out on two important things, IMO: 1) CableLabs' requirements for certification are very onerous and that's driven up the cost of adding CableCard support to a device, and it's driven down the number of devices that support the technology and 2) In spite of this barrier, there are products, such as TiVo Series3 and Vista MCE, that will soon support CableCard. And I don't think CableCard one-wayness will pose a problem on those devices because these devices assume some sort of Internet connection and they have the computing power and base platform to run their own apps. That's probably where living room technology is headed anyways (Internet-connected, reasonable computing power, some base software platform), so I'm not sure that two-way CableCard technology will actually help things at all.

Posted by: Rakesh Agrawal at Jul 6, 2006 11:10:45 AM

The biggest quandary for the cable MSOs (yes, I actually did say *quandary*) with CableCARD is that, unlike set-top boxes, CableCARD is not compatible with either VOD or PPV (both of which require a two-way connection). I don't know where most people come from, but it generally is *not* smart from a business POV to basically *cut off your own oxygen supply*, which is exactly what CableCARD does (VOD and PPV, especially PPV, is a decided moneymaker for MSOs; neither is currently compatible with CableCARD). Also, there is the drib-and-drab effect of STB fees (while Comcast charges only $4/month for a digital cable STB, they charge nothing at all for a CableCARD); while $4 is a pittance for most, when you start getting into the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands, it starts becoming a real serious source of income, which is oxygen for any business. While I am an avid supporter of CableCARD (to the point that it is actually a *requirement* for any future TV purchases) I can understand the reluctance of the MSOs to support it.

Posted by: Christopher Estep at Jul 6, 2006 11:59:34 AM

Downloadable security is coming, which will make the CableCard completely obsolete. So besides being a failure in the present, it has no future.

Posted by: Max at Jul 6, 2006 4:27:47 PM

Lol. I go to the local comcast store, ask for two cable cards, they say "OK" hand them to me, type some stuff in a computer, I go home and they work. No extra monthly charge. Easy. This article is nothing but MSO FUD.

Posted by: Ian at Jul 6, 2006 6:20:23 PM

"Most importantly, the big CableCard applications like the Series 3 TiVo and Microsoft Vista Media Center systems will be some of the first DVRs that can record in HD thanks to the CableCard."

Now who's exaggerating?? Scientific Atlanta, Motorola, Pace, and Thompson have been offering DVRs that record in HD for years. CableCARD is going away because the industry -- the CE players and the "insiders" you mention -- are moving to a software based model that eliminates the cost of the physical card and makes it easier for MOT types of devices to be connected to the broadband networks.

Posted by: Trib at Jul 6, 2006 6:30:23 PM

Trib, maybe "some of the first DVRs that can **properly** record in HD thanks to the CableCard" would be a better way to phase it.

Good god, but that Motorola HD recorder is one ass-backwards, buggy piece of shit.

Posted by: Rob at Jul 6, 2006 7:15:03 PM

"are moving to a software based model that eliminates the cost of the physical card and makes it easier for MOT types of devices to be connected to the broadband networks."

so they're moving away from hardware to a software model that requires an STB, which is a piece of hardware last time I checked.

Posted by: tivo_user at Jul 6, 2006 7:42:53 PM

Last time I checked (6 months ago), Comcast charged the same price for both cablecards and STB. Given that reality, they don't have a direct revenue preference.

The reasons for the STB preference is probably the ability to sell VOD and other services through the STB, which the current cablecard does not support.

Posted by: seaan at Jul 7, 2006 3:40:17 PM

Have watched the cable card rollout
from when it was just a little POD.

The cable companies lose money on
cable boxes because of all the handling.

They gain money due to extra services they can offer. No wonder they are conflicted.

Posted by: pb at Jul 7, 2006 8:43:00 PM

I think people underestimate how neat VOD can be. To say that it's a non-issue that the Series 3s will lack it, is a bit short sighted.

It will be a major deciding factor for me when considering spending hundreds on a TIVO to replace my Motorolla box.

Posted by: Nick at Jul 10, 2006 3:23:03 PM

não percebo nada do que tá escrito mas tass

Posted by: lala at Jul 12, 2006 8:00:55 AM

The people that want VOD, let them have STBs. But for the mainstream, the Cablecard as is, is a great solution for Tivo/MCE. It solves the two biggest issues right now for the HTPC:
(a) Recording of HD
(b) Channel changing response.
I could careless about a VOD Brittney Spears concert, as long as I can watch Tony Soprano in HD during my quiet times.

The NYT article's blatant disregard for the HTPC is perplexing. Either the writer is a technological nimrod or champion obfustactor.

My biggest concern is not Cablecard, it's how many I can have hooked up to the PC at one time. Allowing me to watch while recording.

Ted

Posted by: Ted at Jul 14, 2006 10:53:30 AM

When DCAS comes out, both the 1 way and 2 way version of the cable card will be as obsolete as the radio shack trs80.
The bottom line is cable cards worked for what they were intended, which is subject to debate all day long. The rush to get them out only proved how not ready the manufacturers were to make a profit selling off this feature to gain a few hundred more dollars per TV. It also seems hillarious that CE manufacturers are banking on making even more money with the advent of the 2 way systems when they all are aware that DCAS is in the works. Why on earth anybody would waste money buying one of these paperweights is beyond me. Anybody rushing out to buy any new technology just to brag about being the first to own them deserves every problem they encounter. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to electronics.

Posted by: Not Confused at Aug 21, 2006 11:08:17 AM

You are right about the cable company talking you out of a CableCARD. I have Insight Communications. When I asked about CableCARD the operator gave me pricing and then said 'You can't record with one of these.' I mentioned that the Tivo was a recorder by itself and just required a pair of CableCARDS to be installed. She put me on hold and came back and said 'I just wanted to check if I was right, and I am...you can not record anything using our CableCARDs.'

Huh?? How's that?

Posted by: No Tivo? at Oct 9, 2006 10:01:17 AM

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