Comments on: Hot Donkey! Premium CableCARD HDTV in Microsoft’s Media Center Coming in 2006

By: atom

atom — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:47:19 +0000

good job, this is camera in the most wanted

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 09:41:00 +0000

The comments about why the cable card are not two-way stems back to it’s intent. It was only to allow access to cable content. I don’t know of any TV made today that transmits signal back into a cable system to make it two way. How would you control what is sent into the cable system? Any unwanted signals could mess up other chanels. I would expect before two way TV sets are sold, they must first be tested so as not to interfere with other cable signals. This is the type process that cable modems went through. They were tested and then certified to operate with the local cable company, then they were sold to consumers. Using a settop box allows the cable companies to test and get to consumers quickly.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:57:00 +0000

Well, 1-way Cable ards are all we get for now. Version 2, due out the end of this year, will have 2 way support and be able to support VOD and IPPV. The current cable card devices will NOT be compatable with the Version 2 Cablecards, so hold off on any major purchase if you are only looking to get a Cable card device.

The current Version 1 Cable cards only function is to DE-crypt the video streams. It only holds the decryption keys sent by the cable providers system. It does NOT do any recoding/encrypting. The MediaCenter adapters may do this, but it is not a function of the Cable card. The Version 1 Cable card also does not come with any incorporated guide or TV programmng information either, so it is very limited in that it can really do.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:47:00 +0000

There is no way that anything other than Microsoft software will be able to utilize this card. The Cable Card will only be available for devices which keep the decrypted video completely locked away. There is a certification process required. Once the video is decrypted, it is re-encrypted with a key negotiated with the hosting device before leaving the Cable Card --- you aren't supposed to be able to get at unencrypted video anywhere in the system.

To answer another question farther up, the CableCard only uses the PCMCIA form factor. It is incompatible with PCMCIA slots.

And it would be surprising if Verizon adopted such a legacy system for their video over FIOS offering. Their system will probably be based on IP instead, offering two-way communication from the start. The Cable Card is specifically designed for the existing cable company conditional access schemes.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 20:44:00 +0000

Does anyone know if Verizon’s FiOS service is any different and supports bi-directional communications between the cable plant and a PC or CableCARD-compliant device?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 22:58:00 +0000

Yay! The complete and total destruction of the VCR is one step closer. The broadcast flag may have been defeated by the Supremes, but that decision is negated by the cablecard specs and the digital restrictions management built into this solution.

So don't be upset when you can't record an NFL show due to local blackout restrictions, can't transfer a Major League baseball game from your house to your relative's or friend's house network to watch with a group of friends or relatives, or when you can't save one of those games or a favorite movie for more than a week or two without it expiring. If you didn't know about all these restrictions, read the cablecard specs, search the MythTV archives keyword: cablecard, and do a little homework on digital restrictions management.

All that happened is televisions, cable, satellite, dvd and other media just died a little more today. Nothing really to cheer about. Unless you are Microsoft or a suit in the entertainment cartel.

Revision: Sony wins Betamax decision long-term.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 19:48:00 +0000

Wonderful. I think.

The greedy cable companies finally agree to something with cablecard on PCs, but not without restrictions.

The resultant video files will be proprietary windows media files, and you can bet your ass the cable companies won't let you do ANYTHING with them, including burn them to DVD. Also, you can be sure it'll force deletions on you, and won't let you record certain premium content.

So unless they find a way to circumvent the DRM crap, I don't see how the resultant system will be any less Nazi than the current closed DVR boxes.

It's a start, though.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 18:36:00 +0000

FYI, there are CableCARD HDTVs on the market today from most major TV vendors. You can use VOD with this version of cablecard – but you cannot order via the PC (or TV-enabled with CableCARD), you’d have to call (since there is no back channel to send the request to the cable plant. Plus you will not be able to leverage your cable op’s interactive program guide with one-way. Two way CableCARD is probably 2 years out – not one.

By: Media Player

Media Player — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 18:23:00 +0000

Thomas, are you getting ready for Q4 2006 to bring many of the features to Media Center and Windows that you have been wanting for a long time? Hope so. =)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:22:00 +0000

More feet dragging...

Cable companies have been dragging their feet on CableCARD for a long time and were finally FORCED to push it out the door..

Now, it'll be at least ANOTHER YEAR before they start making PVRs that support CableCARDs..

By that time, I may just be too disgusted to be willing to pay ungodly sums of cash for crappy shows.