Comments on: Making the case for the CableCARD

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 16:57:25 +0000

For me, I haven’t even purchased digital cable because I don’t want to deal with IR Blasters. I use standard old analog cable, 2 tuners. And 1 OTA HD tuner. As soon as I can use a cable card in my media center, I will pay for digital cable.

By: Thomas Hawk

Thomas Hawk — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Thanks for picking up this important topic Ed. The cable companies would rather things go back to their “good old days” — back when they had captive audiences who had little power over control over their entertainment consumption. We were forced to kowtow to their scheduling and much of their poorly crafted programming.

Now with the advent of time shifting devices, digital mobility, HDTV, IPTV and other entertainment options, the media consumer is taking their control back from the cable monopoly. Cable is only now reluctantly offering their own PVR technology and is not willing to innovate and provide the type of services available that the PC and CE manufacturers can and will at the consumer and free market demand.

The FCC should side with the consumer on this one and give the PC and CE companies the tools that they need. Outgoing FCC Chair Michael Powell did not call TiVo “God’s machine” for nothing. The technology is amazing. Microsoft’s Media Center PC is a great start but needs to be able to offer HD recording and the cable monopoly is trying to shut out this innovation so that they can profit at our expense.

By: Neil T.

Neil T. — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Sounds like SIM cards for GSM mobile phones – your subscriber details are stored on a microchip on the card which is then inserted into the phone handset. Provided your phone isn’t locked to SIM cards from a particular network (many are but they can be ‘unlocked’) then you can use any SIM card with any phone.

I’m guessing that with CableCARD, you would get a smartcard from the cable company that you could then insert into your own equipment, instead of using the equipment provided. In which case, it sounds like a good idea .

By: Mark Coffman

Mark Coffman — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

What’s worse is trying to brag about Media Center to my friends. I show them all the cool stuff it has. Then they ask a question, expecting an answer they can reply “COOL!” to…

‘So can it record all your shows in HD and stuff?’

Then I have to fumble around for an answer, “well, I can record over-the-air HD” — any answer beyond that is more technical than they can understand, generally, but the bottom line is “no, I can’t”

One more comment: IR Blasters are horrible, horrible (yet necessary) devices.

By: Nino.Mobile

Nino.Mobile — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

CableCARD – your new friend