CableCARD Deadline Imminent

CableCARD discussions have come and gone on this site, however there IS an actual deadline looming that is about to finally force the companies to split off the security features of cable from the tuners. This is significant for two particular reasons: 1) The deadline is no longer extendable- at least according to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, and 2) the cable companies themselves must comply with the new methodology, meaning they will have to use their own CableCARDS.

This second issue is of utmost interest as cable companies have been completely lax on training their technicians to deal with CableCARD issues and the reliability of the cards themselves has been less than dubious. As a result, most people's experiences with the cards has been less than ideal.

Unmentioned in this whole scenario is the issue of two-way communication. Currently CableCARDs are only one-way and any on-demand and Pay-Per-View content requires some form of two-way communication in order to work (yet another reason CableCARDs haven't taken off in the consumer marketplace.

Proponents of CableCARD and, in general, of splitting the tuning functions from the security functions of a cable set-top box are primarily interested in TiVo-like products which, after this deadline passes, should be more available from other consumer electronics manufacturers. The real question, however, is whether or not this is good for the consumer in general. To answer this, we'll need to do a brief comparison of a cable company system and one from TiVo:

If we look at the table above we can see that the cable company leases the box at a monthly rate. Normally, you'd think some may be better off buying a piece of electronics outright rather than leasing it for a monthly fee. Over time the product would be paid off, correct? Well, not necessarily. For one, I have gone through no less than 3 HD-DVR boxes in the past 5 years due to hard drive failure. Each time the cable company replaced the box for free (since it is leased). Had they been TiVos and had they been out of warranty (as at least two of them would have been) I'd be out well over $1200. In addition, TiVo charges users for the privilege of using its program guide. My cable company's, though it lacks some of the bells and whistles, doesn't charge extra for this once I have the box. Oh, we're not done yet... Remeber, the TiVo requires a cablecard to work with those digital channels you like so much. That's an extra $3.95/mo fee from the cable company for leasing the card (you can't buy it either). The grand total is $19.95/mo for HD-DVR (over the price of analogue cable) with no box fees, and $30.90/mo plus up to $599 for a TiVo-based HD-DVR.

Yowsa - I'm sure there are some deals out there, but the bottom line is consumers are (at least currently) paying a premium for TiVo-based entertainment if they want access to digital channels from cable. We won't even bring up satellite, which stretched incredulity as owners actually pay a flat (typically steep) fee for HD-DVR boxes that they technically have to surrender should they ever cancel their services (and no there is no refund). This fee is considered an up-front lease payment and is one of the biggest scams in the industry as far as I am concerned. Why consumers haven't lashed out against this new policy is a mystery I may never understand.

We don't know exactly how these new events will shake out, but they are sure to be interesting as industry manufacturers make decisions on whether or not to jump into the set-top box game. Display manufacturers in particular are sure to be pleased as CableCARD technology is almost certain to gain a better foothold with better technical support and understanding from the technicians who are supposed to install it.

We know there are those of you who have experiences with TiVo and CableCARDs and we'd like to hear about them. Be sure to post in our forums to let us know what you think and how this might affect how you use cableTV in your home.