Cable Cards 2.0 - Coming in 2006
This is great news. No, really. I love the idea of Cable Cards but the current version just doesn't do enough for me. Cable Cards 2.0 are on track to be in production by 2006 and that’s when the fun will finally start.
Everyone was excited when Cable Cards where first developed because no one likes that big box from cable. Be honest, I know you don't like that extra silver or black box, but I'm sure that you like the features such as the on-screen guide and On Demand. The current Cable Cards give you the same channels, just not the same cool features, but the new ones will. Flat panel owners have been waiting for this for some time now, it's too bad the current generation Cable Card slots will not except this new equipment.
Now, if they can put a little (little in physical size, big in storage) hard drive in the Cable Card so I can record on to it, then take it to a buddy's house and watch my programming over there, (keep in mind it has to be HD), then, and only then, will I be truly happy.
Filed under: Industry, Regulatory, Cable
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andy @ Oct 20th 2005 1:53AM
So, will the adoption of cable card make the STB obsolete, or will it mean there are many more STB/PVR options than our cable operator offers us? I think it means the latter. I don't want a cable card in my TV until my TV has 1TB of storage and runs Myth. All cable card does for the consumer right now is it lets your cable opperator tell you to buy a more expensive TV to get digital cable as opposed to them footing the bill for a $300 STB for you to rent for $5/mo.
Shawn @ Oct 20th 2005 2:56AM
That is all well and true but just think ... one less remote!!!!!!!!!!!
DaveH @ Oct 20th 2005 8:09AM
I *JUST* bought a tv with cablecard 1.0 - - because it seemed like development was at a crawl's pace. Well that, and a steal of a deal ($763+ tax) on Sony's 30XS955 at BB (with a 15% off clearance coupon that is easily found on their website or AVSforum).
Oh well, maybe with the next tv.
Cecil @ Oct 20th 2005 10:37AM
This is good, why not sooner? The big question is, why didn't they A.Have the current cablecard slot interface support future cards via firmware update, or B. Have the cablecard slot interface reside much closer to root electronics (or lower in the "protocol stack" if you will) so such changes would not affect the ability to use a new card with an old slot.
Also, would be cool for the new cable card have the capacity to have more than one tuner inside and DVR software. No storage on the card of course, but it would support hooking up an external hard drive to those firewire ports on the set. To keep the content providers from worrying, the card would format the HD with a proprietary file-system or something so they wouldn't have to waste processor overhead for encryption, or a standard FS and use encryption.
Leon @ Oct 20th 2005 11:59AM
Imagine a Blu-ray recorder with cablecard 2, you could record all the digital bits directly to disc without quality loss, unlike todays dvd recorders.
K @ Oct 20th 2005 12:42PM
Isn't the CableCard slot just a PCMCIA slot?!?
Matt Burns @ Oct 20th 2005 12:48PM
Yes it is just a PCMCIA slot and that is the great thing about it. Simplicity.
Cecil @ Oct 20th 2005 4:07PM
OK if it really is just a PCMCIA slot, why can't they push a firmware upgrade to your TV to support the new features of the new cards. It would have to be manufacturer specific updates of course, so a simple RS-232 port on the back of the set, or drop a file onto the root of a firewire HD and plug into the set etc.
Oh let me guess, the picture you have of the card means its only a PCMCIA type I or II, the new stuff must have Cardbus as well.
Ben @ Oct 20th 2005 4:40PM
A firmware update sounds like a great idea, but an even better one would have to get it right the first time. CableCard was shoved down the cable companies throat by the FCC, and they couldn't come to an agreement. But they had a deadline to keep so now we have CC 1.0. 2.0 was a chance to get it right. They need 2.0 would be out before 1.0 even hit the stores. But the it was thought it was better to have something rather than nothing. To Motorola and SA this means that they will sell less cable boxes and will have to compete with each other on a more level playing field.
Previously once a cable company invested in the Head end equipment they were locked into the STB's that were compatible. This changes all that.
Not to mention the loss revenue from the rental of the STB's to the Cable co's.
Bottom line is that the only people who benifit from cable card is the consumer and companies like Tivo that want to make STB's.
HW Engr @ Nov 8th 2005 12:21PM
CableCARD 1.0 supports only a single MPEG2 transport stream; i.e. single digital tuner. The Single Stream card (S-Card) was previously called POD; "Point of Deployment". It exists a special variant of PCMCIA. When power is applied the card, it will look and act like a 16-bit PC memory card, albeit a very small one. Only during configuration can the host determine that it is an S-Card. Once the card has been identified, the host and S-Card change personalities and the interface changes from PCMCIA to S-Card. The identification and configuration step is required to allow graceful rejection of none S-Card's since this is a PCMCIA interface.
CableCARD 2.0 supports multiple MPEG2 transport streams, i.e. multiple tuners. A unique card detect features allow the host to identify the card as an M-Card before power is supplied to the card. Because of this, the card does not have to support the PCMCIA interface. The M-Card has the same physical form-factor as the S-Card but a significantly different electrical interface. The change from S-Card to M-Card is much more than a simple firmware change.
Check out http://www.opencable.com/
for more details and other related information.
jr @ Nov 26th 2005 9:45PM
I soooooooo resent that I will now have an HD set (Aquos 26" HDTV) with an outdated card type. I asked my provider (TWC) which one to buy less than 10 months ago and until last week was enjoying HD, then they sent a firmware update signal to my card and it no longer works. Their attitude is that that it is an outdated type and probably will not work if they replace the card anyway. This is crappy service for almost a Grand a year on top of the two grand for the TV... which is now obsolete..... I am so mad i could spit
Bill Klinger @ Dec 1st 2005 10:08PM
We all should be upset with the TV manufactures becease they are including items such as cableCard in to the TV. TVs should be dumb, nothing more than a monitor. The features that drive the monitor should be connected, but not integrated. The concept of the STB is a spin off of an attempt by several companies to make the TV features an external device in the early and mid 80s. Anybody remember the MultiVision, the first device to have PIP and allow a stereo conection to an AV source. Of coarse if nobody is following this philosophy, then they can include the features and charge you for them.
Dave @ Dec 12th 2005 7:58AM
It should have been out much earlier this year. It's been bogged down and it's about time we got this show on the road. I specifically will NOT buy a HDTV set until it is in and functioning. Back in the analog cable days this kind of tuner ability was considered basic and standard (though long, long ago even that wasn't true). At the very introduction of digital TV they should have had a plan in place to do this. Don't give me the "this is hard" business. This kind of thing makes the cable folks lives easier (remember having a supply of very expensive boxes isn't in their interest either, and they rarely recover the cost in simple box fees. This is more a matter of one side not wanting to build it until there is demand and the demand side not buying till there is a product.
If they HAD done this in early 2005, I'd bet their subscriptions to digital cable as well as the # of high def tv's out there would be dramatically larger than it is now, and by that I mean night and day different. The sad part is that they've taken till now to get that hint. So during 2005 both the TV mfg's and the cable co's have taken advantage of the consumers, and for that they should be mad.
However, they'd better get the show on the road. This technology is horrifically overdue, and I know a lot of folks who have stayed completely clear of the HD industry based solely on the lack of getting rid of that box. The FCC knows this. Maybe now finally we can get the cablelabs folks and the manufacturers to see the clue...