The Clicker: CableCARD and OpenCable
posted Apr 14th 2005 6:14PM
In theory, it sounds like a good idea: "The networks will be open. OpenCable will free people from the repressive shackles of their cable boxes. We will all live in a cable-box-less utopia." In reality, OpenCable is closer to the bastard child of greed and fear.
The FCC, playing its long-standing role as "greed," was (and is) desperate to get its analog band back from the broadcasters. Knowing this only happens once enough consumers are capable of receiving digital signals, the FCC eagerly pushed for TV sets to include digital capabilities. Cable companies, worried that tougher regulations would be the result of this greed, were willing to compromise. Thus the OpenCable system and CableCARD, the hardware that allows a TV or a set-top box to hook up to it, were born.
So what are CableCARDs?
About the size of PCMCIA cards, a CableCARD is a conditional-access device that is inserted into a small slot on a
CableCARD-compatible TV. The CableCARD is then paired with your digital-cable subscription service and voila! - digital
cable is delivered straight to your TV. The CableCARD handles all the decryption and tells the TV which channels you
subscribe to. There's no need for a cable box. You just plug your coax straight from the wall into the TV and it just
works! Well... sort of.
As it turns out, most people have grown accustomed to some of the features of their cable boxes. For instance, if you
have come to rely on an integrated Electronic Program Guide, chances are you won't get it (or it will be buggy) if
you're using a CableCARD-enabled TV. If you want to partake in any of the new VOD (Video On Demand) services being
offered by cable companies, you're out of luck. So too will you lose Pay-Per-View. You see, VOD and PPV require two-way
communication between your box and the cable company's system. The current implementation of OpenCable is
unidirectional.
It's a bare-bones approach to digital cable.
But aren't CableCARDs the perfect solution for HD PVRs?
Certainly CableCARDs are a step in the right direction. In the case of HD PVRs, the CableCARD is inserted into the PVR
instead of the TV. This gives third-party PVR manufacturers access to the digital cable stream, which makes the
development of third-party HD PVRs at least possible. However, the cable companies are not making it easy.
In order for PVR manufacturers to produce an OpenCable device, they must first receive certification from CableLabs,
the regulating body. This is a rigorous process to begin with, but it gets even more difficult if you're trying to
deviate from the OpenCable Host Device Specifications.
OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform) and OpenCable Host Device Specifications were developed by CableLabs to allow
cable companies to push both their "look and feel" and their features to consumer electronics devices. If a company
like TiVo hopes to add their own look and feel (along with their own features) to an OpenCable set-top box, they must
apply for certification. During this process, they must convince CableLabs that their security story is tight and that
they have satisfied the many other requirements. To say that CableLabs has been reluctant to expedite this
certification process is an understatement.
In a letter to the FCC on January 18, TiVo Vice-President Matthew P. Zinn had some harsh words for the cable companies
and their current implementation of OpenCable, saying, "It is abundantly clear that cable's 'support' of CableCARD
fundamentally conflicts with cable's own market imperatives... There is little doubt that cable would support [an OCAP
implementation]... Such products, however, do not provide consumers with a competitive alternative to operator-supplied
integrated set-top boxes... All they do is provide consumers the choice between leasing a box from cable or buying
essentially the very same box from Samsung or LG Electronics... In other words," Zinn continues, "you can lease a Honda
Accord from your cable operator or you can buy a Honda Accord."
Third-party PVR makers such as TiVo are further frustrated by the grudging, "only-what-we-must" attitude displayed by
the cable companies. Specifically, under the current implementation of OpenCable, cable companies are only required to
support and lease single-stream CableCARDs. This means that third-party manufacturers are unable to produce dual-tuner
PVRs without incorporating TWO CableCARDs.
At this year's CES TiVo announced its plans to deliver such a device (i.e. a dual-tuner OpenCable PVR that utilizes two
CableCARDs). However, TiVo said of it "[TiVo has] little confidence that such a product would be supported adequately
by cable providers. It would be an expensive and unwieldy device with increased hardware cost [and] increased customer
costs resulting from the need to lease two CableCARDs."
Specifications for M-Cards (Multi-Stream CableCARDs) have been set since September of 2003. Yet, none have been
produced. More disconcerting is the fact that there is no deadline for the inclusion of M-Cards. There is only a vague
agreement that cable companies will work to expedite a transition to M-Cards. Yeah and I've never waited all day for
the cable company.
So what was TiVo's solution to the problem?
A mere three months after TiVo chastised the cable companies, TiVo woke up, struck a deal with Comcast, and prepared to
ask the world, "Would you like to lease a Honda Accord with that cable subscription?"
Assuming that TiVo (due to its new relationship with Comcast) stops being the staunch advocate for advances in
CableCARD technology, who will fight for the consumer?
That's unclear - the FCC has shown no strong signs that they will be fighting for the consumer. Recently, a July 2006
deadline that would have banned cable companies from producing any new "integrated" (i.e., not OpenCable) set-top boxes
was pushed back by at least another year. Many assume that the cable companies will use the delay to argue that the
mandate for OpenCable is unfair and unduly regulates the cable segment of the market. Worse yet, they might be
successful. After all, with the emergence of IPTV and the entry of SBC and Verizon into the subscription TV game, it's
hard to argue that only the traditional cable players should be bound by such regulations. In any case, few expect the
ban to go into effect even by its delayed July 2007 deadline.
It might be easy to assume that with rumors of an OpenCable-compatible Media Center Edition in the works, Microsoft
will be fighting for the consumers. However, in a recent letter to the FCC, Microsoft joined Comcast (never a good
sign) in arguing that the ban on integrated set-top boxes be delayed. With Microsoft participating in so many different
segments of the cable market (e.g. Comcast already runs Microsoft Foundation Edition software on many of its current
boxes and Microsoft has signed deals with both SBS and Verizon regarding IPTV) it's unclear whether Microsoft would be
willing to rock the boat.
What's the big deal? You're still paying for cable. Why would the cable companies care what box you use?
The answer is simple - MONEY. It's hard to imagine, but the cable company is counting on the extra money that
"value-add" services bring to the table. Services such as pay-per-view, music purchases, micro-content, etc. have been
estimated to be a multi-billion dollar business. In order to get its cut from the content providers, a cable company
such as Comcast needs to offer those services through its own look and feel.
As you can imagine, cable companies are wary of being cut out of that market by companies like TiVo offering value-add
services through their own custom user interfaces (hence the stringent and lengthy OpenCable certification process).
There's no question that content services are a big business, and cable probably should be a little scared. In January
2004 TiVo purchased Strangeberry, an internet-based content distribution service. Microsoft has created an "Online
Spotlight" in its Media Center Edition and has partnerships with numerous content-providers, including CinemaNow and
Movielink.
So what's the future of OpenCable?
Most likely, OpenCable will, for all intents and purposes, end with V1. Oh sure, they're working on a specification for
the next generation. However, the earliest that you might hope to see it is July 2007, and, by then, they'll probably
be on to something else.
In the meantime, we just need to hope that enough PVR manufacturers make it through the certification process to give
us some real alternatives when it comes to HD PVRs.
If you have comments or suggestions for future columns, feel free to drop me a line at
theclicker@theevilempire.com.
Until next week - Save my seat!
I bought a CableCARD capable TV recently, even though I have an HD DVR, and a SD DVR through the cable company (which are replacements for ReplayTVs, unfortunately). The main reason for the CableCARD TV was look. Without a cable box I can put a plasma TV on a wall, plug in the coax cable, and be up and running. From that perspective, CableCARD is pretty cool. True, you lose the guide, VOD, PPV, etc. I guess I'm okay with that, because I knew that going in. And I don't use VOD and PPV much (I do miss the nav guide). I only watch a dozen channels or so, so it's not that hard to add them to my favorites and check them all when I want to watch something.
If ReplayTV were to come out with an HD model with two tuners, I could see many customers...
I guess on some level, I knew CableCARD was too good to be true. :(
Isn't 2-way CableCARD technology coming soon?
http://www.grouchygolf.com/
HD DVR with CableCARD now available from Sony.
The cable companies have been testing 2-way CableCards for a while now and they are pretty nice. VOD support for the CableCard is coming very soon as well.
Hmm...
"For instance, if you have come to rely on an integrated Electronic Program Guide, chances are you won’t get it (or it will be buggy) if you’re using a CableCARD-enabled TV. If you want to partake in any of the new VOD (Video On Demand) services being offered by cable companies, you’re out of luck."
I have Time Warner digital cable with HDTV in NYC and frankly, these two features are fantastic. I understand the advantages of CableCARD and that it is a bare-bones solution, but unlike a lot of cranky people I have no problem with my cable box. It gives me a tv guide, VOD, HDTV channels, perfectly integrated DVR functionality, and a FireWire port. I'm delightfully happy with my service...
you think so? everything I have heard about the standard (2-way Cablecard) says that it is years away from finalization, and add another year at least before the first devices appear. The article just confirms this.
Great article, but very disappointing. I've never used PPV once and the cable guide can be provided by the DVR, so hopefully cablecard equipped DVR's hit the market soon.
How long before a tv with cablecard and DVR builit in?
Steve, you don't want that built into your tv, imho. There's just too much to go wrong; it's like the entry I saw about having a 32 in lcd with a computer built into it. I'm all for hardware consolidation but you don't want to have to service your tv if the hard drive or fan breaks on your pvr/dvr.
what will make your life easier is a universal remote so you don't have to be juggling multiple remotes to cover each of your boxes.
I think probably the best idea is to consolidate content as much as possible, so you can have one video source to control but then drive your surround sound with another box and use your tv as a video monitor. that way your tv just has to be good at one thing, and can leave managing what you watch to another device whether it be a media center pc (perhaps home brewed if thats your style) or a pvr.
i do think it'd be nice to integrate the video switching functionality of a av reciever into your dvr or whatever because that way your reciever can function on driving speakers and decoding audio signals and your content source can keep up with passing through dvi/hdmi or whatever. trying to keep your av recievers (if you use one) up to date on all the latest video formats and having multiple inputs for each one seems both unnecessary and that it would add a lot of complexity to a device that should be able to focus on one task.
i mean people do run everything into their tv, especially if they are forgoing surround sound, but these tvs don't usually have the 2 each of dvi and hdmi you might want.
by the way I'm all for PCs that can grab multiple input streams at a time, save them for tivo like functionality or streaming via orb, and still provide on demand functionality. I'd love to get all that without any drm though, it's not like it's going to stop someone who is intent on pirating. I figure if I pay for comcast for access to this stuff I have a right to use it whereever and however I want. I may need to brush up on my fair use copyright law though.
just my two cents
So chances for seeing a cablecard capable tv tuner card to put into my media center 2005 machine are slim to none..... Makes me sad :(
Media center is already sweet but would be so much better If I could get digital and HD content directly into my PC without looking to OTA solutions.
Quote: "(e.g. Comcast already runs Microsoft Foundation Edition software on many of its current boxes and Microsoft has signed deals with both SBS and Verizon regarding IPTV)"
Not true.
First, Comcast in the late of 2004 implemented these Foundation Ed. set tops in a Seattle test market only. This is not "many".
Second, cable companies lose large amounts of cash due to unreturned equipment.
Third, Comcast has said that they will offer 2-way cable cards in the future.
Quote: "Recently, a July 2006 deadline that would have banned cable companies from producing any new “integrated” (i.e., not OpenCable) set-top boxes was pushed back by at least another year."
This is just not true. You need to get your facts straight. Outgoing FCC chairman Michael Powell submitted a proposal to delay the integration ban by a year, but it has not yet been approved by the remaining members. Until that does get approved, and here's to hoping it doesn't, CableCARD is not dead.
If the FCC holds strong on the integration ban, expect to see CC 2.0 cards get produced very, very quickly. The MSOs can't afford to use CC 1.0 products as they lose out on all of the VOD and PPV revenue.
Quote: "OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform) and OpenCable Host Device Specifications were developed by CableLabs to allow cable companies to push both their “look and feel” and their features to consumer electronics devices."
This is also not true. The only thing that gets "push"ed to the host device is the channel listing and the show listing. These could even be ignored by the host device, if the manufacturer had another way of getting the data (ala TiVo call). "Look and feel" and features have nothing to do with it.
Quote: "A mere three months after TiVo chastised the cable companies, TiVo woke up, struck a deal with Comcast, and prepared to ask the world, “Would you like to lease a Honda Accord with that cable subscription?”"
A better extension to your analogy would have been, "Would you like to upgrade your Honda Accord to a Lexus LS 430 for a few dollars more per month?"
Where can I purchase a cable card for my sony t.v.
You can't purchase a cable card, you have to call the cable operator to lease one.