Your cable-card may soon be obsolete - Warning to Time Warner customers

[kjnorman]

There is a very interesting article in USA Today regarding cable's dilemma with bandwidth issues.

USA Today: Cable operators find it tough to swallow HDTV

Their solution is very likely to obsolete the cable-card that you have in your shinny new TV.  This in particular is kind of scary:

Time Warner, Cox and other operators prefer a solution, called "switched digital," that lets them offer more HD without hassling analog customers. It would, though, create problems for folks with digital TVs and other devices designed to work with CableCards, not a box.

..snip..

With switched digital, operators would send all channels through their trunk lines. The system then would pass the analog channels through the neighborhood lines but send a digital channel only when a viewer selects it on a set-top box.

..snip..

Time Warner has deployed switched digital in three cities and plans to bring it to all its systems. Cox and Cablevision also are drawing up deployment plans.

..snip..

Makes CableCards obsolete

The good news for operators and investors is bad news for subscribers who bought TVs and digital video recorders that unscramble digital signals with a CableCard — effectively, a set-top box on a card.

..snip..

CableCard users in San Diego found out what that meant last year when Time Warner deployed a switched-digital system. They lost East Coast versions of several premium channels. A company letter also warned owners of HD sets that they might not be able to get HD channels being added. As compensation, the company said it would give them a digital set-top box free for a year.

That's a step backward, TV and DVR makers say.

"We see switched digital as another way cable is trying to undermine the CableCard and discourage its use," says Consumer Electronics Association spokesman Jeffrey Joseph. Although more than a million CableCard-ready digital TVs have been sold, he says, operators' half-hearted support has meant that only about 150,000 CableCards are in use.

An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter, citing proceedings in progress on new CableCard standards that would support interactive TV and switched digital.

So from this it reads as if it is only a matter of time before Time Warner introduces such a system here in Milwaukee.  So any shinny new product you just bought with a cable-card in it will now longer work as being digital-cable ready.  You'll need a new set top box.

Could this be the reason why some products like the Series 3 Tivo are being delayed so as to wait for cable-card 2 for interactive features and channel switching?

Certainly something to keep an eye on...

[LoadStar]

This would suck even more for the imminent Series 3 TiVo, which is said to have two CableCard slots for it's tuners.

[mrmike]

Great.  Remind me again why I can't buy TV from someone who doesn't want to ruin my experience for the benefit of their pocket book?

[Joseph S]

They're going to do everything they can get away with to keep paying rental fees on equipment and using their DVR service. If you can get DISH, I would. DirecTV is adding NESN to New England which is a move in the right direction, but too much downrezzing on most of the HD content for my liking. I'm hoping I get enough of a view at my new place to get DISH, although I may have to wait for a storm to knock a few branches off or a tree over. . One thing's for sure, I sure won't have to worry about TWC anymore. :rock: Comcast only where I'm headed, which isn't listed there as one of the companies involved in this.

[kjnorman]

I also read elsewhere, I think over as TivoCommunity, that Cablecard 2.0 still will not work with switched digital.

This could be very bad news for the TiVo Series3 if Time Warner does go though with this.  Personally I would be happy if they just killed the analog channels - though I understand than many people rely on these for non STB connected TV sets.

Looks like I'll be sticking with Directv for the forseeable future...

[gparris]

I see it differently...sorry folks!

If I get the more HD channel choices through some different technology and it makes a minority of cable card users lose their one way usage, so be it.

Cablecards are only one-way, difficult to install and both sides, IMO, were not really up to it in the first place to get it right the first time.

If two-way cable cards ever come to pass, the HDTV sets that have cable card slots will not be able to use the new setup anyway as I understand it.
If you ever had to wait for TWC to get the cablecard to work so you could get the HT setup going, it really sucks...I do not and will not point blame on just TWC or any cable company...not fair.

Cable boxes are not glamorous and cablecards are not free, either.
If you don't like cable - please DO go to satellite - it is your choice. :rolleyes:

[mrmike]

I'd go to sat in a heartbeat if

a) I could shoot the birds
b) I could use a DVR that didn't suck tremendously and allowed archiving

However, if TWC does this, I don't know what I'll do since none of my HD recorders will work with this scheme.

NB: Cablecards are not hard to install.  They're made hard to install by the processes put in place by the TWC folks, but in reality they're dead simple to set up.

-MM

[picopir8]

I also read elsewhere, I think over as TivoCommunity, that Cablecard 2.0 still will not work with switched digital.

This could be very bad news for the TiVo Series3 if Time Warner does go though with this.  Personally I would be happy if they just killed the analog channels - though I understand than many people rely on these for non STB connected TV sets.

Looks like I'll be sticking with Directv for the forseeable future...

So your TV takes DSS cards? :-P

If you were thinking of switching, dont let this stop you. I dropped satellite about 1.5 yrs ago after being with them for about 8 yrs.  Even with my DVR rental, Im paying less than I would pay for similar service with DirecTv.

[Mark Strube]

I'd go to sat in a heartbeat if

a) I could shoot the birds
b) I could use a DVR that didn't suck tremendously and allowed archiving

Mine allows archiving... but it cost me $550 extra.

[Chinatown]

I'd go to sat in a heartbeat if

a) I could shoot the birds
b) I could use a DVR that didn't suck tremendously and allowed archiving

However, if TWC does this, I don't know what I'll do since none of my HD recorders will work with this scheme.

NB: Cablecards are not hard to install.  They're made hard to install by the processes put in place by the TWC folks, but in reality they're dead simple to set up.

-MM

I assume your speaking of losing service???...( 21/2 minutes this year)........, as to archiving...my Tivo has a program I recorded from last year

[Mark Strube]

as to archiving...my Tivo has a program I recorded from last year

LOL, I believe he means moving to different media (DVHS or hard drive) for personal archiving in native HD, which I'm now able to do with the R5000-HD modification.

[mrmike]

LOL, I believe he means moving to different media (DVHS or hard drive) for personal archiving in native HD, which I'm now able to do with the R5000-HD modification.

You are correct sir.  Any device which doesn't support Firewire or Network enabled archive is a non-starter for me.  I prefer true Firewire compliant tools over hacked-in HD capture like 169time's solutions, but beggars can't be choosers in some cases.

I currently use standalone TiVos for SD and a combination of home-brewed firewire from a standalone STB and an LG HD-DVR for HD either to my D-VHS deck or to a PC (depending on 5C settings).  

The funny thing is that most of the cable boxes are capable of doing firewire, but it's either disabled by the providers or defeatured as a build option.

-MM

[Mark Strube]

I prefer true Firewire compliant tools over hacked-in HD capture like 169time's solutions, but beggars can't be choosers in some cases.

This isn't by 169time... it's by Nextcom, and is actually quite reliable. It uses USB 2.0, and gives you full control over your STB thru your PC, and you can even schedule recordings using an online guide (which means you can schedule recordings even when you're not home). It's also immune to 5C protection, since it captures the video stream before it even gets protection added by your STB.

You can check it out here: http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm

[mrmike]

This isn't by 169time... it's by Nextcom, and is actually quite reliable. It uses USB 2.0, and gives you full control over your STB thru your PC, and you can even schedule recordings using an online guide (which means you can schedule recordings even when you're not home). It's also immune to 5C protection, since it captures the video stream before it even gets protection added by your STB.

You can check it out here: http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm

I know that it's not 169time, but it's the same basic theory.  Tap into the video stream in the box and ship it out to a board/box to be packetized and sent to the PC.  It's not immune to 5C, it only works on units that don't have 5C, if that wasn't the case I could use it on my TWC setup.   Unfortunately, even though they're not firewire enabled, the TWC boxen have 5C internally.  

Motorola Digital Cable: (All HD and SD channels)

DCT2000 series Motorola non-5C enabled cable boxes as used by many major cable providers (Comcast, Charter, etc).

[Joseph S]

USB2 doesn't have 5c, though.