Notes

CableCARD 2.0 is now Available

We've been trying to understand the CableCARD mess for the past week. We started out by speaking to Motorola which was great, but left us even more confused and we decided to go straight to the source and give CableLabs an email. MINECRAFT While we're not too thrilled about the answers, we did find that CableCARD 2.0 exists and is ready to be released. We also learned what was preventing TiVo's and Microsoft's latest CableCARD host device from adding our top features. CableCARDs have been able to support two-way communication for some time, 2.0 is the first time that a two-way host device certification has been issued. This certification is required for any consumer electronic device that wants to use two-way CableCARD functionality. These cards can also be multi-stream ones (up to 6 simultaneous), so they are referred to as M-Cards. The older cards are S-Cards for single stream. SA and Motorola are already using new boxes that can be certified for two-way communication. All newly deployed digital cable STBs across the US will be CableCARD 2.0 certified starting July 1, 2007. Some CE companies (LG, Panasonic and Samsung for example) are already starting to test their two-way devices with different cable companies across the US, and with any luck , we will see one in the wild by the end of the year or in the near future. It is now time to ask yourself, "What is stopping TiVo and Microsoft from developing multi-stream two-way CableCARD devices?" The answer is that a few CE companies aren't happy with the certification specifications that CableLabs has chosen to use. The OCAP requirement is the main issue, as we have discussed. While CableLabs is a technology lab, and not involved in the political machinations that define these standards, the members of CableLabs believe that without OCAP disintermediation (their word not ours) would occur. Or to put it in simple terms, it would cut out the middle man, -- where the middle man is your cable company. With OCAP, TiVo couldn't deploy their software on a two-way host device without the approval of the cable provider, so the concept of going to the store and buying TiVo that works everywhere TiVo that is compatible with any device would not be possible unless each cable company agreed to distribute and support TiVo's OCAP software. This is how the long-awaited Comcast and TiVo agreement is going to work. Vista Media Center might be the same. Microsoft would need to create an OCAP virtual machine in Vista Media Center and then collaborate with each cable company to make sure that they have their own user interface. This assumes that the OCAP platform will provide the same rich UI that we've come accustomed to from TiVo and Microsoft and, if not, the user experience when switching between other functions , as well as OCAP required functions, could be not smooth.



Another interesting fact we discovered was that features such as Multi-Room Viewing and TiVoToGo are not included in the CableCARD certification specifications. These details are part of the license that the company must sign to become certified. The good part is that companies can submit solutions that enable these features to CableLabs and be included in the license. These features are possible, so there is hope. However, CableLabs members -- which includes almost every cable company in Americaare in charge of what's added.



We are certainly supportive of the cable companies desire to manage their networks, as they own it and they do have a business to manage. A misguided two-way CableCARD devices could cause a lot of havoc. CableLabs is in compliance with the law. But, we don't believe that it is in line with the spirit. It's not an open platform. Cable companies must realize that what is the best for their customers is also beneficial for their business.



We're hoping that CableLabs will be required by the FCC to certify two-way devices that do not require OCAP.



Megazone is a special thank for helping me understand all of this.


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