CableCARD 2.0 is ready
posted Jun 22nd 2007 11:19AM
In the past week we have been on a quest to make sense of this entire CableCARD mess. We started out by talking to Motorola which was great, but left us even more confused, so we decided to go straight to the source and give CableLabs a call. While we're not excited about the answers, we did learn that CableCARD 2.0 does exist and it's ready to go. Along the way we also learned what's preventing TiVo and Microsoft from adding our favorite features to their latest CableCARD host devices. We aren't sure why this is so complicated, but right off the bat, lets clear something up. CableCARDs have supported two-way communications for some time, it is the two-way host device certification that is new to 2.0. This is the certification that is required by any consumer electronics device that wants to use the two-way CableCARD functionality. These cards also happen to be multi-stream cards, (up to 6 simultaneous) so they are called M-Cards -- older cards are S-Cards for single-stream. New boxes that are certified for two-way communications are already being deployed by SA and Motorola, and starting July 1st, 2007, all newly deployed digital cable STBs in the US will be CableCARD 2.0 certified. Some CE companies (LG, Panasonic and Samsung for example) are already starting to test their two-way devices with various cable companies around the US, and with any luck we should see one in the wild this year, or next.
At this point you should be asking, what is stopping TiVo or Microsoft from creating two-way, multi-stream CableCARD devices? The answer is, some CE companies are not happy with the certification specification that CableLabs has decided on. As we previously discussed, the point of contention is the OCAP requirement. While CableLabs is a technology lab, and not involved in all of the politics that define these requirements, basically the members of CableLabs feel that without OCAP, disintermediation (their word not ours) would occur. Or to put it in layman's terms, this 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 cable company's approval, so the concept of going to the store and buying a TiVo that works anywhere wouldn't exist unless every 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. The same might also be said for Vista Media Center, Microsoft would have to develop an OCAP VM in Vista Media Center and then work with each cable company to get them to deploy their user interface. This is assuming that the OCAP platform can provide the same rich UI that we've come to love from TiVo and Microsoft; otherwise the user experience when switching between other functions and OCAP required functions, would be anything but smooth.
The other interesting detail we learned, was that features like TiVoToGo, Multi-Room Viewing, and even eSATA external hard drive support, are not included in the CableCARD certification specification. These details are in the license that the company must sign when getting certified. The good news is that companies can submit solutions to enable these features to CableLabs and be added to the license. So there is hope that these features will become a reality, but again, the members of CableLabs, -- just about every cable company in the US -- controls what's added to the license.
We certainly respect the cable companies desire to control their networks, after all they do own it, and they do have a business to run. A rogue two-way CableCARD devices could cause a lot of havoc. While CableLabs is complying with the law, we don't think it is in the spirit of the law, because it does not introduce a truly open platform. At some point the cable companies need to realize that what's good for their customers, is good for their business.
In the end, we hope that the FCC steps in and requires CableLabs to certify two-way devices that do not require OCAP.
A special thanks to Megazone for helping me make sense of all this.
Wow, this is actually brillianty devious. All of the cable co's are rolling out switched video to increase HD bandwidth. For SDV you need CableCard 2.0 (i.e. for more HD channels you need it). CableCard 2.0 basically kills Tivo and Media Center through OCAP. So the Cable Co's meet the FCC regs and can gain complete control again. Brilliant.
I would be shocked if the FCC steps in. No one actually cares about the consumer. It does open satellite to be a potential nerd haven though.
Ben,
I also meant to say that your CableCard 2.0 posts have been great. There really is nothing else out there explaining CableCard 2.0 right now.
I just can't fathom how this can be considered competition. If the cable company determines what software is run on your box, then they, de facto, determine the hardware. Want firewire? Too bad, our software doesn't so that. Muti-room viewing. Sorry, not that either. Fast forward through commercials? Bummer for you. Rent movies online from [insert company here]? Nope. We give you PPV instead.
With OCAP I guess my competitive choices amount to the size of the hard drive and the color of the box. Maybe. I guess the cable companies could even say their software only supports drives up to a certain size.
The only way I see OCAP working is if the cable companies are required to carry any OCAP compliant software (kind of like compulsory licensing of music). So I buy the box, call the cable company, and tell them which software I want. The cable company charges me for the software, keeps some for themselves, and passes the rest on to the vendor of the software.
Very interesting info, and it will be fascinating to see what happens over the rest of the year with the 3rd-party STB suppliers, CE manufacturers, and Vista. The next-to-last paragraph makes no sense until it has been cleaned up and copy-edited:
"We can certainly respect the cable companies desire to control their networks; after all they do own it, they do have a business to run, and rogue two-way CableCARD devices could cause a lot of havoc. While CableLabs is complying with the law, we don't think it is in the spirit of the law, because it does not introduce a truly open platform, and at some point the cable companies need to realize that what's good for their customers is good for their business."
What a load of crap OCAP is...I can't beleive they went down that road. If I can't use my own devices (Tivo, Media Center) then screw the cable companies...I'll either download all my shows illegally and really stick it to the man, start using iTunes/AppleTV, or if the sat companies capitalize on this and figure out a way to bring Tivo and other devices into their system I'll switch to sat. Haven't they learned anything from the internet and the music industy's fight against piracy? The more closed you make your network, the more popular illegal downloading becomes!!!
Cable companies are going to loose a lot of customers over this deal...the day my Series 3 HD Tivo stops working on Comcast's network is the day I cancel and never come back.
Fortunately the CableCo's won't be the only game in town for long - they will get their cumuppins!
Kevin,
Thanks for the kind words.
Satellite has become worse than cable over the past few years. They don't even let 3rd parties make one-way devices anymore. They also don't support 1394. I don't expect much from them either.
Does it even make sense to pay the extra $ for a Vista Media Center with the CableCard support ? There seems to be many different things that can occur in the near future that will make all of it obsolete and non-functional. Someone tell me where I'm wrong.
dbw
"While we're not excited about the answers, we did learned ..." Did learned? Come on man, the amount of grammar and typo mistakes on these blogs is getting ridiculous, especially for a professional blog like this.
I have a question. Theres all this talk about the new Motorola STBs that all the cable companies will have to start to use soon and how they have CableCard 2.0 slots but why would you want to use a cablecard with a STB if you could just plug the cable into the box anyway? Am I missing something? With my Moto DCT3412 all you do is plug the cable from the wall into it and then an HDMI cable to the TV. I thought the advantage of the cablecard was that you could just put it directly into the tv to get a better picture w/no stb. Will the TV manufacturers like Panasonic also have to get their tvs certified for the CableCard 2.0 standard for bi-directional tv?
Thnx for the help.
Alex -
Here is (almost) everything you could possibly want to know about CableCARD.
http://www.opencable.com/primer/cablecard_primer.html
Ben - My pleasure.
Alex - Your 3412 has the security software 'baked in', so it connects right to the cable. What the FCC has mandated, as of July 1st (unless issued a waiver) cable companies have to use cable boxes that DO NOT have the security baked in, but rather use CableCARD. The idea is that this will force cable companies to 'eat their own dog food' as the saying goes, and having to deal with CableCARD for all of their own boxes will make them improve their support for the standard.
Basically, until now, CableCARD installs have been few and far between - only a relative handful of TVs, TiVos, and new Media Center PCs. So many cable installers have never installed CC. I had new CCs installed a couple of weeks ago, and my installer said I was his second install - ever. And he'd been with Charter for years. Now they'll be installing CableCARD several times a day, every day, so the installers, support people, dispatch, etc, will be *forced* to learn about them and how to deal with them. Which will be better for everyone trying to get CC installed in other devices.
It also, in theory, makes for a level playing field - where consumer electronics devices and cable MSO STBs all use the same tokens (CableCARD) and the same back-end, so there isn't an advantage to the MSOs. However, because of the feud over CC2.0 and OCAP, de facto this isn't really the case.
I have some faith in the FCC, they've been on a bit of a tear lately with denying waivers and such.
This VOD stuff needs to be like internet explorer, mozilla, whatever. Cable company via cable labs provides a set of API's (application program interfaces) for all CE boxes. The CE companies then implement the API's in any way they see fit.
Cable companies are crippled by the MPAA and dinosaur thinking. Their interfaces flat out stink. If Tivo implemented VOD for the cable companies, their sales would probably increase because you could actually find what you're looking for.
Ben - Great article, good references, coherent explanations...well done. I take back everything I've said about you.
cableric
Can someone explain to me why the current CableCard 1.0 devices, including the $2000 Vista Media Centers with CableCard, won't be orphans soon? Here are the facts as I know them...
1) Current CableCard devices integrate CableCard 1.0 (including Vista Media Centers).
2) CableCard 1.0 won't support SDV (switched digital video).
3) Cable companies are moving into SDV quickly, with Time Warner leading the race THIS YEAR.
4) CableCard 2.0, which does support SDV, was approved last week, just in time to meet the CableCard support compliance deadline of July 1, 2007. Now cable companies can legally claim that they are in compliance with the FCC order by sending signals (SDV) that ARE decodable with CableCard 2.0 - the new standard.
5) The hardware will be different for CableCard 2.0 devices.
6) The entire device must be submitted to CableLabs to be approved for 2.0 compliance, yours hasn't been.
7) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Microsoft has stated that they have no plans to support CableCard 2.0 in Vista, as it forces them to use the CableLabs dictated Java / OCAP software to run it.
7) Microsoft is preoccupied pursuing it's IPTV dreams anyway.
Here's what I see happening:
1) Time Warner and others WILL switch to SDV soon in our market.
2) CableCard 1.0 devices will not work.
3) You'll have a non-operational orphan TV card for a while.
4) IF a lot of you with orphans complain to HP, etc, and IF they push Microsoft to support CableCard 2.0, and IF Microsoft then pushes the FCC to drop the OCAP requirement, AND if the FCC drops the OCAP requirement, AND if Microsoft then decides to agree and support it, THEN you will have to wait - a long, long while for them to put it into a box. At a minimum, you will THEN have to buy another ATI box, maybe another Media Center with the CableCard 2.0 flashed BIOS...
This means that these $2000 Vista MediaCenter PC's could be orphans by the end of the year, with no ability to change the channels - literally. Without support from Microsoft - Dell, HP, Niveus, Velocity Micro and the like will then be helpless to save them. Am I wrong here?
Brian,
The reason is that SDV will not be used for all channels, in fact SDV doesn't work very well at all for very popular channels.
New, less popular channels will be added with SDV, no one expects cable to move existing channels to SDV, the consensus seems to say that all new channels will use SDV.
As long as you can get the channels you want via CC 1.0 it isn't obsolete.
And the CE industry is still pushing CableLabs, and the FCC, to provide a way to work with SDV, VOD, etc, without OCAP.
Ben,
What do you mean that "...SDV doesn't work very well at all for very popular channels..."?
Can you elaborate on the 'doesn't work' part? Like does smoke come out of the box, when you try to tune into NBC?
The point of SDV is to save bandwidth by only sending the channel to those who want it, but because of their architecture, they have to send it to everyone on the same head-end. Therefor, popular channels don't make sense, since it's using the same bandwidth on every headend anyways.