[mythtv-users] CableCards to Become Useless ???

[Greg Lake]

Joe Votour wrote:
> Quoting Brian Wood <beww at beww.org>:
>
>   
>> On Apr 20, 2008, at 8:49 AM, Jay R. Ashworth wrote:
>>     
>>> On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 08:07:38AM -0600, Brian Wood wrote:
>>>       
>>>> Perhaps a little OT, but probably of interest to a lot of Myth users:
>>>>
>>>> http://hdguru.com/how-the-cable-industry-plans-to-cheat-10-million-hdtv-owners/233/
>>>>         
>>> I'm going to put that "investigative report" in the "consider the
>>> grammar capabilities of the writer" file:
>>>
>>>       
>>>> supplied by either Cisco (formally know as Scientific Atlanta)
>>>>         
>>> Um, does he mean "formerly known"?
>>>
>>> And those boxes still *say* SciAt, so far as I know; Cisco bought the
>>> company, they didn't merge with it.
>>>
>>> So, large grains of sodium chloride here...
>>>       
>> Yeah, a little more research shows that the writer seems to have a
>> personal agenda, and is not terribly concerned with facts. Looks like
>> he was running a little close to his deadline.
>>
>>
>>     
>
> <snip>
>
> If this person's accusations are true (that there is as two-tier  
> class, one CableCard, one with the rented STBs), then the FCC should  
> be coming down hard on the cable companies.  The reason that I say  
> this is that newly manufactured STBs, as per the FCC, must use  
> CableCard, and the newer Motorola boxes that I've seen all have the  
> slots, with cards in them (locked up to prevent removal, of course).   
> These new boxes are supposed to provide the same functionality, at  
> least according to my understanding of things.  At the same time,  
> however, I've also heard reports of (and seen with my own eyes when I  
> visited a cable operator) older STBs, which are exempt from the FCC  
> regulations, being horded for deployment, as a backup in case of  
> CableCard problems.
>
> We all know that Switched Digital Video is coming, although I hope  
> that it's rollout in my area is delayed long enough to have an open  
> specification of how to use it with non-cable operator provided box  
> (i.e. HDHomeRun).  Having worked (and still so) in the cable industry,  
> I know that CableLabs generally drops the ball, but I can't see this  
> issue not being fixed.  I have a feeling that the STBs the cable  
> company rents out, even with CableCard, will continue to work, becsuse  
> there is a bi-directional protocol available now.  It is, however, up  
> to the manufacturers' to provide updates to their products to support  
> it (which cable operators will, TV manufacturers' likely won't).
>
> I really wish that the cable industry would have adopted a CAM  
> interface, like what is used for DVB.  This would solve a bunch of  
> problems - SDV could be done via a SmartCard update, and there would  
> be a single API to use it.  Of course, that would mean that the FCC  
> would have to have the forethought to demand such features.
>
> One should also note that the FCC does not mandate CableCard per se -  
> they mandate an open solution where the hardware can be configured to  
> operate with many different cable networks.  CableCard works for this  
> because the (de/en)cryption algorithm is actually run in software on  
> the CableCard.  Any other hardware solution that accomplishes this in  
> the same way (i.e. can run the same (de/en)cryption code, but is not  
> CableCard) is also acceptable by the FCC.  The key is that the  
> security is separate from the receiving/decoding hardware.
>
> Granted, I speak from the position of hoping that the company that I  
> work for, and our partners will gain some traction (of course).  There  
> are already a number of smaller cable operators who are so throughly  
> disgusted with CableCards due to implementation costs, unsuitability  
> for use, etc., that they are investigating the FCC-compliant  
> alternatives.
>
> As for the point of updating lineups to STBs - when Comcast setup my  
> cable the box they provided pulled down a completely incorrect channel  
> list, preventing me from watching an analog channel.  It was at that  
> point that, with the installer present (because he was clueless), I  
> unplugged the box and connected the cable straight to the TV.  So,  
> even with the proprietary solution, I hardly trust them to get that  
> correct on the first dozen or so tries.
>
> -- Joe
>
>
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>   
I don't get the point of having a cable card inserted in your stb?  Am i 
missing something?
The only thing i can think of is, perhaps if you bought your own 
STB...Is that even possible?