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A Brief FAQ on CableCards
TechNit writes "Just when I thought my Comcast DVR box was not going to change here comes the CableCard. Fascinating concept but I don't see these being used without the added features of Pay-Per-View, Video on Demand etc. that many consumers (me) have become used to. I see these being used more for authentication/theft prevention devices as apposed to stand-alone service providing devices. What do others know about this?" An earlier CNet column points out the shortcomings of current CableCard implementations.
How long until hacked versions show up on eBay??
"Nature bats last..."
I know they will be useful for non-Cable company DVR's such as Tivo, MythTV, or MCE, as they wouldn't have to use IR-transmitters and such to change channels.
Why is it tat all new technologies are focused on three things: 1) preventing "theft" and 2) being cheaper to produce (with consumers pocketing *some* of the savings. 3) The fact that I would be paying for things I oppose (see below).
There's a reason that I have never wanted to get cable and this is it. The fight in the cable industry is not to bring better programing or features, or even to lower costs for us, but to reduce our ability to use (within our rights as well as without) the content provided.
Over the years Cable Companies and the "watchdogs" who are supposed to be supervising them (FCC) have been focusingmore on how to compel us to purchase new products (HDTV) than on how to safeguard our rights to use our cultural products. The cable companies have been spending lavishly on this from their profits. My purchasing of their products and services (like shopping at Wal Mart or purchasing Microsoft's products) supports their political agenda by filling their war chest. I suppose I could just donate to the EFF as well but that just ups the cost for me.
Yes I miss a few shows that are interesting, yes by shopping at more expensive (locally owned) stores I pay more for basic goods than I would at Wal Mart. But, when I factor in the cost of my freedoms, freedoms that are impacted adversely by supporiting the companies that I oppose, I find the skipping the movie, shopping locally, and using linux far far cheaper in the long run.
Key to financial independence: Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Do it for a long time.
I just purchased the cheapest Toshiba rear projection HDTV out there -- the plain ol' 46H84 (???). It's a big-ass 46" rear projection HDTV monitor with just the right amount of inputs for the crap that I have. I paid just over $1000 for it to be delivered. Not the best price, but not ridiculous either, given that it replaced a 5-year old 27" Magnavox tube television.
So, I saw this News.com FAQ the other day, and I had a talk with my boss before Christmas about this CableCard crap and when the best time buy an HDTV will be. When I talked with my boss, I researched the CableCard ready Toshiba DLP projection HDTVs that are in their lineup. Pricing was higher than their entry level DLP projection HDTVs, and certainly a lot more than my dinky rear projection HDTV that I just bought.
Anyway, my conversation with my boss got me thinking...what happens when the CableCard slot shorts out or fails after the first year of warranty coverage? What happens if one of these new integrated card readers on some of these HDTVs stops reading SD cards from your camera?
My thinking is this -- you just paid $3000+ for a nice HDTV with CableCard a year ago. Now, if you didn't get sucked into a bullshit store service plan for $500 which might not cover a failed CableCard slot, you're stuck with a relatively new TV that has trouble getting digital cable or satellite services. Or you've got a TV that, 1-2 more years, will have this nice little HOLE in the front of the console for that SD card that it can't read, thus screwing up your pricing if you decide to sell it used.
I say stop the integration with the most expensive piece of hardware in my entertainment center. I'm not paying $3000 for a receiver or a DVD player. Those are relatively inexpensive items that I can replace in a pinch if need be. But a $3000 TV ought to be stable enough -- in terms of integrated features -- that it won't require replacement or a repair for something that can just as easily reside in a satellite or cable receiver in my A/V rack.
Not to mention the fact that, if I DO have a service plan that will fix it, I run the risk of sending off my nice $3000+ HDTV to someplace that may F--- it up in transit or during repairs, or, based on stories about Best Buy service plans, not come back for 3-4 months. The TV should stay put, and keeping it simple -- without all this extra crap built in -- is the safer bet, I say.
Or at least make it a modular add-on to the back of the TV that can be purchased for a reasonable price and, thus, replaced if broken at a reasonable price.
IronChefMorimoto