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CableCARD In-Depth
Atvtg writes "Ars Technica has an excellent article on CableCARD, and where it's heading. After discussing the history of the
initiative and some of the technical details, they cover how CableCARD may meet its end shortly after the launch of 2.0 (the bi-directional spec) because of DCAS. The real
surprise, however, is that CableLabs, which controls the CableCARD spec, has to certify computers to use CableCARDs for DVRs and the like. Ars points out that the upshot of this is
that it will not be possible to build your own DVRs using CableCARDs. Will this kill the DIY market?"
So, the industry has been working on these cards since 1997 or so. The biggest hurdle seems to be how to encrypt the video stream umpteen times because they're dead paranoid about hackers. As a result, 8 years later, the technology is ready but is already outdated because consumers started demanding more from their cable provider (thank you TiVo) and the 1997 designed cards couldn't handle it.
Oh, the industry says, lets fix that in the 2.0 release. So they begin work on it. Unfortunatly, that's still vapor and it looks like the 2.0 release might be ready just about the time it's getting killed off by yet another technology.
Why does it take so long to develop these things? Well, a big reason is that they have to figure out new and exciting places to encrypt the datastream again. Also, there is a requirement to make it as annoying to the end user as possible by denying them the use of their DVRs and making it so you have to buy your computer from an OEM if you want to watch TV on it. At the end of the day, if the technology actually takes off, it will probably be hacked anyway (probably with mod chips/special remote codes for TVs and DVRs that enable the output regardless of state of the no-copy flag).
Basically, this is a technology that the cable companies didn't want to implement in the first place (Congress forced them to), and they've done everything in their power to make it unappealing to the end user to discourage adoption and let them extend the deadline passed by Congress and the FCC for as long as possible. It's also an example of DRM concerns basically killing what would otherwise be a pretty decent product.
I read the internet for the articles.
How BeyondTV looks like they may get around it is by having Haupage create a capture card computer with a USB 2.0 interface- thus they'll only need to certify the periphereal.....
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
The DIY crowd will just record off the analog out, it's really at the "good enough" state anyway.
Not for HDTV. The advantage of cablecard is that it allows the device to directly access the compressed digital signal. Analog out is just fine for recording SDTV. If you want to record unencrypted HDTV, you won't get very much bang for your storage buck...
-JMP
Not an option. My cable box doesn't have an analog out for HDTV. It has an HDCP stream coming over the HDMI cable.
I was perfectly happy with my analog-based ReplayTV, but it was relegated to the "little" TV once I got an HDTV set. I had to pay to lease the Comcast DVR cable box since it's the only game in town for recording HDTV. However, it sucks -- the software is more buggy than the ReplayTV software ever was, and the interface is much less friendly than the ReplayTVs. Plus, with the cable company firmly in control, they don't let me do things like "hide" unwanted channels. Like I'm ever going to watch QVC, or why I'd want to skip over 60 pay-per-view sports slots that I'll never watch?
Yes, my TV has a CableCard slot, and yes, it's most likely going to sit there unused forever. I want a DVR more than I want "one less component".
I'm thinking of buying an HDCP decoder so I can build my own DVR using the cable box anyway. But those decoders are still about 400 euros.
John
Umm, it's not layer upon layer. It's the same encryption with different keys at different times. One set of keys for the cable transmission. One set of keys from the cable-card to the host decoder. One set of keys from the decoder to the display device (if the decoder is not in the display device). None of them are weak encryption. The HDCP system used from the decoder to the display device has been in use for about 3 years, no one has cracked it yet.
:(
Having said all that, I'm not really looking forward to our digital future.
Dan
The article gets most things right, except the part regarding OCAP--the middleware layer that permits interoperability. OCAP was developed long before DCAS and its purpose was not to enable DCAS but to enable retail interoperability. The CableCard enabled set top boxes or TVs to operate on any network, because SA networks, used primarily by Time Warner Cable, are not compatible with Motorola networks (used primarily by Comcast). The CableCard removes the network dependencies from the receiver. Along with a variety of other features, OCAP enables the network independent receiver to actually be able to tune to programs on specific network, because the electronic program guide data is proprietary to the network. Thus, the cable operator will write a specific application that will run on top of the OCAP middleware on any receiver on its network that will decode the proprietary guide data to enable an interactive program guide for program selection.
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" -- Dr. Strangelove
Finally! A topic on /. that I have some experience with!! As a cable technician, I deal with this particular headache at lease 10 times a week.
Cablecards are an example of what happens when Congress decrees that a certain service provider must provide the service Congress's way, instead of letting the service provider do it in a way that is guaranteed to work. CableLabs created the cards with a specific set of requirements for the firmware for correct operation. Some companies (LG for example) wrote their TV firmware along the direct specification. Other companies, such as Sony, Sharp and Mitsubshi took the liberty to write their firmware however they damn well pleased. In fact, we have an entire binder full of TV makes and models with known firmware issues.
I've never seen a problem using a Cablecard in an LG TV; it's pretty much plug it in, wait for the authorization numbers to display on screen and call them into the office for initialization. If I had the cash for a flat panel plasma to hang in my living room, it would be an LG, and I would get a Cablecard for it. Other brands, however, present a wide variety of issues. For example, any channel in our lineup that uses a 64 QAM data stream will no properly display on a Mitsubishi TV.
Another problem is in the specifications: Cablecards are one-way devices. They do not operate along the return path, which means no Video-on-Demand, no interactive pay-per-view, and so on. You're also stuck with the interactive guide that your TV firmware came with. Troubleshooting these ALWAYS requires a truck roll, because since they are one-way only, we can't hit them from the office to return an error message like we can with our DCTs. (We use the exact same boxes shown in TFA).
In response to some of the comments made about a MSO-issued settop box, we don't charge the monthly equipment fee for our digital equipment to milk more money out of customers; we do it to attempt to break even. A typical MSO loses anywhere between $75 to $100 per average digital subscriber due to failure to use common sense. Last week, I replaced a $500 DVR for a woman (at no cost to her) who had started putting her old newspapers on top of the box. It eventually overheated and died. I asked her why she had put them there, and she said, "Because my computer monitor got too hot with them on top of it, and I didnt want that to burn up." And just today, I replaced $700 of equipment for a family that had moved. They put their equipment in a box in the kitchen, and proceeded to improperly attach a dishwasher hose and flooded their own house.
Anyhow, back on topic, cable companies will try to steer you away from the Cablecards to their equipment because they know it will work. If our equipment isnt working, we replace it and make it work. With Cablecards, we are stuck trying to make third-party firmware play nice with someone's TV.
khasim (12/9/06): In a blind taste test, more people preferred Coke over the Pepsi that I had previously pissed in.