Why Can't I Buy A CableCARD Ready Set-Top Box?

Al E Usse writes "Ars Technica does a write up of the problems that were not solved by the July 1, 2007 integration ban on integrated security in your cable box. The goal was to get everyone on the same page by requiring standardized technology. Just the same, the cable companies aren't really playing ball. 'The companies who make the boxes don't seem interested in selling to consumers [and] cable companies still push their own branded devices.' The article covers some deep background on the whole CableCARD mess, and concludes with the current state of the market: 'Based on June 2007 figures from the cable industry, 271,000 CableCARDs have been deployed. That's an astonishingly low number. 58 percent of all US households with a TV subscribe to cable, according to the NCTA, which means that 65 million households have at least basic cable.'"

Comments

Part of the 42%

[jforest1]

Anybody else think cable TV is for suckers? --josh

Re:Part of the 42%

[mi]

Anybody else think cable TV is for suckers? --josh

TV is for suckers, period. I would not have said it, if you had not asked, though...

FCC is useless, Congress is useless, see a patern?

[denis-The-menace]

The corps run the show in the US.
If the almighty Congress can't force the phone companies to fess up about wiretapping, why should the corps worry about the wimppy FCC?

Here's some cheese

[Anonymous Coward]

To go with that whine. Seriously, if I subscribe to slashdot do I get a loaf a cheese every month?

Suuuuure

[N8F8]

And lets ask all car manufacturers to use the same motor. Heck, while we're at it why don't we replace brand names with "Generic Car" like those cheapo cigarettes at the store.