Adjusting for Comcast’s new numbers the top five MSOs, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable, collectively deployed 557,296 CableCARDs. Extending that to the top ten MSOs gives a small bump to 595,296, which shows how many customers are concentrated into the largest MSOs. By way of comparison, these same ten MSOs have installed more thsn 32,000,000 CableCARDs in MSO provided STBs. And that is the best evidence of just how badly CableCARD has flopped in the retail market.

At this point TiVo is effectively the only retail CableCARD vendor left! There are a handful of PC CableCARD tuner products, but the total sales are negligible. CableCARD enabled TVs are all but gone from the market. And now that Moxi is gone I think TiVo is the last retail CableCARD DVR. Personally I think this demonstrates why we need AllVid to create a truly competitive open market.

Cablevision reports 27,472 CableCARD subscribers, an increase of 8% over the previous report. But before you get too excited, the new numbers include subscribers from Optimum West, which was integrated into Cablevision during the quarter. These 27,472 subscribers account for 39,462 CableCARDs, so there are a number of multi-card households. During the reporting period they actually had 5,288 new CableCARD installs, 57% of which were self-installs. The rest opted for professional installs, which cost an average of $34.95. The good news is they average 1.0 truck rolls per install, so they get it right the first time. And they charge $2/month per card.

Charter reported a total of 31,884 CableCARDs in service. And they still average 1.5 truck rolls per professional installation, the worst of the lot. I can believe it, I’m a Charter customer. The techs I’ve worked with have all been great, but many have expressed a desire for more training on CableCARD and TiVo. I’ve heard from a number of them that they’re really not being trained, and it seems like there are a couple of ‘experts’ in the area that they always end up calling. (I’ve had to have Charter out a couple of times for CableCARD and/or Tuning Adapter issues. Invariably it ends up being a back end problem, but the phone techs give up and insist on sending truck. Then the tech ends up calling around until he finds the right person to fix the issue.) Charter also charges $2/month per card, and an average of $35.00 for professional installs.

Comcast, from their corrected 2/23/12 numbers, has 370,407 CableCARDs in customer homes. Since the last report they installed 25,789 new cards, with only 29% being self-installs. It seems like Comcast customers opt for professional installs 71% of the time, which I find surprising, though it might be explained by the pricing. While they charge an average of $26.00 if it is a separate trip, it drops to $7.15 if it is part of a larger installation. And it takes an average of 1.04 truck rolls, so odds are good they’ll get it right the first time. Comcast’s first card is generally free, and additional cards in the same device average $1.50. (It isn’t in the report, but I believe additional cards in other devices are normally $2/month.)

Cox has 52,479 CableCARDs in service, at an average cost of $1.99/month. Customers who opt for a professional install pay an average of $24.00, though it takes an average of 1.1 visits. So your more likely to get to have the chance to get to know your installer better than with Cablevision or Comcast.

TWC has 75,542 CableCARDs in use with 54,575 subscribers, so again we know there are a number of multi-card households. TWC’s cards are the most expensive, at an average of $2.37 (I’ve heard that they charge quite a bit in some areas, which would explain the elevated average). Surprisingly their install numbers are even most skewed than Comcast’s, with 83% electing professional installs, which cost an average of $28.16. Why do so many people opt for professional installation? I’d love to know the motivation there.

All in all, not much has changed since the last report. I wish the different MSOs would normalize their reporting – some report self-install vs. professional installs. Some report costs with more granularity. Subscribers vs. number of cards. It’d be nice if they’d all report the same things in the same way. I can dream.

That’s how much of a flop CableCARD has been at retail, less than 2% of the cards deployed are used in retail devices, like TiVo. I don’t blame the retail devices, but rather the pain involved in obtaining CableCARD (self-installs only mandated 8/8/2011) and the artificial limitations on retail CableCARD devices (no OnDemand, for example). tru2way is an even bigger flop, basically being stillborn. And this is why I don’t feel like we can rely on cable industry developed solutions, but rather we need something like a solid AllVid mandate backed by and FCC with some teeth to make sure it happens.

But I digress, let’s get back to this report and look at each of the five MSOs reporting.

Cablevision has 25,303 CableCARD subscribers with 36,692 cards deployed, an average of 1.45 per household. For this reporting period, which spans time before and after the self-install mandate, 43% or 1,395 were professional installs and 57% or 1,851 were self-installs. They charge $2/month per CableCARD. And if the customer elects for a professional installation there is a fee that averages $34.95, but the average number of truck rolls per install is just 1.0, so it seems like they get it right the first time.

Charter Communications had 31,425 CableCARDs in service as of August 31, 2011. They begin allowing self-installs on August 1, before that a professional installation was required. Interestingly Charter says their average number of truck rolls per install is 1.5, which indicates they’re customers probably have some more trouble getting it working. I’m a Charter customer and I have required multiple truck rolls in the past due to installers not having working cards on their truck, etc. Charter also charges and average of $2/month per CableCARD, and there is an average $35.00 fee for professional installs.

Comcast is the big one, with 367,064 CableCARDs in customer homes. In this reporting period they installed 38,403 CableCARDs, split almost exactly 50/50 between professional installs and self-installs. The average truck rolls per install is 1.03, so it seems like they get it right nearly every time. Comcast also has the best pricing, the first card is free and each additional card is $1.50/month. For professional installation, if it is part of a larger install it is an average of just $7.15. For a trip just to install a CableCARD they charge an average of $26.

Cox Communications has 50,791 CableCARDs in the field. Each card costs $1.99/month. For professional installations they charge an average of $24 and it takes an average of 1.1 truck rolls. So not as good as Cablevision and Comcast, but certainly a lot better than Charter.

Time Warner Cable has 74,047 CableCARDs in place with 53,503 customers. Until 8/8/2011 and the FCC mandate they required a professional installation, since they they’ve allowed self-installs. Which helps explain the 87%/13% split for the reporting period. The good news is they seem to get it right with an average of 1.03 truck rolls for professional installs, which cost an average of $26.64. CableCARDs run an average of $2.50/month.

So it seems like Charter is having the most trouble getting CableCARD working right the first time, and Cox is struggling a little, but Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable are doing fairly well in that department.

There’s more interesting information in the full report, if you care to read it.

In order to launch even more new video services, we are migrating some existing services to the SDV system which is a bi-directional platform. Unfortunately, your unidirectional retail device does not support bi-directional programming delivered over the SDV system.

Please be advised, therefore, beginning on or after June 14, 2011, Bright House Networks will deliver the following packages on the SDV system and this programming will not be available on unidirectional retail devices until further notice:

[MZ: Underlining theirs. List of 24 channels omitted here.]

If you wish to receive the above services, you may contact Bright House Networks to obtain a digital set-top box or similar bi-directional device that is capable of supporting two-way communications with the SDV system.

You may continue to use your unidirectional retail device with your Bright House Networks provided CableCARD to receive video programming other than the programming delivered on the SDV system. Bright House Networks will notify you in advance of any other programming changes.

He received a second letter dated September 6, 2011 with nearly identical content:

In order to launch even more new video services, we are migrating some existing services to the SDV system which is a bi-directional platform. Unfortunately, your unidirectional retail device does not support bi-directional programming delivered over the SDV system.

Please be advised, therefore, on or after September 12, 2011, Bright House Networks will deliver the following package on the SDV system and this programming will no longer be available on unidirectional retail devices until further notice:

[MZ: Underlining theirs. List of 24 channels omitted here.]

If you wish to continue receiving the above services, you may contact Bright House Networks to obtain a digital set-top box or similar bi-directional device that is capable of supporting two-way communications with the SDV system. If you already have a digital set-top box on another television in your home, the services will remain on the channels listed above on those sets.

You may continue to use your unidirectional retail device with your Bright House Networks provided CableCARD to receive video programming other than the programming delivered on the SDV system. Bright House Networks will notify you in advance of any other programming changes.

It sure sounds like he’s going to lose a slew of channels if he doesn’t hurry up and switch to a Bright House Networks digital STB, right? That’s how Sam read the letter, and how I would as well. That is, if we weren’t savvy to the facts. Sam has a TiVo Series3 and a TiVo HD, both with CableCARD. And the letters would be accurate in as far as a TiVo with a CableCARD cannot handle SDV. Unless it has a Tuning Adapter connected – and both of Sam’s TiVo’s do. He’s already handling SDV on this TiVos, no problem. Sam is knowledgeable about TiVo, CableCARD, SDV, and Tuning Adapters, so instead of being scared into dropping TiVo rather than lose his channels, he’s filed a complaint with the FCC about the letters being a scare tactic.

The letters don’t say a word about tuning adapters being available for CableCARD devices that support them, such as TiVo. Or that tuning adapters are available from Bright House Networks for customers to use with their devices. Maybe if you’re very generous in the reading of “similar bi-directional device”, but that’s a stretch. Other cable MSOs have sent out similar letters and clearly stated that tuning adapters are an option for users of some devices, generally explicitly naming TiVo as an example. Bright House could’ve easily done the same.

How many average consumers received these letters and thought they were faced with the choice between losing their channels or giving up TiVo, or another device that can use a TA?

But wait, Sam has CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters from Bright House. They know this, so why send him the letters at all? Or why not note that his devices using the TAs will handle the switch transparently? They have a reason, but not a very good one; they claim their computer systems aren’t sophisticated enough to distinguish between customers with CableCARDs and TAs, and customers with only CableCARDs. OK, having seen my fair share of poorly designed corporate databases in my day I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that. But if they know they have this issue then why not simply add the information to the letter to avoid unnecessary Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt? Or is that the point, to use FUD to get people to switch STBs?

I know, never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. But sometimes you have to wonder.

I’ve included the letters and his filing as images for your ease of viewing, click for larger versions:

Via InvestorVillage.

Perhaps unsurprisingly this inspired TiVo to file a comment with the FCC a couple of weeks later, using the blog entry as a basis to urge the FCC to intensify CableCARD oversight. Clearly it is important for TiVo’s retail business that consumers be able to obtain CableCARDs with minimal hassle.

Well, now Time Warner Cable has filed their own comment with the FCC, responding to TiVo. You can read the full PDF here, but as you might expect it basically boils down to “Our bad, we screwed up. But hey, we made it all right in the end and it’ll never happen again. We don’t need any more oversight. Trust us.”

TWC serves more than 12 million cable customers, and among such a large customer base some isolated service issues are inevitable, whether as to CableCARD devices or other issues having nothing to do with those devices. TWC strives to provide exemplary service and is proud of its record, but mistakes as to any of the services it provides cannot be eliminated altogether, just as is the case with any provider that serves millions of customers. The key point is that, while TWC has encountered occasional complaints in serving customers with CableCARD devices, the mere fact that some issues have arisen by no means points to any systemic concerns with TWC’s handling of CableCARDs or provides any basis to believe that TWC has engaged in anti-competitive conduct.

I don’t buy it, just a glance at the forums at TiVo Community will show you countless posts with similar complaints for TWC and other MSOs going back to the launch of the Series3. I certainly don’t expect TWC, or any company, to be perfect. Companies are made up of humans, and humans make mistakes. I’ve certainly made my share. But it certainly seems like these “isolated service issues” sure come up a lot. If this were an isolated incident, a rare occurrence, I’d find it easier to let them off the hook. But given what I’ve seen posted from users, I’m not so inclined to be forgiving.

While TiVo alleges that this particular customer was a victim of anti-competitive practices by TWC, TWC’s investigation of the underlying facts indicates that the difficulties he encountered resulted primarily from the inadvertent provision of incorrect information by TWC customer service representatives about how TWC’s CableCARD practices apply to the TiVo Premiere DVR.

Could that be a little more convoluted? So they claim the incident is primarily due to bad information accidentally being provided. But that doesn’t seem to cover the incident as reported. The author was repeatedly given bad information – about how he could obtain a card, pricing, etc. Then the installer failed to show up for the scheduled installation appointment. And when the installer showed up for the rescheduled appointment they were ill-trained on CableCARD. That’s a lot more than an oopsie with some bad info.

Ironically, if the Commission were to intensify its oversight of cable operators’ CableCARD-related practices as TiVo requests, TWC likely would have diminished flexibility to address customers’ needs. Forcing operators to divert resources from customer service toward efforts to comply with detailed regulatory mandates would be counterproductive. Indeed, avoiding excessive regulatory burdens is particularly important in this context, given the Commission’s stated interest in phasing out CableCARDs altogether.

This reeks of FUD wrapped in a veiled threat. You wouldn’t want to regulate us anymore, we’d just hate if if that added oversight made our service worse. And you wouldn’t want that, would you? No, of course you wouldn’t. Everything is just fine the way it is.

For instance, although the customer claimed he was told that leasing a CableCARD instead of a set-top box would result in a price increase—which forms the basis of TiVo’s allegation of price discrimination in its letter—TWC’s records show that the customer in fact is receiving a discount on his monthly bill of $7.75, consistent with 47 C.F.R. § 76.1205(b).

While it is great that the information the customer was given that it would cause a price increase was actually incorrect, it doesn’t change the fact that the customer was told there would be a price increase. That’s the kind of thing that can scare a customer off and make them return their new TiVo to avoid the higher fees. How many times had this bad info been given out? And how many of those customers decided it wasn’t worth it?

I don’t think cable MSOs are the evil, conniving villains that some users paint them as. But I do think they’ve been pretty reluctant to accept CableCARD and properly support it. And most of the progress that has been made has come under duress, forced by the FCC. I don’t trust the MSOs to ‘do the right thing’ if left to their own devices. We wouldn’t have open access and CableCARD, flawed as it is, at all without the FCC. I doubt we’d have Tuning Adapters for SDV if the FCC hadn’t given the industry the hairy eyeball when they started rolling out SDV. And we sure as hell wouldn’t have widespread CableCARD self-install without the FCC mandate.

In this Order, we grant, to the extent set forth herein, TiVo, Inc.’s (“TiVo” or
“Petitioner”) unopposed1 request for waiver of the Federal Communications Commission’s
(“Commission”) requirements that electronics equipment marketed as “digital cable ready” include tuners
that are capable of tuning over-the-air broadcast channels and analog cable channels for its new TiVo
Premiere Elite digital video recorder (“DVR”). This device permits simultaneous viewing and recording
of up to four digital cable channels and has a capacity of up to 300 hours of high definition
programming.2 We conclude that the waiver is in the public interest because it will reduce the Premiere
Elite’s cost and power consumption and provide consumers a new retail set-top box option that will
compete with devices leased by cable operators. In addition, we condition this waiver on TiVo’s
commitment to inform consumers and retailers about the capabilities and limitations of this digital device.

That was the last barrier preventing TiVo from shipping the box, so we should see them on shelves in a couple of months as planned. Even though they officially announced the Elite on Wednesday, it was pending the waiver at the time.

TiVo filed for the waiver back in June because, as I detailed in an earlier post, FCC regulations require all digital cable ready devices sold at retail to support both analog and digital cable signals. But those rules were written back in 2003, before many cable systems began digital simulcast of their channels, if not dropping analog completely. But rules are rules and without a waiver TiVo would have been unable to legally sell the Elite at retail. With the waiver in hand they’re now free to bring it to market.

And with TiVo receiving the waiver and setting the precedent, perhaps we’ll see other vendors (re-)enter the CableCARD market with digital-only products. (The last round of Moxi retail DVRs were all-digital, but they offered an analog adapter for customers who needed it, which seems to be how they met the letter of the law.)

You can read the full ruling granting the waiver if you want all the details. (I still get a kick out of seeing my name in FCC documents.)

Thanks @TechWzrd.

Personally, I think the NCTA’s concerns were exaggerated and a bit nit-picky, but it doesn’t really do TiVo any harm in this case to make them happy. Though I did notice one thing…

Hey, TiVo, this new wording is incorrect:

Therefore, if your provider has “digital simulcast” and rebroadcasts all of its programming in analog, you will not miss any of your cable channel programming with a TiVo Premiere Elite.

At the very least I think you meant:

Therefore, if your provider has “digital simulcast” and rebroadcasts all of its analog programming in digital, you will not miss any of your cable channel programming with a TiVo Premiere Elite.

A small change in wording; a big difference in meaning. I hope that helps. No payment necessary, but I wouldn’t turn down an Elite if you get that waiver.

The body of their suggested letter reads:

As a consumer interested in protecting competition, innovation, and legitimate use of cable TV content, I urge you to refuse requests for waivers of 47 CFR 76.1204(a)(1) by NCTA, Charter, Verizon, and all other cable providers. The FCC’s integration ban, which in effect requires cable companies to integrate CableCARDs into their own set-top boxes, remains good policy today.

Now ten years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, cable companies have dragged their feet long enough on competitive alternatives to proprietary set-top boxes, thus hampering innovation and harming consumers. The integration ban will also help market competition prevent further restrictions on cable subscribers’ ability to make legitimate use of recorded content.

By adopting content protection limits (encoding rules) in docket no. 97-80, the Commission recognized the importance of allowing consumers to make certain uses of TV content, regardless of a particular cable provider’s or copyright holder’s wishes. With competition spurred on by the integration ban, consumers would have the freedom to choose the least restrictive cable-compatible device available. The CableCARD standard already prescribes restrictions that harm consumers by limiting non-infringing uses, and such restrictions will get even worse if cable providers’ set-top boxes are unchecked by competition.

Please refuse requests for waivers of 47 CFR 76.1204(a)(1).

I decided to toss my support behind this effort as well, and I inserted some text of my own:

As a tech blogger I’ve followed the evolution of CableCARD closely, and it has been a string of disappointments. Between the delays, the limitations on what UDCPs may support, the unpalatable requirements of OCAP/tru2way which discouraged CE vendors, the broken promise to fully deploy tru2way by July 2009 (July 2010 for Charter – it is now August 2011), SDV and Tuning Adapters, MVPDs having to be forced to allow self-installs and to use fair pricing, etc., etc., they have an extremely poor track record.

As an IT professional I know the value in “eating your own dog food”. When cable MSOs were required to begin using CableCARD in their own devices, overall support improved. Of course, they took shortcuts by pre-pairing the cards and permanently installing them in their STBs, so they didn’t need to use the same installation and activation process, but it still exercised the infrastructure. They should be forced to continue using CableCARD until such time as a new system, such as AllVid, is available to *all* devices.

I believe that cable MSOs should be required to use the same systems available to consumer electronics companies. This helps to force them to improve the systems for their own sake, and not neglect them unfairly. I think it would also put pressure on them to work toward a better solution, like AllVid, which would benefit all parties – especially consumers. If they’re allowed to roll their own solutions, independent of what is available to CE vendors, they have little to no incentive to adopted unified, open standards and robust systems for CE products.

Key points:

• Targeted at the custom home theater market – which means it isn’t going to be cheap. Given the current Premiere/Premiere XL $99.99/$299.99 pricing, I expect this to be at least $499.99, and possibly much more.
• Four digital (QAM) tuners
• 2TB of storage – 300 hours of HD or 2200 hours of SD recordings
• Supports all TiVo broadband partners (Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster, Hulu, YouTube, etc.), unlike MSO boxes which lack some of these (notably Netflix) due to contract limitations.
• Network content sharing with other TiVo boxes – the Premiere & Premire XL, and probably the Preview if that ever comes to retail. This seems to be streaming, which we know is coming.
• MoCA support, including MoCA bridge. This was a feature of the Premiere Q some were unsure would make it to retail.
• THX-certified, as befits a high end box.
• Full 1080p and 1080i support, including HDMI compliant splitters for up to 16 HDMI ports. We’ll see what ’1080p’ means. The TiVo Premiere has 1080p support – but only 1080p24 pass-through, no upscaling, no 1080p60, etc.
• Supports Control4, Crestron (misspelled in the slide as ‘Creston’), RTI, and other control systems. I’m guessing this is the network remote feature that is in the Series3 and later boxes.

To use the Premiere Elite you’ll need digital cable (QAM) or Verizon FiOS, one Multi-stream CableCARD (M-Card), and a subscription to the TiVo service. The unit will need to be connected to the network – Ethernet, MoCA, or WiFI (using a TiVo WiFi adapter). There is no mention of a phone line adapter, available for the Premiere/Premiere XL, but who’s really going to buy such a high end unit and use a phone line anyway?

The training materials make it clear that it is NOT compatible with analog cable, ATSC/antenna, satellite, or AT&T U-Verse. This is a digital cable/FiOS only unit. OTA users start screaming… now. I wonder what factors went into the decision to block ATSC. It is still digital, and QAM/ATSC tuner blocks exist. With the growth in cord cutting this could’ve been kind of the hill for OTA users.

In the ‘Whole home solution’ slide they have a ‘circle of life’ showing the Premiere Elite, Premiere, Premiere XL, Media Server, Laptop/PC, iPad/mobile device, and Control system. (Note the TiVo Preview is not listed.) It isn’t clear if that refers to existing functionality that we’re aware of – TiVo Desktop, the existing iOS app, etc., or if there could be more. In mentioning a media server, could TiVo finally have implemented DLNA? With out without DTCP-IP? I really hope so, but I’m not holding my breath. With the new streaming support if would be nice if there were a client for other devices to receive the streams, not just another TiVo. For devices like the iPad, iPhone, Android phones, etc., which don’t handle MPEG2 well, could the Elite include transcoding for real placeshifting support? Again, I doubt it, but it really would be a nice addition.

In addition to the training slides, TiVo’s FCC filing includes additional information about their consumer education plans to handle the digital-only aspect of the product. The in-store data sheet will contain this notice:

CableCARD™ Decoder. A CableCARD decoder is required for your TiVo Premiere Elite DVR to receive an cable programming. The TiVo Premiere Elite is designed for use only with digital cable systems. It does not receive analog programming, including over-the-air, and will not work with an over-the-air antenna. Most of the largest cable providers have “digital simulcast,” which means they rebroadcast all their analog channel programming on digital channels as well. This means that all programs available on analog channels are also available on digital channels when a CableCARD is inserted. Therefore, if your provider has “digital simulcast” you will not miss any of your cable channel programming with a TiVo Premiere Elite. Please contact your provider if you are unsure whether its service provides digital simulcast of all analog programming.

The Quick Start Guide and User Guide will also make it clear:

a. Quick Start Guide — The Premiere Elite packaging includes a large (18″ x 24″), heavy-weight, glossy installation guide that includes the following prominent notice:

The TiVo Premiere Elite is intended for use with digital cable systems only and does not work with external cable boxes, analog cable, or over-the-air antennas. A CableCARD decoder is required to receive any cable programming. To receive digital cable channels, and to watch and record multiple channels at the same time, you need one Multi-Stream CableCARD decoder (M-Card) from your cable company.

b. User’s Guide — The detailed Premiere Elite information booklet included with all
units includes notifications essentially identical to those of the in-store “Data Sheet” described above.

This all gives us a tantalizing peak at the TiVo Premiere Elite. Now, if only the FCC would hurry up and grant that waiver.

TiVo is urging the FCC to grant the waiver expeditiously, because they already have a timeline in mind. The CEDIA show starts September 7th, and TiVo plans to focus marketing efforts at the show. They also want lead time to prepare marketing materials and get the retail sales force trained. They plan to ship the Elite in mid-September so it can be on shelves by mid-October, in time for the holiday shopping season. That also lines up with the information from Virgin Media that a new software load is coming in October to enable streaming content from a TiVo.

Expeditious grant of TiVo’s request is particularly appropriate in this case because time is of the essence as TiVo seeks to expand the consumer market for an all-digital DVR. TiVo urges the Commission to consider the business realities that TiVo will face in marketing, advertising, distributing, and sales force training in connection with deploying a new retail product such as the Premiere Elite. For example, in the high-end retailer outlets where TiVo will be focusing its retail marketing efforts, distributors are more discriminating regarding their stock, select products less frequently, and require far more lead time for point-of-sale materials and sales force training. In addition, the trade show for the custom installers to whom TiVo will be directing another substantial portion of its marketing efforts, known as the CEDIA show, begins on September 7,2011.17 Tivo’s window of opportunity to stimulate demand from retailers and custom installers, therefore, is short and imminent. Given these factors, TiVo must be prepared to commence shipping the Premiere Elite and associated sales and training materials by no later than mid-September to place the Premiere Elite in retail outlets by mid-October. Otherwise, the Premiere Elite may be unavailable to consumers in time for the important holiday sales season.

Under these circumstances, and bearing in mind both the important policy considerations and the expedited process contemplated by Section 629 of the Act, TiVo requests that the Commission accelerate its decision making process here and allow TiVo to bring the benefits of superior technology to the retail navigation devices market as soon as possible. An expeditious grant would be consistent with the requests of consumers in this proceeding, and, as demonstrated in the Petition, with the public interest and the long-standing but elusive policies embodied in Section 629 of the Communications Act.

Of course, this is an all-digital device – no analog support – which means it will not handle any analog cable channels, such as those present in ‘digital’ cable systems that are actually hybrid. And that could lead to consumer backlash without sufficient consumer education. But TiVo has a plan to deal with that as well:

Although comments submitted by consumers in this proceeding demonstrate that they already aware of the Premier Elite’s capabilities, TiVo reiterates its commitment to undertake vigorous customer and retailer education efforts designed to ensure that consumers recognize the capabilities of the Premiere Elite and purchase it only where it will be deployed in a compatible digital cable system. Those commitments include: (i) marketing the Premier Elite to customers in all-digital cable systems and systems that offer a digital simulcast of their analog signals; (ii) marketing the Premier Elite primarily through its custom install, high-end retail, and TiVo.com channels, which will verify that customers have all-digital service or digital simulcast service and are fully aware of the Premiere Elite’s capabilities before purchase; (iii) developing clear and easily understood point-of-sale disclosures and retailer scripts; (iv) working to educate any retailers as well as cable operators about the Premiere Elite’s functionality; and (v) offering free return or exchange for a TiVo product that includes analog functionality to any customer that mistakenly purchases a Premiere Elite for use in an analog cable system. TiVo’s commitments to consumer education and support should dispel any potential concerns regarding whether the requested waiver serves the public interest.

So it seems that TiVo is all ready to go with a retail launch of the Premiere Elite, all they need is permission from the FCC. Somewhat disappointingly there has been no mention of the TiVo Preview for retail. The Preview is the non-DVR companion box for the Premiere Elite’s MSO-targeted alter ego, the Premiere Q, announced in June. Similar in some ways to the just launched Insignia TiVo-powered connected TVs, the Preview would have a CableCARD tuner and support for OTT content, but no hard drive or DVR features. But the Preview’s special trick would be acting as a whole-home DVR client box to access a TiVo Premiere Q in another room. And, as the Elite is a retail version of the Q, most people presume it could do the same with an Elite. Since the Preview is believed to be digital-only as well, it presumably would need a waiver. Though this may be a cause where one waiver would allow TiVo to introduce all-digital products in general, and not just the Elite.

I’d love to get one TiVo Premiere Elite, for the living room, and at least one TiVo Preview, for the bedroom. If it works well, and pricing is reasonable, I’d probably get another Preview for my front room, where I don’t have a TV currently but my fiancée is interested in adding one.

Getting back to TiVo’s comments, it was interesting to see them citing comments left by end users, including yours truly, and not just the big names. I changed my name over eleven years ago, but I still get a kick out of seeing ‘MegaZone’ cited in official documents. Almost as much fun as hearing Veronica Belmont say it.

• Comcast: Checking their website it doesn’t look like anything has changed since last week. There are still FAQs saying that you need a professional install, but CED Magazine is reporting that they’re allowing self-installs now:
  

  “Certain markets have had limited self-install options for CableCards since about 2007,” said Comcast spokeswoman Jenni Moyer. “Beginning in early August, we’ll start rolling out a CableCard self-install program across our footprint where customers will be able to go into our sales, service or payment centers and pick up a CableCard self-install kit, go home, install it, and then call in to activate it.”

  Comcast doesn’t ship the CableCard self-install kits to customers.

• Time Warner Cable: As expected, TWC has started allowing CableCARD self-installs. They’ve even created help guides for InfiniTV, Moxi, and TiVo.
• Cox Communications: They were already allowing CableCARD self-installs before the mandate. They have an instruction sheet online.
• Charter Communications: Their website gives mixed signals. The FAQ still says professional installation, but they have a self-install page. I think they just missed updating the page:
  

  Due to the technical complexity associated with the pairing of the devices, all installations of a CableCARD MUST be completed by a Charter Technician. Self-installation of CableCARDs is NOT an option for customers and thus customers cannot pick up a CableCARD from a local office

• Verizon FiOS: As with Cox, they were already offering CableCARD self-installs. You can order your CableCARD online.
• Cablevision: They’ve also been offering CableCARD self-installs. The information is on their site.
• Bright House Networks: They allow self-installs for Road Runner broadband, which means they should be allowing CableCARD self-installs as of August 8th. But I can’t find info on self-installs on their site, and there is a page that still says they’ll be allowed soon:
  

  CableCARDs are professionally installed by Bright House Networks. The option to install a CableCARD yourself will be available in the near future.

  If anyone knows of information on their site indicating CableCARD self-installs, leave a comment.

• Suddenlink Communications: According to their CableCARD FAQ they are allowing self-installs.
• Mediacom Communications: I couldn’t find a good reference on their website, but a post on their support forum by one of their reps on Saturday indicates they are allowing users to pick up CableCARDs and do self-installs:
  

  You can pick-up or have a tech install a cable card for you for a minor fee. This would be $1.99 per month for each card.

• Insight Communications: I couldn’t find anything useful on their site. Searching their site for ‘CableCARD’ only returns four hits. It looks like they offer broadband self-installs, so they should be covered by the August 8th mandate. If you have more info, let us know in a comment.
• CableOne: Same as Insight, nothing clear from their site. It seems like they offer broadband and cable box self-installs, so they should also be covered under the August 8th mandate. Leave a comment if you have any info, thanks.
• WideOpenWest Networks: Their website still says they require a technician to install CableCARD, it is under the ‘Equipment’ section of the FAQ.
  

  Can I install a CableCARD by myself?

  No. To ensure that your installation is performed properly, a technician is required to install and activate your CableCARD. Please contact us to set up an installation appointment.

  They do seem to allow cable modem self-installs, so they should be under the mandate.

• RCN: I couldn’t find a good page on their site, but I did find a forum post on DSLReports dated July 28th, by Jason Nealis, RCN’s Sr. Director, Video Product and Video Operations:
  

  The way this will work is that a customer can receive a kit via mail or they can pick one up at a local office.

  In the Kit it will have instructions on whom to call, basically you will install the card and then go thru a IVR and have the work order closed and a hit sent to the card.

  Then you will have to call in with your pairing information and have the card paired to receive encrypted channels.

OK, I think that’s deep enough. These smaller provider’s tend to have sites that aren’t as useful when it comes to finding info, and those I’ve listed already cover the vast majority of cable customers in the US.

If you have any additional info, please leave a comment.

EDIT 8/11: Matthew Zinn, Senior Vice President of General Counsel for TiVo, today made a blog post about the new CableCARD rules which included a few useful links:

In the meantime, for additional information regarding CableCARDs and consumers’ rights visit www.fcc.gov/guides/cablecard-know-your-rights or www.fcc.gov/guides/digital-cable-compatibility-cablecards-plug-and-play.

If you have questions as to whether your cable operator is complying with the CableCARD rules, you can email the FCC at CableCARDEnf@fcc.gov or call (202) 418-1160. To file a complaint, visit www.fcc.gov/complaints.

If your cable provider isn’t following the new rules, report them to the FCC.

It is probably obvious where my sympathies lay, I think we need AllVid. While the cable industry, through the NCTA, argues that a mish-mash of MVPD-unique apps to bring content to phones and tablets is all we need, that allowing each MVPD to slap their interface across any device is innovative, and that the industry should decide how open it needs to be, I do not agree. I feel that all of these are just more of the same. Same shit, different device. Cable system user interfaces almost universally suck, I don’t want that UI on my CE devices. That kind of solution was a major factor in the failure of tru2way. Consumer electronics vendors – like TiVo, Sony, Samsung, etc. – should be able to create one UI that works with all MVPDs, not have to make deals with them one at a time and create unique apps to work with each one.

For just one example look at TiVo’s efforts to support cable OnDemand on their DVRs. They have to invest a lot of time and effort in just lobbying each MSO to make a deal. And once they’ve made the deal they have to implement a variant on their solution to deal with the different MSO requirements, because there is no standard. Consumers get screwed in the end because we get a pot luck of solutions. If you want OnDemand from RCN, Suddenlink, or (soon) Charter, then you need to get your box from them. Oh, but then you have to give up Netflix, and possibly other OTT content. You’ll be able to use your retail box with Comcast or Cox. But you’re SOL with Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Brighthouse, FiOS, etc. Of course, you can’t even use a modern TiVo with DirecTV, Dish Network, or AT&T U-Verse, because they’re closed, proprietary networks.

And that’s what AllVid is about – providing standard interfaces and opening up networks to real competition and innovation in CE devices. The NCTA claims that if the original AllVid proposal were in effect we wouldn’t have the iPad apps, etc., we do today. I think that’s bullshit. My understanding of the original proposal is that it wouldn’t forbid development of these apps alongside providing an open, IP-based interface for 3rd parties. It wouldn’t tell cable companies they had to stop innovating, just that they would also need to provide the required standard interfaces to their content streams.

The FCC filing makes their feelings pretty clear:

The featured list of “innovative approaches” that begins on the first page of the NCTA letter includes not a single thing that would make MVPD programming or services available on competitive devices. Rather, “progress” is cited in these areas:

• Internet delivery of some “cable video”
• Extensions to a few specified portable devices
• IP-based interfaces that deliver only the MSOs’ own guides to their own leased settop boxes
• Limited availability of standards-based home networking
• Reliance on “cloud” delivery

Citing these advances as a “march of progress,” however, merely continues NCTA’s tactic over the last 15 years of pointing to incremental achievements to sidestep or forestall proposals from the Commission and the consumer electronics, information technology, retailer, and public interest sectors that would achieve the goals of Section 629 in full. The reality is that greater progress in device interoperability and home networking has been achieved in other sectors, such as Internet-based video delivery, where competition exists.

We need the equivalent to Carterfone for MVPDs. The Carterfone decision forced telcos to open up their networks to 3rd party devices. No longer did consumers have to get their telephones from the telco. It opened the market up to an endless variety of competing phone designs, to answering machines, fax machines, and, probably most important of all, to modems. Without the open access provided by Carterfone, who knows how much innovation would’ve been retarded. Before the decision the telcos certainly weren’t moving very quickly to introduce new devices. They were happy with the status quo.

We’re in a similar situation today with MVPDs. CableCARD is such a pain to deal with, and so limited, that CE vendors just avoid the market. So we have a dearth of options to choose from. HDTV makers have actually pulled back from including CableCARD tuners. TiVo is really the only notable CableCARD product available to consumers. Moxi has basically dropped out of the market. And there are a handful of CableCARD tuner products for PCs, but they’re a fairly small niche.

Remember the days before digital cable, when analog cable was basically wide open? There were scores of ‘cable ready’ devices. Nearly every TV & VCR had a cable tuner. There were many DVR & DVR recorder products available. But as cable moved to digital the MSOs used the opportunity to lock out 3rd parties by encrypting the signal. That’s what CableCARD was supposed to solve, but the final solution is so flawed as to make it nearly non viable. And the MSOs have done a lot to discourage use, while the FCC has only addressed the issues slowly and piecemeal – like the upcoming self-install mandate. And, of course, after we got CableCARD SDV came along, adding more pain with tuning adapters. And, of course, OnDemand and Pay Per View content isn’t supported.

I want to go back to those analog cable days, at least in terms of consumer choice. When you could walk into a store and select from a wall of VCRs, DVRs, or DVD Recorders. When you could buy most any TV, plug it into your cable, and access all of the content you were paying for. Today, even if you’re willing to deal with CableCARD, the choices just aren’t there because the pain is enough to keep CE vendors from entering the market. Those that tried when CableCARD was new got burned. And the CE industry has been burned multiple times by cable, remember the June 2008 pledge to have tru2way fully deployed by July 2009 (July 2010 for Charter)? Yeah, how’d that go? This is why the CE industry is wary of just leaving things up to the cable industry. When they do, they get screwed – along with consumers.

CableCARD technically works, but it is a complete failure when it comes to the original goals. The cable industry has managed to make CableCARD so painful that it isn’t worth dealing with. But CableCARD was always meant as an interim solution on the way to something better – and that something better is AllVid. It’d restore the balance that existed before the digital lock out. CE vendors could product products that only needed to support one standardize interface to handle cable, satellite, IPTV, etc. Linear content, SDV, OnDemand, and PPV would all be supported. CE vendors would be free to create their own UI to differentiate their products, like a TiVo Search that provides unified results from linear content, VOD, PPV, and OTT content (Netflix, YouTube, etc.)

The cable industry doesn’t like this because they want to control every aspect of the consumer relationship. They don’t want you to have a choice. They want you to use a Comcast STB at home with a Comcast UI, and a Comcast app on your phone or tablet. They want to control everything end to end, so it isn’t as easy to turn to Netflix, Amazon, etc., for content. They want to lock the consumer in and put up barriers to choice, but making it too much trouble, if not impossible, for CE vendors to create innovative products that blur the lines.

The NCTA points to TiVo’s work with VOD as a reason we don’t need AllVid – I say it is exactly why we do need it. If we had AllVid TiVo could’ve implemented and deployed VOD by now – for all MSOs, not to mention satellite support. And so could every other CE vendor. Right now TiVo has negotiated deals with five cable MSOs, but if Sony wants to implement VOD support they’ll have to negotiate their own individual deals. Samsung would have to do the same. And LG. Etc. It is slow, cumbersome, and expensive.

If you’ve ever wondered why you don’t have VOD or PPV on your TiVo, or why you can’t use TiVo with satellite, or if you’ve ever lamented the quality of the software on your provider’s STB and wished for choice, or were frustrated by online access to your provider’s content being iPad online and not on Android, or your PC or Mac, or if you just want to be able to have choice as a consumer, then you should be in favor of AllVid.

I’m glad to see these groups out there keeping the pressure on the FCC through their filings. I know many of them have their own interests, but I believe those interests better align with consumer interests than the cable industry’s do. Carterfone didn’t kill the telcos, in fact it was one of the best things that ever happened to them as the innovations that followed increased usage of the PSTN, which meant increased revenues. Likewise, AllVid won’t kill the MVPDs. I think it would create a surge in demand for their services as people would have many new ways to access the content and unlock the value therein, currently trapped in a narrow scope of applications.

In it they “urge the Commission to intensify its oversight of the market for competitive navigation devices and its enforcement of its CableCARD rules”, and cite the blog entry – which is included with the filing.

Specifically, in light of a recent article by a New York Times writer (copy attached), TiVo urges the Commission to investigate whether the discriminatory conduct by cable operators that led to the reform of the Commission’s CableCARD rules continues today.

They go on to say:

The story recounts that the writer was first discouraged by Time Warner Cable’s employees from using a TiVo box and was instead encouraged to use the cable operator’s leased box. Next, the writer was not given the option to self-install a CableCARD, even though TiVo provides customers with clear and easy-to-follow instructions on self-installation. The writer was also told that he would be charged $14 a month more for using a CableCARD because he would lose his bundled service discount, effectively penalizing the consumer — instead of offering him a discount — for bringing his own retail navigation device. Based on the writer’s account, Time Warner Cable apparently is actively impeding the development of retail competition for cable set-top boxes contrary to the Commission’s policies.

And:

TiVo therefore urges the Commission to engage in careful oversight of its CableCARD rules and investigate whether Time Warner Cable and other cable operators’ practices are consistent with the rules. While cable operators continue to attack the CableCARD rules as unnecessary, the reality is that retail navigation devices such as the TiVo Premier will continue to face an uphill battle as long as discriminatory cable operator practices continue. Indeed, the writer’s experience was that he felt very positive about the TiVo device itself and its enhanced functionality; it was the set-up difficulties and discriminatory CableCARD charges that left him ambivalent about endorsing using the TiVo Premier.

It is worth reading the whole filing, if you’re interested in such things as it is only a couple of pages, but I think those are the highlights. You’d almost think someone at TiVo read my blog, but it is more likely a case of great minds thinking alike.

I’ve seen other sites reporting that this means MSO’s will not need to allow CableCARD self-installs until November 1st – but that’s not accurate. The original rule making was that MSOs which allow any form of self-install, such as a cable box or cable modem, must allow CableCARD self-installs as of August 1st – that date is now August 8th. It also required MSOs which did not allow self-installs to begin allowing CableCARD self-installs as of November 1st – and that date remains. Since nearly all MSOs allow some self-installs the August 8th date applies to them. Here’s the details right out of the FCC rule making – with emphasis added by me:

The rules adopted in the Order are effective on August 8, 2011, with two exceptions. First, Section 76.640(b)(4)(iii), which requires cable operators to include a home networking output on high-definition set-top boxes (except for unidirectional, non-recording settop boxes), has an effective date of December 1, 2012. Second, and only with respect to operators that did not previously offer self install for leased boxes or cable modems and needed time to establish the necessary customer support infrastructure, Section 76.1205(b)(1)’s requirement that cable operators provide the means to allow subscribers to self-install CableCARDs becomes effective on November 1, 2011.

So August 8th is the new date for when most cable customers should be able to self-install their own CableCARDs and not pay for a truck roll.

Via Light Reading.

Verizon had previously started allowing self-installs. With the August first deadline looming, will the other major players roll out self-install support on time? Will the rest of the MSOs wait until the last minute? Have you spotted any of them rolling out CableCARD self install support already? If so, let me know!

The good news is that there have been a handful of filings made, all in support of TiVo. Two individual users, Michael D. Scott and Samuel Biller, filed comments. (There is a comment from a Tom Spindler, but it looks like an error as it is unrelated to TiVo’s request.) Additionally, likely carrying more weight, are filings from Transparent Video Systems, Nagravision, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). I’d expect the last two to carry the most weight.

I’ve filed a comment as well, but it hasn’t been approved and posted to the site yet. This is what I said:

Comments of MegaZone

First off, lest there be any confusion, my full legal name is indeed MegaZone. Yes, I have an unusual mononym, but it is what it is.

The purpose of this comment is to support TiVo’s application for a waiver of Sections 15.118(b), 15.123(b)(1) and 15.123(c) with respect to its pending TiVo Premiere Elite product. I’m a tech blogger (GizmoLovers.com) and a long time follower of the industry and the FCC’s rule makings. I’m familiar with analog and digital broadcast technologies, Switched Digital Video (SDV), Tuning Adapters, CableCARD, Uni-directional Digital Cable Products (UDCPs), OCAP/tru2way, IPTV, and many other related technologies.

I’ve been a TiVo user since 2002, and my main DVR is currently a TiVo Series3 HD model. I’ve had personal experience with everything from the original TiVo Series1 to the current TiVo Premiere Series4. My S3 unit receives content from Charter Communications in Worcester, MA, utilizing CableCARD and a Tuning Adapter, as SDV is used extensively in my area.

As a consumer I would be very interested in upgrading to the TiVo Premiere Elite four-tuner DVR. And while Charter still has a handful of analog-only channels in my service area (roughly 20), the bulk of their offering is available via digital service and they continue to transition channels. I expect the remaining analog channels will be available digitally before long. In the meantime, I’d be more than willing to exchange access to those few channels for use of an advanced, four-tuner digital DVR.

As a tech blogger and industry watcher, I fully support TiVo’s efforts to bring such a product to market. While the rules requiring analog support made sense in 2003, they do not in today’s market. It would be unfair to companies like TiVo to require analog support in retail Digital Cable Ready products when the MVPDs, their primary competition, are able to provide customers with digital-only set top boxes. This create and uneven playing field, as the MSOs are able to benefit from the cost savings and reduction in complexity provided by dispensing with the analog tuners, real-time encoding hardware, associated RAM, etc. Digital only products benefit from a reduced parts count, lower power consumption, and a physically smaller footprint, making them even more appealing to consumers.

I look to the FCC to level the playing field by providing a waiver to TiVo, to allow them to bring this innovative product to market. Analog transmissions are clearly on their way out, and consumer electronics vendors, such as TiVo, need to look to the future, not be mired in the past. Until we have AllVid as the rule of the land, this waiver is the next step forward.

Respectfully submitted,

MegaZone