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.

Well, they’re something of a mixed bag. Comcast’s policies seem to vary territory to territory. In some areas they seem to have been allowing CableCARD self-installs pretty much since they first launched, while in others they require ‘professional installation’ to this day. As this thread on DSLReports illustrates, it is still a bit of a confusing mess. Today some customers are able to pick up a CableCARD from their local office, while in others, despite mentioning the FCC mandate, are being“told basically ‘not going to happen anytime in the future’“.

Interestingly, back in June Comcast had a page on their site which made things perfectly clear – but I can’t find any sign of the page, or anything similar, on their site today. And here’s a screencap from back then as proof – click on it for a larger version. The text is:

Can I install a CableCARD myself or does a technician need to come to my home?

Professional installation by a Comcast technician is available. In addition, starting on August 1, 2011, CableCARD self install kits will be made available at Comcast front counters. If you would like to install the CableCARD yourself, you will be able to pick up a CableCARD Self Install Kit at a Comcast front counter and activate the CableCARD by calling our CableCARD activation hotline at 1-800-XFINITY.

Please note: If you choose to use a CableCARD Self Install Kit, we are unable to provide you with assistance over the phone with the installation of the CableCARD. You will need to refer to the owner’s manual for your device or call the manufacturer’s toll-free number to answer questions about CableCARD installation.

Obviously the FCC mandate is now for August 8th and not the 1st, and customers are still reporting today that not all offices are allowing pick ups. And, indeed, it seems like the workers in some offices aren’t even aware of the mandate. So what will happen come next Monday?

I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

You can pick-up a (M-Card) CableCARD at your local Optimum Store*. Install the CableCARD in your Digital Cable Ready (DCR) HDTV, TiVo or MOXI DVR using the Cablecard Self-Installation Guide. With one call to your local customer service representative, you will be able to enjoy our video services. You can also order a CableCARD by contacting your local sales representative who will schedule a professional installation. The installation charge is $34.95.

They’ve even published a CableCARD Self-Installation Guide to help users through the process.

Thanks to Jason for the tip!

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.

Starting August 8, 2011, you’ll be able to find everything you need to setup, install, and support your CableCARD* right here.

This one-stop shopping capability includes information on (1) how to obtain a self-install kit, and (2) determine your eligibility for a “Bring Your Own Box (BYOB)” credit for using a CableCARD-compatible device purchased at retail rather than a Digital Set Top Box leased from Time Warner Cable.

In the meantime, go to Switched Digital Video for information on CableCARD devices and tuning adapters. You can also browse our FAQs.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page and come back on August 8th.

Thanks for choosing Time Warner Cable.

So the good news is it sounds like they’ll be ready to allow self-installs on time. The bad news is it sounds like they know what they need to do in a week, but they’re going to wait until then instead of offering it to customers now. Or maybe I’m just bitter and cynical and tend to read cable industry statements somewhat negatively. Of course, at least they have a statement on this indicating they’ll be ready. That’s more than we can say for some other MSOs.

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

This would allow consumer electronics vendors, such as Sony or TiVo, to build devices that would be able to plug into any programming source – cable, satellite, or fiber – and to access the full range of content. Not just linear channels, but also SDV, PayPerView, and OnDemand content. You may be aware that TiVo has deals in place with a handful of cable MSOs to access OnDemand content. RCN & Suddenlink already provide TiVo hardware to their customers which can access OnDemand, and Charter will begin doing so this year. And Cox & Comcast have agreements with TiVo to allow access to OnDemand via retail TiVo units in the coming months.

But this is piecemeal. TiVo has to pursue individual deals with each MSO, and then customize their software to work that that MSO’s OnDemand head end. There isn’t a standardized interface, and TiVo remains locked out of other MSOs. Not to mention they’re still locked out of satellite and IPTV fiber services like U-Verse because CableCARD is only mandated for cable MSOs. (FiOS uses cable standards for linear content, but IPTV for OnDemand.) And that’s just TiVo, if Sony wanted to provide the same kind of access on their products they’d have to make the same kind of individual deals with the MSOs. And then Samsung. Etc. It just isn’t the same as having open, defined standards that every vendor can implement.

AllVid is the vision for that new standard, and it would supplant CableCARD, hopefully eliminating the many shortcomings that have restricted its popularity with consumers. (Like the lack of access to OnDemand content.)

Of course, the industry, primarily in the form of the NCTA, is resisting any effort to mandate the AllVid vision. They want to be left alone, claiming that industry innovation makes AllVid unnecessary. They point to things like the TiVo-MSO deals, and a growing number of new services like Comcast’s Xfinity mobile apps. But that’s apples & oranges, saying you can stream content on your iPad isn’t the same as being able to access it on your TV with a set top box you purchased because it has the features you want. And the AllVid Alliance argues just that, in a new filing with the FCC. Just a sample:

Section 629 of the Communications Act is not satisfied by consumers being able to download an MVPD’s app on a particular brand of television set or “cable systems…developing new ways to use the Internet.” While MVPDs point to the latest
“shiny thing over there,” they ignore the Section 629 mandate of the Communications Act. The Commission must not lose sight of the fact that Congress directed the Commission to foster a competitive retail market for navigation devices used by consumers to access the full range of services offered by MVPDs, and to access that programming and those services through manufacturers, retailers and other vendors not affiliated with any MVPD

And:

An AllVid gateway would empower a consumer to use any consumer electronics (“CE”) product to receive any programming offered by an MVPD on a subscriber basis, and would allow any CE product to work securely with respect to multichannel content. Consumers would no longer need to be concerned about how to port content to or store content on TV, computer, game, tablet, or mobile platforms, and whether programs would be lost if the consumer switches to a different MVPD or even to a different device. Consumers would have the option of choosing multichannel programming interactively without worrying about a potential cap on their use of Internet bandwidth. Multiple CE manufacturers–not just those that have negotiated deals with MVPDs–would be able to respond to consumers with innovations that directly address their needs and desires.

They go on to cite the historic Carterfone decision of 1968, which allowed consumers to stop renting their phones from AT&T and to connect non-AT&T telephones, and other telephony devices, to the phone system. Significantly ‘other telephony devices’ includes computer modems. Without Carterfone the early growth of online services may have been stifled. At least acoustic couplers would’ve had a longer run I suppose. I was born in 1970, and I’m just old enough to remember a lot of remaining ‘AT&T’ industrial looking phones and the first wave of all the new, then-radical designs which broke the mold from the standard, archetypal ‘telephone’. The AllVid Alliance is looking to open up television services in the same way.

Ironically, the cable industry themselves have shown that the AllVid vision isn’t so hard to fulfill, despite their claims that it would bring hardship and exorbitant costs. A recent demonstration at a CableLabs interop event showed cable STBs running tru2way middleware were able to stream content over an IP interface to DLNA enabled media devices, using DTCP-IP content protection. This is based on a home networking spec from CableLabs themselves, and could serve as the core for an AllVid implementation. So why the objections to the FCC mandating some baseline standard to ensure a level playing field to start?

Personally, I hope the FCC does mandate AllVid, and that it has some teeth. I think they were too soft with CableCARD, especially in allowing tru2way, which was so unloved it seems everyone, cable and CE industry alike, are mostly trying to forget about it.

Via Multichannel News.

A new raft of FCC regulations, originally published October 14, 2010, go into effect August 1st, 2011. One of those new requirements is that MSOs provide their cable subscribers with tuning adapters that support a minimum of four content streams:

To address the problems with tuning adapters identified by commenters, the satisfactory access standard will require cable operators to ensure that retail devices are able to tune at least as many switched digital channels as that operator’s most sophisticated operator-supplied set-top box or four simultaneous channels, whichever is greater.

Multi-stream CableCARDs (M-Cards) support up to six content streams, but this doesn’t help users of the Ceton InfiniTV 4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card or the Moxi 3-Tuner DVR, and it wouldn’t be good news for the pending TiVo Premiere Elite 4-tuner DVR, for users with Switched Digital Video and tuning adapters that limit them to two streams.

You didn’t know? Even though M-Cards support six streams, tuning adapters first shipped with support for only two. A while back Motorola updated their tuning adapter firmware to support six streams, but Cisco has been dragging their feet. But it seems, with just two weeks left before the deadline, their finally rolling out new firmware for their STA1520.

There are more goodies from the FCC:

• If the MSO allows consumers to self-install anything, such as cable modem or cable box, then they must also allow CableCARD self-installs on 8/1/2011. No more truck rolls! (If they don’t allow any self-installs, they still must begin allowing CableCARD self-installs on 11/1/2011.)
• MSO’s must provide M-Cards starting 8/1/2011 – they cannot provide S-Cards unless specifically requested.
• If the cable company is doing the CableCARD install the installer must show up with at least the number of cards in the order, and they must be working cards.
• The same fee must be charged for a CableCARD whether it is used in a consumer provided host (such as a TiVo) or an MSO provided STB, starting 8/1/2011.

There is more in the FCC document.

Hopefully the new rules will lead to improvements for consumers, and lower costs – no more need to pay for an installer to stick a card in your TiVo and call in the numbers.

Cisco TA Firmware news spotted via EngadgetHD.

As a result Time Warner Cable Oceanic of Oahu and Kauai, HI and Cox in Fairfax County, VA were fined $40,000 and $20,000, respectively. I don’t think this is really going to change anything in the big picture. Cable MSOs aren’t going to back away from SDV, they’re not going to stop deploying it, let alone roll back existing deployments. Perhaps it may spur a quicker pace to Tuning Adapter deployments, but as those deployments, or plans for deployment, are already underway I suspect there won’t be any real world impact.

So the end result is maybe a little karmic payback for MSOs who rushed out SDV without consideration for the FCCs rules or their CableCARD users, and perhaps next time around they’ll give it more consideration. But even that would depend on the FCC levying fines in more territories, in my opinion. The current fines are just too small to have any real impact on the MSOs, the FCC needs to slap the MSOs for all the territories in which they deployed SDV before making Tuning Adapters available.

It does make me wonder, since Tuning Adapters don’t work with all CableCARD UDCP devices (either because they lack a USB port or the firmware to support a TA), is simply offering the TA enough to be compliant with the requirement to provide video to CableCARD devices? Personally I think the effort is there and it should be, it is up to CableCARD device makers to support the TA. Yes, it does mean some early adopters are out of luck, but with CableCARD in use in a very small number of 3rd party devices overall, and many of them capable of supporting a TA (like TiVo), it isn’t going to be a large number of users who are affected.

So, in the end, I don’t think these fines will really change anything, certainly not for end users today.

That is, of course, if the numbers are true – and they may not be. See the table below and especially the first footnote¹. Comcast’s numbers for September are estimated to be 10-15% lower than actual due to an internal error. We could be looking at an increase of more than 34,000 users instead of only 2,000!

While 34,000 would certainly be better than 2,000, it still isn’t really setting the world on fire. Maybe the M-Card is a ray of hope in those numbers – if customers who previously used two S-Cards are trading them in for a single M-Card on devices like the TiVo HD, it would result in a lower cumulative number. Still, I don’t expect that’s a huge number either.

This is not to say that the total number of CableCARDs in use is that small, not at all. Since the FCC’s ‘integration ban’ went into effect on July 1, 2007, forcing cable MSOs to begin using CableCARDs in their own STBs, those same ten MSOs have deployed over 7,800,000 CableCARDs in their STBs. So in less than fifteen months they’ve deployed more than twenty times the number of CableCARDs as have been issued for 3rd party UDCPs in the four years they’ve been available.

The integration ban was supposed to force cable MSOs to ‘eat their own dog food’ and thereby improve support for CableCARDs. The idea was that this would help foster the overall CableCARD market. Better support from MSOs would lead to more products, which would mean more 3rd party UDCPs in the field. For the most part, this hasn’t happened.

Why not? Well, I think I can sum it up in one brand name: tru2way. Starting late last year, and getting an official launch at CES in January, OCAP became tru2way and marked a push to get consumer electronics companies on board. Then starting with Samsung in May, followed by a larger push by Sony later that month, CE vendors started jumping on the tru2way bandwagon.

What does this have to do with slow CableCARD adoption? Well, these same CE vendors have held off on releasing UDCPs while they work on tru2way-enabled devices. Why invest in developing and marketing a unidirectional product when you’re going to obsolete it with a two-way product in a year? The first tru2way products are starting to trickle out, and there will probably be a bunch of them on display at CES in January. So I think the push for tru2way was a major contributor to lax CableCARD pick up. Vendors just haven’t been releasing CableCARD-enabled products so there aren’t many options for consumers, which naturally means not many cards are being deployed. Really the only major CableCARD product out there right now is TiVo. CableCARD TVs are thin on the ground. CableCARD-enabled Media Center PCs have had anemic sales. And Digeo outright canceled their Moxi CableCARD HD DVR.

CableCARD was slow out of the gate, and by the time MSOs had the infrastructure worked out vendors were already looking toward round two with tru2way and they just decided to sit round one with UDCPs out entirely. The deployment of SDV and the need to develop a Tuning Adapter, and to support it, was very likely a factor in that as well. I don’t expect to see any real pick-up in CableCARD utilization until a sufficient number of tru2way devices are available to consumers, and then I do expect to see a real uptick.

The filing also has information from several MSOs on their CableCARD pricing and install practices. To compare June to September:

¹Comcast states that their September number may by low by 10-15% due to internal reporting errors.

The count for this reporting period of CableCARDs installed in one way retail devices in active customer homes is estimated to be 10-15% lower than the actual number due to internal Comcast reporting errors that are the result of an internal Division reorganization during the reporting period. The next quarterly report will more accurately reflect the actual count.

Since Comcast has such a large installed base this could be the reason for the seemingly small total uptick. The other four combined yield an increase of 3,429. Comcast’s apparent drop of 1,383 drags it down. But if they’re short just 10% they would actually have an increase of 20,334 users. And 15% would mean an increase of 31,192! So we’d be looking at a total increase of 23,763 to 34,621 – rather more than around 2,000. And that’s just from these five MSOs.

²Comcast allows self-installs in at least some areas – 68% used truck rolls, 32% were self-installs.

³First card is free, fee for additional cards.

⁴$10.43 if install is included with other services, $25.14 if purpose visit.

⁵0.2% of Time Warner installs are self-install, which is negligible.

⁶The average is $2.26, but they report most divisions are $1.75 – which must mean the remaining divisions are rather higher to bring the average up.

The MOU refers to the ‘Founders’ repeatedly – these are the cable MSOs: Comcast Cable, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, and Cablevision. New two-way devices are referred to as Interactive Digital Cable Products (IDCP), in contrast to the one-way Unidirectional Digital Cable Products (UDCP). Under the terms of the MOU, the Founders agree to support tru2way on all of their digital cable networks by July 1, 2009 – except for Charter which has until July 1, 2010 to complete their roll-out. The MOU also codifies that the tru2way specifications will be the sole means for IDCPs to access interactive cable services.

While consumer electronics adopters must adhere to the tru2way specifications and license, innovative features that are not specified but that are consistent with the specs and license ‘are allowed and encouraged’. That seems to leave room for innovation, but it remains to be seen how narrowly ‘consistent’ is evaluated. To help ensure solid support for tru2way the cable MSOs have to eat their own dog food, as it were. After July 1, 2009 (again, July 1, 2010 for Charter) the Founders agree that at least 20% of their STBs will support tru2way. That holds until they’ve deployed at least ten million tru2way-enabled STBs. This is to ensure a sufficient install base that the Founders will have a vested interest in ensuring solid support.

Since tru2way is largely a firmware specification, and specifications can evolve, the Founders agree to support any given version of the tru2way Middleware used by an Adopter’s product for five years from the date of that version’s first certification. So, in effect, that should guarantee a minimum product life of five years. Of course, it could easily be longer as Adopter’s products could receive firmware updates, and the Founders could support a Middleware version for longer than five years. Clearly it would be up to the Adopter, the CE vendor, to provide updates to newer tru2way Middleware versions, which is only fair. And to help ensure that is possible, there is an equal access provision in the MOU. Any given tru2way Middleware revision will be available to Adopters at the same time it is available to Founders. So the MSO’s won’t have any unfair advantage in being able to bring newer features to market first.

As for guide data, which was long a bone of contention over OCAP, any Founder’s digital cable system which carriers a CBS broadcast signal (which is pretty much all of them) which contains the Gemstar-TV Guide EPG data and where that Founder has an agreement covering the Gemstar data, must not block or remove said data from the CBS signal. In English? Well, Gemstar-TV Guide has an agreement with CBS to carry their EPG data. This data is used by a number of TVs, VCRs, DVRs, DVD Recorders, etc, to provide a simple on-screen EPG. The data is carried in the VBI, the vertical blanking interval, and are not part of the video itself. This has been an issue in the past as some cable MSOs have stripped out this data from the broadcast when processing the network feed for redistribution, hence making it inaccessible to CE devices that rely on it for their EPG.

So this agreement means that the Founder agree to not block or strip the data, when it is carried by the local CBS affiliate and they can legally do so, of course. This provides CE vendors with a data source for a ‘native’ EPG, as opposed to relying on the tru2way MSO-provided EPG, or a out-of-band EPG downloaded separately, as in a TiVo. The broadcast EPG does generally lack the full level of detail found in a downloaded EPG, or even the MSOs EPG, but it has the advantage of being readily available in the received signal and gives the CE vendor the ability to process and use the data as they wish, unlike the tru2way guide which comes as-is.

While the agreement seems to treat tru2way as the primary means of navigation, Adopters are free to overlay their own ‘native’ navigation with four prerequisites: 1. It must be initiated by the user each time (such as through a remote action), 2. it must be only for navigation (no ads, etc), 3. It must be transitory (sounds like once the action is complete it should return to tru2way-mode), and 4. it must appear the same on all channels. So no special ABC navigation screen that isn’t used on NBC, etc.

There is a ‘sunset’, or exit clause for the MOU. Starting July 1, 2009, if fewer than 500,000 new retail IDCPs are connected to the Founders’ networks within any given 24 month period then the Founders are no longer bound by the MOU. Basically, if the Adopters, the CE vendors, don’t hold up their end of the bargin and produce enough IDCP devices, then the cable MSOs are no longer bound to spend their money supporting tru2way on their networks and they’re free to stop, try something else, etc. Considering the number of TVs, DVRs, etc, sold at retail in this country each year, this shouldn’t be a problem – if and only if the CE vendors step up and start tru2way-enabling a sufficient number of device models. So the ball is in their court.

Licensing for the IDCPs will be under the existing CableLabs licenses, with some amendments. Certification of devices will be through CableLabs IDCP testing. Once a vendor has had five mutually agreed upon devices certified by CableLabs, then they are eligible to self-certify future devices. This is one of the compromises in the agreement. CE vendors didn’t want the expense and hassle of going through CableLabs for each new product, while the cable industry didn’t want the potential havoc caused by bad devices being connected to their networks. So now once a vendor has proven their competence level through CableLabs certification, they can be free of that requirement.

Under the MOU CableLabs will establish a Founders Advisory Board (FAB) which will apparently serve as a kind of arbitration group when changes to the tru2way hardware specification are proposed. As the board is currently specified there are nine votes – one for each of the Founders, and one for the CE Adopters as a block, one for the IT Adopters as a block, and one for the content providers as a block. That means that, should they vote in unison, the cable MSOs would always carry a majority. And you’d actually need two MSOs to break ranks and vote with the other blocks to swing the majority. But the vote is also only advisory and non-binding, so I’m not sure what it is in aid of other than as an opinion poll for the parties involved. And, of course, the FCC still has final say in the end.

CableLabs also agrees to approve or disapprove any new digital output system or content protection system within 180 days of the proposal being submitted by an Adopter, on a ‘reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis’. This will probably come into play with technologies akin to TiVo’s TiVoGuard, which protects TiVoToGo transfers. As CE vendors look to innovate and develop whole home distribution systems, etc, there may be new technologies developed to satisfy the rights holders that their content is being protected. And if CableLabs disapproves the technology, or simply fails to act within 180 days, then the Adopter can appeal to the FCC which is expected to handle the appeal in a 90-day process. Remember that a while back the NFL and MPAA tried to block TiVoGuard and TivoToGo, but the FCC approved it.

But there’s another way to get a new technology approved. If four members of the MPAA agree that the new system provides adequate content protection, then that technology will be automatically approved by CableLabs.

If tru2way is sunset and CableLabs defines a successor to CableCARD or tru2way (such as DCAS) then Adopters who are party to the MOU may participate in the development of the successor.

The definitions have some interesting tidbits. Under the MOU, ‘Digital Cable System’ only covers systems with one or more QAM channels, operating with a capacity of 750MHz or higher and with a minimum of 5,000 basic cable subscribers.

Not a lot of information, really, but it is clearly a compromise with some give and take by both the cable MSOs and the consumer electronics vendors, which is what we needed to un-roadblock two-way cable development. It is interesting that Charter gets an extra year to complete their tru2way roll-out, compared to the other five Founder MSOs. I guess Charter must be further behind in their progress than the others. Of course, I just happen to currently reside in Charter territory. Note though that the dates are for completion of deployment, some areas already have tru2way support and many more will before the year is out.

Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the creation of an experimental test market – the Wilmington, N.C. designated market area (DMA) – for the full-power television station transition to all-digital broadcasting. In the FCC experiment, full-power stations in the Wilmington market will shut off their analog signals on September 8, 2008 – a full five months before the national transition to digital television (DTV) occurs on February 17, 2009.

NAB’s Vice President of the Digital Television Transition Jonathan Collegio issued the following statement:

“The FCC-initiated experiment in Wilmington can shed light on a number of issues surrounding the national DTV transition in February 2009. The results must be objectively reviewed to determine how or whether the findings can be applied nationwide. NAB will be fully supportive of our local television broadcasters in this effort.

NAB hopes that this experiment will answer important questions that will help all parties ensure the success of the DTV transition, including:

* What is the coordination plan between the federal, state and local governments to distribute information about the September 8 experimental analog shut-off?
* How will the government ensure retailer coordination so that enough coupon-certified converter boxes will be available given the increased demand of the early shut-off date?
* In particular, what specific actions will the government take to ensure that retailers have “analog pass-through” converter boxes available, given the low-power television stations in the Wilmington market, including one major network affiliate?
* How will the government prioritize converter box coupon application requests originating from the Wilmington DMA, given the current national backlog of coupon requests?
* What action will the government take to ensure that national messaging or messaging from bordering markets about the February 17, 2009 transition date does not result in confusion in the Wilmington DMA?
* How will the government ensure that satellite operators accelerate their coordination schedule?
* How will the government ensure that cable operators serving the Wilmington market are prepared to coordinate an early analog shut-off and have they made plans to ensure viewability to analog television subscribers?

We look forward to working closely with our Wilmington stations, the FCC, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and other parties as they move forward with this initiative.

Broadcasters nationwide have led the private-public partnership to ensure a successful DTV transition, committing more than $1 billion towards a multiplatform campaign to educate Americans.”

About DTVAnswers.com

DTVAnswers.com is the official Web site of the National Association of Broadcasters’ digital television (DTV) transition campaign. Launched in January 2007, the DTV campaign’s mission is to ensure that no consumer is left unprepared, due to lack of information, for the February 17, 2009 federally-mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting.

About NAB

The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. As the voice of more than 8,300 radio and television stations, NAB advances their interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.