Hello, everyone. I work for a major cable company and I work in the CableCARD support department. I also use a CableCARD with Windows Media Center on Windows 8.1 with a HD Homerun Prime. I have also used the ATI TV Wonder.
First, someone mentioned that there could not be a licensed CableCARD software for Linux/Android because it is open source. That is incorrect. Just because the operating system is open source doesn't mean that all software written for that operating system are open source, too. Anyone can write Linux/Android software and not release the source code and even sell it. That is what Google Store is all about.
Secondly, Microsoft's Windows Media Center is the only software that you can use that works with CableCARD's copy-protected channels. This is because Microsoft has licensed PlayReady, a software that enforces DRM to make Windows Media Center compliant with CableLabs' CableCARD specifications. Any other software will not be able to play channels that are "copy once" or "copy never". They would only play "copy freely" channels.
I am concerned about Microsoft pulling everyone into Windows 10, even offering it free to people who pirated Windows 7 and 8. It's like someone in a van offering free candy to children. I've heard people here saying that they are going to hold onto Windows 7 or Windows 8 Pro. The real concern is about the Guide. Zap2It was the company that Microsoft contracted to provide guide information. Recently, Microsoft has stopped using them and is "providing guide update via Windows updates". If Microsoft decides to stop update our guides, that will disable the DVR functionality, such as scheduling recordings. If that happens, all Windows 7 and 8 Pro users will be disabled and Windows Media Center will no longer work for CableCARDS for anyone's Windows Media Center.
CableCARDs are not going to be phased out "soon". By the time it is abandoned, it will have been because a majority of CableCARD users, themselves, abandoned CableCARD in favor of something else (such as online streaming).
The FCC did mandate that CableCARDs be offered by cable companies back in 2003. However, in 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated that order, so there is no more official necessity for cable companies to provide CableCARDs.
However, there is a good reason why we won't stop supporting CableCARDs.
When you rent a cable company's Set Top Box (STB) or Digital Video Recorder (DVR) you gain the ability to watch copy-protected channels. You also get features such as your cable company's guide, starting over a program, caller ID on TV, Impulse Pay Per View (IPPV), ordering new services with your remote control, and On Demand. All of these cable company boxes use CableCARDs inside of them. If we stopped supporting CableCARD, all of our STBs and DVRs in the field would stop working.
The CableCARDs in the cable company's boxes are the same hardware and firmware as the CableCARDs leased to customers.
So why is it that your CableCARD device doesn't provide you with your cable company's guide, starting over a program, caller ID on TV, Impulse Pay Per View (IPPV), ordering new services with your remote control, or On Demand? It is because they are working in one-way (receive only) mode and all of those features require two way communication.
All CableCARDs are two-way compatible. The reason your Tivo, Moxi, Samsung Smart Media Player, CableCARD TVs, HD Homerun Primes, InfinTVs, ATI TV Wonders, and Hauppauge DCRs are all "OCUR" (Open Cable Unidirectional Receiver) devices.
What determines if a CableCARD operates in one-way versus two-way mode is the host device (the device you place the CableCARD into). The cable company's special boxes (only legitimately sold to Cable Companies) have a "DSG" (DOCSIS Settop Gateway) in them. Basically, it is a built-in cablemodem for return signals sending information upstream back to the cable company. These devices are called "Tru2Way" devices.
No consumer-purchasable retail products include the hardware necessary for two-way communication.
Someone is probably going to mention Switched Digital Video (SDV) which is a two way technology that does work with OCUR devices. With the addition of a 2-way box called a "tuning adapter" (not to be confused with a Digital Transport Adapter or "DTA") the OCUR device has partial two-way communication. I say partial because the only function of the Tuning Adapter is to request SDV channels. It doesn't give you any other features such as the cable company's guide, On Demand, etc.
So why don't companies make retail boxes that are Tru2Way? One answer is obvious. If Tivo did it, you would be able to use the cable companies guide for free and you wouldn't need to pay them a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription. Other companies that make products that provide a guide for free (all of the other non-Tivo retail devices) are handling this burden on their own. Therefore, they have the risk of the company shutting down its guide updates. Such as if Microsoft stops providing guide updates to Windows Media Center.
CableCARD TVs haven't been made for over 5 years. All the TV manufacturers abandoned CableCARD slot TVs. Their software is so out of date, that they cannot utilize or recognize tuning adapters. Therefore, if you place a CableCARD directly into a TV and you live in an area that has SDV channels, you cannot get all your channels. The TV manufacturers are not writing new firmware for these TVs to add that functionality.
Several people mentioned that the cable companies plot to make it difficult to get CableCARDs because we don't want you to have one. The truth of the matter is, since the order was overturned, we are still supporting them even though we technically don't have to. Also, CableCARD users receive the best support, far better than STB and DVR owners.
People who call in for support often mention having obtained our number from an agent who "let it slip" as if they have a number they are not supposed to. Actually, they should all be giving you our number. I always ask customers if they called me directly or if they were transferred to me. If they were transferred, I give them our direct number and tell them to come directly to us for CableCARD or tuning adapter issues.
I heard someone say they had to talk to a lot of people who didn't know what they are doing with CableCARDs before finally getting transferred to the CableCARD support line where they finally got help. First, realize that CableCARD support is an elite support group. We are referred to a "mentors" and handle FCC complaints and even issues received by Corporate Offices of the President. The reason we do CableCARD support is because it was once a tightly FCC regulated product, and needed to be handled very delicately. So the elite "mentors" in the company were assigned to handle anything CableCARD related. This is why when you talk to us, you are amazed at how great we are at helping. We can walk you through every screen on your Tivo or Windows Media Center and we know what every error (both ours and not ours) means as well. We can tell from asking you a few questions what the problem is based on the symptoms of the problem. We are highly specialized.
Our phone number for support is separate from the main "all in one" number that lets you talk to normal video support, internet support, phone support, or billing. We have our own separate number that comes directly to our department without menus. This is why people get lost. People are so used to calling that one number for everything, but that number is not for CableCARD support. This is why you get transferred around until you find someone who has our number. The truth of the matter is, all you have to do is open our public website, click the search, and type "CableCARD support number" and it is the first result. But instead of doing this, people call the regular number and end up speaking to someone who has never heard of a CableCARD. Eventually, you get someone who can get you to us. And guess what... odds are he found our department by going to our public website and typing "CableCARD support number".
The reason that the other agents and even field techs do not know much about CableCARDs is because of how rare they actually are compared to cable company boxes. That tech that comes out has probably only seen a CableCARD once every 1 or 2 years... or maybe never at all. We have field techs call us all the time saying this is their first CableCARD call. We walk the techs through troubleshooting and they become our eyes and hands at the scene, just like when you call us, you become our eyes and hands.
Our department is always praised and shocks customers by how much we know. A customer feels relieved to hear me say, "Scroll down to Tasks and Settings... click on TV... click on TV signal... click on Set Up TV signal" and then we walk them through each screen as they are seeing it (Yes, I do this from memory, I don't read a paper or list). I ask the person, "Are you using this with a Tivo or another device?" because most CableCARD users have a Tivo. The ones that don't use Tivo often say, "Another device...." and dont elaborate, feeling that no one will know what an InfiniTV or HD Homerun Prime is. So I ask what kind of device, and they say, "Its for a computer... It's called a Ceton." And I can't help but be amused at how bashful you guys are at mentioning it to me. I then say, "Is it the internal or external version of the InfiniTV?" and the customer is floored by the fact that I know exactly what he's talking about. Also, as I take customers through the Tivo menus, they are always amazed that I know whats on each screen they click to.
Odds are I've paired at least one of your CableCARDs, namely because our department supports then entire United States for our cable company's footprint.
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