Audio Video News

Here's the number of CableCARDs in circulation: about 6.6 million. Hooray! Now here's the number of CableCARDs operating in digital cable ready TVs: 372,000. Huh? Wha?!

And finally, here's the catch: most CableCARDs are deployed not in cable ready sets but in cable boxes. The figures emerged in a letter (PDF) from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association to the Federal Communications Commission.

The problem with the original digital cable ready standard is that the CableCARD is unidirectional, which means it cannot support the two-way (bidirectional) communication necessary for video on demand. VOD is a lucrative revenue source for the cable companies, so they've done everything possible to undermine the CableCARD while ostensibly supporting it as required by an agreement the major cable operators and TV makers signed in 2002. By deploying the cards in boxes, the cable ops get their bidirectional communication and therefore their VOD.

The next step is Tru2Way, a bidirectional card that does support VOD. It has the support of most major cable ops and several TV and/or DVR makers including LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, and TiVo.