Audio Video News

As part of its National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission is planning a rethink of its CableCARD rules, and will also start mulling over what comes after the CableCARD.

The original CableCARD was supposed to have made cable boxes obsolete, but its adoption was stymied first by the cable industry's slow adoption, then by TV makers pulling back. The cable operators were particularly annoyed by its unidirectional nature, which meant it could not work with lucrative services like video on demand. Only a few hundred thousand homes have the original CableCARD, and its non-FCC-approved bidirectional successor (tru2way) has suffered a similar fate.

On the FCC agenda this month is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to improve the current CableCARD situation. There is also a Notice of Inquiry that will solicit comments on the best next-gen solution to replacing the CableCARD altogether. Some kind of security downloadable on a chip, as opposed to a card, has long been rumored. It is also likely the card's successor will tackle the issue of internet video.

See ArsTechnica.