CableCARD Rules Updated

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If you built your own digital video recorder using SageTV (future unknown since purchase by Google) or MythTV on a PC to record cable TV, you have likely been frustrated by scrambled channels requiring either a set-top box controlled by an IR blaster, or one of the few receivers available with a CableCARD interface. CableCARDs have to be leased from the cable company and often require installation.

Under the new rules, effective Nov. 1, 2011, cable operators will have to provide the means to allow subscribers to self-install CableCARDs. A home networking output must be included on high-definition set-top boxes (except for unidirectional, nonrecording set-top boxes) effective Dec. 1, 2012.

The other CableCARD rules in the Third Report and Order on Reconsideration become effective July 25, 2011.

One of the tuners attracting a lot of interest from DVR builders is the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime, available later this year. It includes a CableCARD interface and sends digital programming over Ethernet to a PC or home network.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.