cableCARD deployment low over the summer

[morac]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080922-is-cablecard-a-dud-only-2000-requested-over-summer.html

Apparently only 2000 cableCARDs were requested over the summer. Assuming that all the CARDs ended up in TiVos and that most TiVo users use CARDs (neither is true, but hopefully the numbers cancel each other out), that would seem to indicate that the TiVo S3/HD didn't sell very well over the summer (XL wasn't out at the time).

[dig_duggler]

Almost posted that myself. It's not just over summer, there are barely any out there at all.

[oregonman]

The cable companies are pushing their own boxes, so is it really surprising? I just ordered FIOS and they don't even allow online ordering of cable cards. When I said that i wanted to hook up my Tivo HD, the representative I spoke with let it slip that they are not even supposed to offer cable cards unless the customer specifically requests them.

Then compare the cost of Tivo HD with their DVR. Their HD DVR is free for twelve months, then $19.99 with no hardware purchase. My refurb Tivo HD cost $165 up front and will cost approx $10 per month for the service and $8 per month for the cable cards. Only the true Tivo lover is going to go out of their way to pay more for Tivo.

[DrewTivo]

1) It's NCTA, so they probably don't have members who want to tout how well cable cards are doing.

2) I imagine a lot of people with Tivo HD are using it either OTA or in combination with a SD cable feed.

[ZeoTiVo]

1) It's NCTA, so they probably don't have members who want to tout how well cable cards are doing.

2) I imagine a lot of people with Tivo HD are using it either OTA or in combination with a SD cable feed.

yah, this thing was spun so hard the cable companies' way it felt like a massive spider lair.

Much of that is due to the limitations of host devices, which until this year have not generally supported two-way operation and therefore could not support electronic program guides, video on demand, and pay-per-view features. Most cable users simply went with the cable company box, which featured two-way operation and needed no CableCARD
that has such a bias that the author is either a shill or a dolt. Take your pick. I vote shill and suspect any "data" in that article.

like the last paragraph says - till now cable cards have been butchered and bungled so badly that I can agree with the overall premise that cable cards are hard to get installed and working. but that is kind of like a crooked cop saying "no need to worry about the evidence, I'll take care of it"

I hope tru2way works like it should

[dig_duggler]

yah, this thing was spun so hard the cable companies' way it felt like a massive spider lair.


that has such a bias that the author is either a shill or a dolt. Take your pick. I vote shill and suspect any "data" in that article.

Err, how does that quote have a bias? I'd say it's pretty dead on. The first sentence is fact. The 2nd is speculation, but seems extremely plausible.

Seems like a very reasonable assessment to me.

[Gregor]

The cable companies are pushing their own boxes, so is it really surprising? I just ordered FIOS and they don't even allow online ordering of cable cards. When I said that i wanted to hook up my Tivo HD, the representative I spoke with let it slip that they are not even supposed to offer cable cards unless the customer specifically requests them.

Then compare the cost of Tivo HD with their DVR. Their HD DVR is free for twelve months, then $19.99 with no hardware purchase. My refurb Tivo HD cost $165 up front and will cost approx $10 per month for the service and $8 per month for the cable cards. Only the true Tivo lover is going to go out of their way to pay more for Tivo.

Not to mention that if you have more than 3 devices for the install, Verizon will charge your $19.99 for every one after that.

[ZeoTiVo]

Err, how does that quote have a bias? I'd say it's pretty dead on. The first sentence is fact. The 2nd is speculation, but seems extremely plausible.

Seems like a very reasonable assessment to me.

this is kind of like Sony somehow coming up with other CDs only play mono and you need to buy CDs from Sony music to get Stereo on Sony CD players. Those could hypothetically be factual statements as well but it certainly points out where the problem lies.

so some cable companies may be honestly trying to work cable cards but overall the companies get a big fat F on their work on both standards(they knew SDV was coming) and on execution. So people give up and just rent the equipment direct from cable company instead. Hmmm.... Sounds like something the customer rep for a cable company would say to a customer (except not so technical) and it certainly was not what the FCC laid out in its mandate of separable security for EQUAL access to cable services.

They are indeed facts and they are miserable facts the cable companies should not be very proud of.

[lofar]

Not everyone purchases cable.. Is that so surprising? Plus with the economy going into the shitter those who may have purchased cable in the past have probably dumped it. When times get tough for people cable television is one of the first things to get chopped out of the budget.

So, if you consider the fact that not everyone american pays for cable in the first place and then not every american will purchase digital cable services that requires a CC the number of eligible cable customers who end up requesting cable cards is probably going to be relatively small.

[morac]

So, if you consider the fact that not everyone american pays for cable in the first place and then not every american will purchase digital cable services that requires a CC the number of eligible cable customers who end up requesting cable cards is probably going to be relatively small.

Until you take into account that 7.8 million CCs have been installed in cable owned set top boxes in about a years time. To contrast this, only only 374,000 CCs have been deployed in non-cable owned devices since CCs became available several years ago.

[Austin_Martin]

Until you take into account that 7.8 million CCs have been installed in cable owned set top boxes in about a years time. To contrast this, only only 374,000 CCs have been deployed in non-cable owned devices since CCs became available several years ago.

I wonder how many of those were replacement boxes for boxes that died.

I had a cable box for a year and had to get it replaced twice.