All About the FCC’s AllVid..the CableCard Replacement…Potentially
I’m not sure how to take this news. On the one hand, I’m glad to see the FCC calling out cable companies for the debacle that is cable card. But on the other, you have a bunch of HTPC and TiVO owners using cable card and heavily invested, as bad as things have been. Do we really want to start from scratch? *gulp*
AllVid would replace the CableCARD and
handle tuning and security functions that are specific to the MVPD. As
conceived, that would leave the "smart video device" to do the cooler
stuff — navigation, presentation of interactive program guides, and
search. The FCC is also using the NOI to invite "any alternative
proposals," so it appears that the agency wants to use this NOI as a gigantic
bucket of Play Doh and leave it to others to figure out how to mold
its overarching goals into something innovative and feasible.