CableCARD technology explained

A: Your television is slightly ahead of its time but that’s nothing to worry about. CableCARD is an upcoming technology that divorces your television programming from your set-top box.

In other words, the CableCARD contains all of the programming from your cable company on a credit card sized device that can be inserted into your television or your own set-top box, not necessarily the set-top box from your cable company.

There is a big push right now by the government to require CableCARDs from all cable companies to once again try to level the competitive playing field. You may have noticed that you don’t have a lot of choice right now when it comes to selecting which DVR you want when you order digital cable from your cable company-you’re getting whichever one the cable company gives you.

CableCARD technology will change that. Since the CableCARD will isolate the cable company’s programming to a credit card sized device, you will be able to free yourself from a set-top box by inserting your CableCARD directly into your television, if your television supports the CableCARD technology.

If a DVR is your cup of tea, you can still feel free to select your own brand of DVR, such as the TiVo Series 3, over the cable company’s brand of DVR, as long as the DVR once again supports the CableCARD technology.

This post was originally broadcast Friday, October 5, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to.