For all of our complaining about the long run-up to the analog shutoff here in the US, this story illustrates the benefits of taking time to do a little consumer education. In Australia, it turns out that not everyone was aware that TVs with analog-only tuners are unable to receive the HD programming that Seven and Ten are advertising so heavily. This all came to a boil with Ten's HD-only Masters golf broadcast, and some customers returned to stores with talk of "misrepresentation." Retailers are giving away digital set-top boxes to smooth things over, though, so hopefully things are cleared up for now. This sounds exactly like the kind of thing US big-box retailers avoided by clearing shelves of analog-only TVs, and we might suggest some similar action for other global HD citizens.

Sure, we've got reports that this year's The Cable Show '08 (May 18 - 20) will be a blowout year for tru2way, but there's evidence that TV manufacturer support is lagging a bit. Hampered out of the gate by its crazy naming progression, the technology formerly known as CableCARD 2.0/OCAP/OpenCable has got some CE manufacturer trust to gain before it can take off. Don't get us wrong, we want to see the promise of a set-top box-less setup realized; but sadly, we don't call the shots for the industry. Counterbalancing tru2way's coming out party at The Cable Show '08 is this: TV manufacturer enrollment for the tru2way Developers' Conference numbers exactly one party -- Panasonic (no surprise there). Sure, there are plenty of technology providers signed up, but with Panasonic as the sole TV manufacturer, don't expect to see a flood of tru2way TVs just yet.

Quick refresher: the FCC has a new rule going into effect July 1, 2007 that requires cable companies to install Cable Card-equipped set-top boxes for all new digital subscribers. Got it? Most industry experts were wondering how this was going to affect the current subscribers and just as we feared, rates are going up. Comcast is reporting via Multichannel News that instead of charging $2-$3 more for their digital subscribers, the company is going to spread that cost over their entire subscription base resulting in slight increases for everyone. Digital subscribers should like that idea but it sure sounds like the analog subs are taking one for the team. Here's the good news though, these costs will not hit your bill till 2008.

Frustrated about your high cable bill? Well then, we're sorry to start the week off like this. Come July 1st, you might see a higher cable bill if you have a new cable box installed when a federal rule goes into effect. Security is the buzzword here and any set-top-box that is deployed after July 1st must have a CableCARD installed. Plus, the FCC is looking to create a retail market for set-top Cable CARD equipped boxes and requiring a CableCARD levels the playing field a bit. (Example: Samsung SMT-H3050) So not only will the boxes cost more to lease, 'cause of all this new security, but then cable companies can tack on an extra cost for the CableCARD. How much more are we talking? A bias and more than likely high-cost estimate rings in from a TiVo spokesmen at around $20 per new box deployed. Only time will tell if prices will in fact go up, but everyone knows that when at all possible, cable companies do raise rates.

It looks like Cisco is about to make its biggest push into the consumer market to date, with BusinessWeek reporting that the company is readying a "souped-up" set-top box that'll supposedly combine a number of different products into one. Of course, as BusinessWeek points out, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, especially given the company's recent acquisitions of Linksys, Scientific-Atlanta, and KiSS Technology. As you may be able to surmise by that confluence of companies, the new do-it-all box will apparently be networked like nobody's business (wireless, naturally), including the ability to pull content off the Internet and distribute it to other devices around the house. It'll reportedly include its own web browser as well. While Cisco's pulling all the strings, it apparently won't be slapping its own name on the boxes, selling them instead directly to consumers under the Linksys brand and offering 'em up to various cable companies. If all goes as planned, you should be able to snag one for yourself by the end of this year or early next year.

[Thanks, Mercurial]

As the convergence race heats up, Microsoft is not sitting on the sidelines, as last week at the IBC show in Amsterdam they shed more light on their plans for IPTV devices with SBC, Intel, Motorola, Linksys and others.  Among the announcements made for NTSC markets were:

• Previously announced Scientific Atlanta set top boxes including SD and HD receivers and DVRs, as well as IP-over-coax and DVB support
• A Thomson/Intel box that is said to be commercially available, supporting Microsoft's IPTV Edition platform. Expandable to include DVR features, it also supports Windows Media 9, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoded sources.
• A system-on-a-chip developed with Sigma Designs specifically intended to support all IPTV edition features and lower cost so that it can be included in set top boxes, TV's, DVD players and gaming consoles.

I don't think this nearly answers the question of where the Media Center Edition platform's future lies, but Microsoft is clearly doing everything they can to make sure they have their devices at the heart of your digital entertainment center of the future.