Cable Card was hamstrung because the FCC left design and implementation largely in the hands of Cable Labs, which was owned and operated by a few of the larger

Cable Card was hamstrung because the FCC left design and implementation largely in the hands of Cable Labs, which was owned and operated by a few of the larger cable companies. It was intentionally design-by-checkmark; it met every one of the FCC's rules, but was overcomplicated and hard to use. It was designed to fail. That said, if you can get it working, it beats the pants off of any cable box. I have an HDHR box with a Cable Card in it, and I can use it both via DLNA and on my Apple TV.