What is going to happen with cable cards on 10/12/2010 ?

[zip2]

I have been using a Windows 7 Media PC running Microsoft Media Center with dual ATI Digital Cable Tuners that use  Motorola "M-Card" Cablecards. Everything had been working fine and I have been very happy with this set up until Verizon's recent changes. I think using a Media PC, gives you better choices, more flexibility and superior features than a set-top box with a DVR and costs a lot less than a Tivo with its pricey subscription.  Unfortunately, due to the recent switch-over to Simulcrypt I am now only able to receive unencrypted (aka  "Clear QUAM")  broadast channels (abc, CBS, NBC, etc). I have been very disappointed at Verizon roll-out and handling of the situation. Verizon’s lack of knowledge has been puzzling and disconcerting. I spent hours on the phone with Verizon bouncing me around different departments and a Verizon technician at my house trying to understand what had changed why things suddenly had stopped working and what a solution would be. Verizon was coming up with interesting, but wrong theories. Nobody from Verizon was able to give me a clear answer with respect to what had changed and what exactly the problem was. I found it out myself eventually by googling and reading posts in various forums.

 I disagree with some previous posts stating that “tough luck, if your equipment no longer works, as Simulcrypt is part of the Cablecard standard, and if the equipment vendor does not properly support it, then it’s their fault”. May be Simulcrypt is part of the standard, may be it isn’t. I am not an expert in the field of Cablecards. However, my understanding is that every system that uses Cablecards has to go through a lengthy and costly certification process with CableLabs. Therefore, if the Simulcrypt is really part of the mandatory spec, how were all these devices that are now no longer working able to get the CableLabs certification? Shouldn’t it be a reasonable expectation for the  consumer that if (s)he invests in a certified product that the providers like Verizon will stay within the certification envelope. Verizon’s recent change rendered my expensive equipment useless for Verizon even though it had received all the required certifications. From a customer perspective something is clearly wrong here.

[lasagna]

You are suffering from the curse of obsolete technology ... the spec to which the ATI tuner cards were evidently certified is not the current specification requirement for CableCards.   So, sure, your tuner cards were current with the spec when they were released, but technology and specs change.   The one you need to complain to is ATI -- who failed to update the firmware on their cards to meet the spec and who, since the cards are end-of-life/support also refuse to do so.

I like this to the daylight savings time issues many devices have ... seems congress changed "when" this occurs a few years ago, but never bothered to come update my DVD recorder -- and the manufacturer says "tough luck" with regards to updating firmware on what they consider an obsolete device.   The reality is ... technology changes at an ever increasing pace and sometimes you just need to your hardware to stay current.  This is why the service providers (be they cable or FiOS) will provide you with an STB which will always work or which they will replace for free -- in exchange for the monthly fee.