Rob Enderle Gets It!
By Alexander Grundner |
August 19th, 2005
Comments (18)
I’ve been a long time fan of Rob Enderle’s work as a tech journalist and industry analyst, so I was excited hear his interview with Ian Dixon of The Windows Media Center Show (I guess Ian added the “Windows” part recently). Topics covered were MCE, Vista Diamond, CableCard, DRM, DVD sales, TV viewing habits, and changes in consumer behavior regarding digital content. As expected, since Enderle does not side with any particular company, organization, or technology, he was right on the mark with his thoughts on the topics presented. Case in point – Windows Vista’s possible CableCard support: He explains, that if Microsoft ever implements CableCable support in Vista, that users would not have access to advance network features that they would otherwise get from a provider’s set-top box – i.e. access to Video-On-Demand, Pay-Per-View, and possibly even HD programming. In his words: “Even when it gets CableCard [support]… in the Vista time frame… it looks like it’s going to be [a] hobbled CableCard… and that’s going to remain problematic for the platform until that gets resolved.” To help bring the point home, users will have the same features that an HDTV with CableCard support currently has. For more of the interview, checkout out The Windows Media Center Show #21 - Rob Enderle.
August 19th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
Ah the name! it actual started out as the Windows Media Center Show then when I moved to the podcast network they called it the Media Center Show but I still call it Windows Media Center show out of habit
Rob was very interesting and I could have done a 3 hour show with him!
the actual link is http://www.thepodcastnetwork.com/me…21-rob-enderle/
So Alex when are you coming on? :p
August 19th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
This doesn’t just apply to Microsoft. There are several devices that support CableCARD now, that will not be able to support newer implementations of it.
August 19th, 2005 at 6:07 pm
Always to the defense of Microsoft…. (Yawn) People should be aware of what to expect if the CableCard gets implemented on the PC platform. I’ve noticed a lot of “irrational exuberance” regarding the topic.
August 19th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
Sure, same with that TV they paid twice as much for that has the exact same problem.
August 20th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Personally, I think that he was a bit misleading. There is actually no problem with HD itself. I *think* that he simply saying that, like SD VOD, HD VOD will not work. This should come as no surprise to anyone. His phrasing just made it seem like a bigger problem than it is.
I also thought his assertion that cable companies should like it because “otherwise they would have to have their own boxes out there” very weak. Cable companies have billions of dollars of profits penciled into “third party” services that hinge on being the interface to the customer. Products like MCE give consumers the option to rent movies/music/etc. from the likes of MSN Music, CinemaNow, etc. This, as far as the MSOs are concerned, is lost revenue.
August 20th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
Licious, you’re pointing the finger at the wrong people. The CableCARD technology itself is what’s to blame. I think Clint DeBoer at Audioholics says it best (echos Enderle’s statements):
Additional Resources:
CNET - FAQ: CableCard? What’s that?
Sound & Vision - Wild Card; Goodbye cable box, hello CableCARD
August 20th, 2005 at 2:52 pm
Uh… CableCARDs are the MSOs’ product. There is a reason they suck (i.e. are delivering the absolute minimum that was agreed upon). That’s what the MSOs want. Please explain how I’m pointing the finger at the wrong people/technology.
August 20th, 2005 at 3:18 pm
Please also explain why I get flamed by you for “defending Microsoft”, and then you come back saying the exact bit, just quoted from someone else. :confused:
August 20th, 2005 at 7:35 pm
I’ll respond to Chris first because it’s easier. The above post points out the issues related to implementing the CableCARD on Windows Vista or any other PC platform, really. Chris, instead of you being helpful in explaining why/how Microsoft’s implementation of the CableCARD can still benefit users, you prefer (as you do frequently on this forum at least) to defend the company from any type of negative (or this case perceived negative) statement – hence the Yawn. My position is that readers should find out what the CableCARD is capable of feature-wise and not assume that in the future they will be able to do the same things they can do via a set-top on their PC.
And lastly, I’m not flaming you… I’m engaging you in a discussion. But I do, however, ask that you tone down your pro-Microsoft rhetoric so that we can take your opinion more seriously (others have commented about this to me as well). No company or technology is “perfect.” As such, it would be refreshing to hear more balanced arguments coming from your side.
August 20th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
It’s all about interpretation. Just as you interpreted what Enderle said in the interview was “misleading,” I found your initial reply unclear. My impression was that you felt that Enderle’s remarks were inaccurate and that cable companies were to blame for not allowing subscribers to have the same features when they chose to use a CableCARD on a device other than a provider’s set-top box (which is not true, it’s the CableCARD’s capabilities). And since I have no clue what an MSO is, there’s no way for me (and perhaps others) to know what you’re talking about.
August 20th, 2005 at 8:05 pm
Ah, I found it! (Google wasn’t much help - “mso” query)
Webopedia - Multiple System Operators (MSO) is a term used in the cable industry to describe a company which owns and operates two or more cable TV systems.
August 20th, 2005 at 8:40 pm
I didn’t think that he was inaccurate. I just thought that it was phrased in such a way to allow for people to misinterpret it (as it seemed that you did). You’ll still get HD. You just won’t get VOD, etc (HD or SD — it doesn’t matter).
I still that you you’re missing the point; yes, the Cable Companies (better?
) *are* to blame. CableCARD is all that they would agree to support. There is no deadline for MCards. There is no deadline for V2. CableCARD, as is, is all that they agreed to. If they really wanted to open up the STB market, they could. They don’t want to.
My point was only that Rob was a little naive in think that they would want to. They’ve all but booked (in their minds) billions of dollars in add-on services. All of these require being the front-end.
That’s why it gets people so upset when others say “Microsoft should fight DRM (with regards to cable).” Microsoft is a 90lbs weakling in this fight. It’s amazing (if they’re about to do it) if they are able to get CableCARDS certified at all. To think that they could do it without implementing DRM is just absurd.
August 20th, 2005 at 9:08 pm
A tip Alex, when you are trying to encourge and engage members to take time out of there day to provide thought and bring traffic to your site, you don’t get to pick how and why they post. You get what they bring to the table, asking people to “tone down” what they bring will come off to most as “leave, I don’t agree or care”. That’s just a tip, I would suggest taking a minute to think about, coming from one of your most active and longest standing members. The choice is all yours.
Chris
August 20th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
I agree with your reply to an extent… but if someone like yourself, who is always so one sided with every issue regarding Microsoft and DRM, there’s really no reason to reply. We know where you stand before you even hit submit. Why don’t you surprise us with a different take on things.
August 21st, 2005 at 10:28 am
Alex, Alex, Alex. You clearly are not thinking. Your always on the same side of ditch Microsoft and DRM, why exactly do you run a site? To share your opinion and you have forums for other people to share there’s. You have done what is most likely the worst job in history trying to make people come in here and post. Good luck making this go on if you just want to hear what you want. This isn’t the way things work and it’s pointless to think so.
Chris
August 21st, 2005 at 10:52 am
Excellent, I was hoping you would come back with something like that. Always the victim in your effort to defend Microsoft. All one needs to do is look at your posts on this forum to see that you only respond/participate when a negative comment is made about Microsoft – hence the previous suspicion that you might be working for Microsoft doing damage control on all the blogs. But I was thinking about this more last night… for someone who complains that they’re being treated badly on this forum (which is only you), I couldn’t understand why you would keep coming back. Now I do… it’s so that you can spread your mental spam about how Microsoft is great. Take a hike! The site gets enough spam from marketing people. We don’t need a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
August 21st, 2005 at 7:20 pm
STB? Ack. “Set Top Box”. Killing me slowly with acronyms!
Good point.
That is to say that the any cable provider, I wouldn’t limit this to just MSOs, have little to no interest to open up their content to Microsoft because that would mean renting fewer STBs? That I buy.
As for the DRM, I could see the cable companies fretting about it but only because they would fear content providers pulling out of their service. It’s the content providers who are the driving force behind the DRM. The cable companies are just a medium for Hollywood’s content. Microsoft and Apple both more than likely want to become another medium and hence the reason that I tend to beat up Microsoft up about DRM.
From my perspective, and perhaps you’ll consider this odd, I have a lot more problem protecting content provided on a physical medium than I do content that I’ve downloaded off of the internet. Maybe that’s succesful marketing conditioning (read: brainwashing) on the part of the industry marketing drones?
August 22nd, 2005 at 1:45 pm
I think you’ve touch on a feeling that I and others have been struggling to define. I don’t want copy-protection controls on my music CDs and I like to strip DeCSS off of my purchased movie DVDs so I can back them up and stream them across the home network. But as far as online content services that basically let you “rent” digital media, I have NO PROBLEM with DRM. Strange, huh?