Cablecard?

[TPK]

Question:

I've been reading up on cablecards lately....

Lets say I have a cablecard ready television (or other device), and I want to get a cablecard for it so I can watch TV...

Do I REALLY need a TWC technician to come out to my house to put it in for me???

What does that TWC technician do???

.... I only ask because I envision a world where all devices that can potentially handle media (TV, VCR/PVR/DVD-R, Compuer, walls, refridgerators, etc..) could have a cable-card slot, and I wonder if in that world I have to call the cable company to come out to my house to put the little cards in the little slots each time I get a new appliance.....

Or if the cable company would have the power to say 'We don't want to allow you to put cablecards in computer based PVRs, only Time Warner approved PVRs', etc...

Perhaps I am being paranoid??

[mhz40]

Cablecard technology is in it's infancy. Major TV manufaturers are still having firmware problems with their code, which leads installation problems. So for now, yes, a tech is needed. It is better to have one on site, rather than go through weird compatibility issues over the phone with a frustrated customer.
Long term I see this as a plug & play thing, once two-way code and cards are available in some future spec of the cablecard.