Boxes on the shelves.(cable set top boxes regulations)

Broadcasting & Cable, June, 1998 by McConnell, Chris

But regulators eye DTV/cable compatibility FCC officials last week set rules they hope will spur development of a retail market for cable set-top boxes within the next few years. Implementing provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the commissioners ordered cable engineers to split up the channel-surfing and signal-scrambling functions of set-top boxes in the next two years.

The anticipated result will allow customers to buy a cable box from consumer electronics stores and then plug in a smart card or add-on provided by the cable operator to descramble programming. Regulators said, however, that they plan to keep an eye on the planned retail boxes to make sure they work with digital television sets. "The commission's action ... ensures that...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.