Editing CableCARD (section)

==Existing standard and certification procedures==
Cable providers in the United States are required by the FCC to support the CableCARD 2.0 standard. The specification was developed by [[CableLabs]], a research group run by a consortium of cable companies. Devices that use CableCARDs are known as "Hosts" and must be certified as compliant with the specification by CableLabs. The certification process can be lengthy and is performed in batches on a regular cycle every three months.

The first test tool to verify compliance of OpenCable hosts with the CableCARD one-way single stream specifications, HPNX, was released by SCM and [[Digital Keystone]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/32798 |title=Testing Platform for OpenCable Specs Launched |publisher=TVtechnlogy.com |date=2003-05-22 |access-date=2009-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609145402/http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/32798 |archive-date=2011-06-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Subsequently, the HPNX Pro version, supporting two-way and M-card specifications, was released by [[Digital Keystone]] in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cablelabs.com/news/pr/2006/06_pr_mcard_sa_040606.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011045216/http://www.cablelabs.com/news/pr/2006/06_pr_mcard_sa_040606.html |archive-date=October 11, 2013|title=CableLabs Awards Qualification to Scientific Atlanta for Multi-Stream CableCARD |publisher=Cablelabs.com |date=2006-04-06 |access-date=2015-06-14}}</ref> The "M-UDCP Device Acceptance Test Plan" published by CableLabs defines how to use the HPNX Pro test tool to validate the OpenCable host devices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cablelabs.com/udcp/downloads/TP-ATP-M-UDCP-I02-070105.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807093054/http://www.cablelabs.com/opencable/udcp/downloads/TP-ATP-M-UDCP-I02-070105.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |title=M-UDCP Device Acceptance Test Plan TP-ATP-M-UDCP-I02-20070105 |publisher=Cablelabs.com |date=2007-01-05 |access-date=2015-06-14}}</ref>

The first test tool to verify compliance of the CableCARD devices with the OpenCable specifications, Host Emulator Tool, and produced by Margi Systems, was first utilized by CableLabs to validate the Scientific Atlanta (Cisco) and Motorola POD devices in 2003 (POD was later renamed to CableCard).

Cable companies in the United States are required to provide CableCARDs conforming to this specification, and must correct incompatibilities between their networks and certified CableCARD devices.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chris Kohler |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/08/71682 |title=CableCard Swipes at Set-Top Boxes |publisher=Wired.com |date=2008-08-28 |access-date=2009-09-16}}</ref>

The current CableCARD standard was borne out of an adversarial process between two main groups: cable companies represented by the [[National Cable & Telecommunications Association]] (NCTA) and consumer electronics companies represented by the [[Consumer Electronics Association]] (CEA). The portion of the CableCARD specs that could be agreed upon describe how one-way services work, so only the portion known as UDCP (Unidirectional Digital Cable Product) was required by the FCC. As it was the only thing required, most of the early devices were one-way capable; however all the actual CableCARDs produced were two-way capable. Many enhancements to the CableCARD standard including the optional Multi-Stream support became known as CableCARD 2.0.

[[Fiber-optic communication|Optical cable]] services (e.g. [[Verizon Fios]]) are classified as cable services and must, by FCC rules, also support the CableCARD standard. In Canada, cable providers Cogeco<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cogeco.ca/web/resources/pdf/support/user_guides/tv/cogeco_tivo_service_guide_on_en.pdf|title=TiVo Service from Cogeco ® Quick Guide|date=2015-08-18|access-date=2016-04-28}}</ref> and Shaw<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://community.shaw.ca/thread/34654|title=CableCARD Not Validated|date=2016-03-08|access-date=2016-04-28}}</ref> offer CableCARD-enabled DVRs. Video providers in Europe must conform to the [[Digital Video Broadcasting|DVB]] standard which is a more comprehensive open standard governed by independent standards bodies.

CableCARDs can also support non-television functions and can act as a [[cable modem]] controller with the host providing modulation and demodulation functions and the card providing decoding and [[Internet Protocol|IP]] [[routing]] functionality; however this feature is rarely used and depends on the cable provider.