Cable Without a cable Box, and TV Shows Without TV

CABLE WITHOUT A CABLE BOX, AND TV SHOWS WITHOUT TV
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Quain]
How would you like to use your video-game console to tune in “Big Love” on your television? Or perhaps use your DVD player to download “The Departed” while you watch a ballgame? Those features are now possible, thanks to some new devices and recent rule changes governing cable television service. Just don't throw out your old cable box quite yet. The key to this new world of TV entertainment is a Federal Communications Commission rule that went into effect July 1. Cable companies in the United States now have to separate the security functions that prevent you from watching channels you haven't paid for from the TV tuner box most of us rent. The practical result of the rule is that cable companies now have to supply set-top boxes that come with a removable CableCARD. The cards, which look like the PC Cards used in notebook computers, contain the information necessary to unscramble digital cable channels like HBO. But they could allow other equipment to become much more versatile. The cards are designed to be inserted into a host of other devices, including TVs, digital video recorders (DVRs) and computers. Companies like Toshiba, Panasonic, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have sought this breakthrough for years because it opens an array of features for CableCARD-equipped devices. Cable companies have resisted the idea, which should surprise no one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/technology/circuits/26basics.html
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