Video Innovation and Consumer Choice

The Federal Communications Commission acted to promote innovation and consumer choice in the video device marketplace by issuing a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and a Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), as recommended in the National Broadband Plan.

The NOI seeks to better serve the goals of Congress in creating a competitive retail market for navigation devices for use with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD). The FNPRM proposes changes to the current CableCard system to make it more consumer-friendly while a new technology approach is being developed.

Consumers are increasingly accessing video from multiple sources, including MVPD services, the Internet, DVDs, and over-the-air broadcasting. The NOI seeks input on ways to foster a more competitive marketplace for navigation devices and in particular calls for comment on a standardized interface that enables smart video devices to bring video from all of these sources together for ease of selection, recording, and viewing. The standardized interface could be implemented through an "AllVid" adapter that would act as an intermediary between the consumer's device and the MVPD's service. The service provider would be free to innovate within its network to improve its services, without requiring replacement of the consumer's home devices. And a consumer could switch from one provider to another and continue to use the same smart video devices.
The FNPRM proposes to remedy shortcomings in the existing CableCARD system, to provide consumers with better service in the interim before the new AllVid approach is in place.

In order to remove the disparity between consumers who choose to use a retail CableCARD-equipped video device and those who lease a cable provider's video navigation box, the proposed interim measures would: (1) ensure that retail devices have comparable access to video programming that is prescheduled by the programming provider; (2) make CableCARD pricing and billing more transparent; (3) streamline CableCARD installations; and (4) clarify certification requirements.