I'm hoping one of you geniuses out there can help me out. I'm looking at spending the next week battling a cable company regarding their failure to provide some (non-SDV) channels to CableCard users. What I could use is someone to help me with some of the terminology and just make sure I've got the right phrases and facts straight. If you could do your best to be relatively simplistic in any explanation .. yet specific in terms that would be great!

Here goes:

If a channel is not being transmitted via Switched Digital Video (SDV), what would you call the method it is being transmitted by? (Broadcast?) ???

Can anyone site the specific legal reference that requires a cable company to provide a local affiliate's HD signal "in the clear" via the lowest teir of programming? (Tunable via QAM)

If a channel is broadcasting a local affiliate.. lets say NBC "in the clear" on say 39.1, what technically does the cable company need to inform CableCards on its system that it is there and point it to the channel of their choice .. say 707? I'm guessing that its along the line of "QAM Mapping" .. but I'm curious what specifically they need to do (just a couple bits of data into the stream?)

Would whatever they need to do to accomplish the above mapping example be bandwidth intensive for them? Are they rebroadcasting the channel by any means? Or is the fact that its "in the clear" handling 99.99999% of the bandwidth used in this process, and all that is needed is a tiny bit of information in the CableCard's stream?

Can anyone site any specific FCC regulations that require Cable Companies (who aren't using SDV) to make their channels available to CableCard users .. beyond the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Section 629

Can anyone site any specific FCC regulation that require Cable Co's to broadcast local affiliates .. or must carry stations "in the clear"?

Thank you.. I appreciate any information you wise folks out there can share .. I appreciate you correcting any verbiage I have used .. again.. I'm looking for specific terms so I don't end up saying/writing the wrong things .. but if you could do your best not to expand too far off of the specific questions I've asked, that would be great.

Muchas gracias in advance... and it would be *wonderful* if responses could come in today..

-MirclMax

If a channel is not being transmitted via Switched Digital Video (SDV), what would you call the method it is being transmitted by? (Broadcast?) ???Broadcast is as good a term as any.

Can anyone site the specific legal reference that requires a cable company to provide a local affiliate's HD signal "in the clear" via the lowest teir of programming? (Tunable via QAM)Nothing explicitly references digital, the closest you get is part 76.630:(a) Cable system operators shall not scramble or otherwise encrypt signals carried on the basic service tier

If a channel is broadcasting a local affiliate.. lets say NBC "in the clear" on say 39.1, what technically does the cable company need to inform CableCards on its system that it is there and point it to the channel of their choice .. say 707? I'm guessing that its along the line of "QAM Mapping" .. but I'm curious what specifically they need to do (just a couple bits of data into the stream?

Would whatever they need to do to accomplish the above mapping example be bandwidth intensive for them? Are they rebroadcasting the channel by any means? Or is the fact that its "in the clear" handling 99.99999% of the bandwidth used in this process, and all that is needed is a tiny bit of information in the CableCard's stream?This information is provided out-of-band along with information for the IPG. CableCards would use the same information that a set-top box would use. Very little bandwidth is needed for this data.

Can anyone site any specific FCC regulations that require Cable Companies (who aren't using SDV) to make their channels available to CableCard users .. beyond the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Section 629Can't help you there.

Can anyone site any specific FCC regulation that require Cable Co's to broadcast local affiliates .. or must carry stations "in the clear"?There is none for local broadcast. Must-carry channels would be part of the limited basic tier and be subject to 76.630. If the cable company includes the local HD channels as part of the limited basic tier they would fall under 76.630, but if not, then I have found no rule requiring that they be provided in the clear.

I'm looking at spending the next week battling a cable company regarding their failure to provide some (non-SDV) channels to CableCard users.
Are they withholding those channels from all CableCARD users, including the users who have two-way hosts? Or just the users who have one-way hosts?
If a channel is not being transmitted via Switched Digital Video (SDV), what would you call the method it is being transmitted by?
It is being transmitted as one-way programming.
Can anyone site the specific legal reference that requires a cable company to provide a local affiliate's HD signal "in the clear" via the lowest teir of programming? (Tunable via QAM)
There are two FCC rules.

47CFR76.901: (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/05dec20031700/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/octqtr/47cfr76.901.htm) The basic service tier shall, at a minimum, include all signals of domestic television broadcast stations provided to any subscriber ...

47CFR76.630: (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/05dec20031700/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/octqtr/47cfr76.630.htm) Cable system operators shall not scramble or otherwise encrypt signals carried on the basic service tier.

Can anyone site any specific FCC regulations that require Cable Companies (who aren't using SDV) to make their channels available to CableCard users .. beyond the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Section 629
The following might be useful.

47CFR15.123 (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=dce43d375eba9b558e0f963557939351&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:1.0.1.1.13.2.240.16&idno=47): Manufacturers and importers shall provide in appropriate post-sale material that describes the features and functionality of the product, such as the owner's guide, the following language: “This digital television is capable of receiving analog basic, digital basic and digital premium cable television programming by direct connection to a cable system providing such programming. A security card provided by your cable operator is required to view encrypted digital programming. Certain advanced and interactive digital cable services such as video-on-demand, a cable operator's enhanced program guide and data-enhanced television services may require the use of a set-top box. For more information call your local cable operator.”

Compatibility of Cable TV and Digital TV Receivers - "Plug-and-Play" (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/plugandplaytv.html):
The first generation of plug-and-play sets will be able to receive one-way programming only, including analog basic, digital basic, and digital premium cable programming.