A recent letter from Time Warner Cable announces a massive change that makes the CableCARD technology almost useless. Starting July 28, fifty “lesser-viewed” channels will only be available to customers using tuners that can handle SDV technology.  (This bypass of CableCARD’s functionality is in strict violation to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , mind you).

Time Warner’s rented set-top boxes will continue to work as they currently do. Customers with TiVo Series 3 units will be able to continue viewing these channels so long as they have one of the SDV adapters supplied by TWC. Hopefully, ATI will indeed be rolling out support for SDV tuning adapters before the October 22 release of Windows 7, but I highly doubt it.

The channels that will be moved over to SDV are:

• A&E HD
• @Max (425)
• 5 Star Max (426)
• Action Max (422)
• BET on Jazz (130)
• Encore (310)
• Encore Action (312)
• Encore Love (313)
• Encore Mystery (314)
• Encore True Stories/Drama (315)
• Encore Westerns (316)
• FLIX (300)
• Food Network HD (278)
• Fox Movie Channel (304)
• Fox Reality Channel (155)
• Fuse (133)
• Golf Channel HD (283)
• HBO2 (401)
• HBO Comedy (404)
• HBO Family (402)
• HBO Latino (395)
• HBO Signature (403)
• HBO Zone (405)
• HGTV HD (277)
• IFC (305)
• Inspiration (195)
• MAV TV HD (294)
• More Max (421)
• Outer Max (427)
• Palladia (292)
• Showtime Showcase (442)
• Showtime Beyond (444)
• Showtime Extreme (443)
• Showtime Family (447)
• Showtime Next (445)
• Showtime Too (441)
• Showtime Women (446)
• Smithsonian HD (293)
• Starz Cinema (474)
• Starz Edge (471)
• Starz in Black (472)
• Starz Kids & Family (473)
• Sundance (302)
• TBS HD (282)
• The N (183/351)
• Thriller Max (423)
• TMC Xtra (461)
• Universal HD (295)
• W Max (424)
• W AM!(317)

-->