Recently Thomas Hawk got a chance to talk to Microsoft’s Jim Allchin about all sorts of things, and one of the things they discussed was CableLabs certification:

I asked Jim about the recent CableLabs certification of the Vista platform. Opening up Media Center to premium HDTV content through CableCARD technology and DirecTV is very exciting — and critical, in my opinion, to Media Center’s success in 2006-2007. HDTV was far and above the major overriding theme at CES this year. HDTVs are hot and it is important that Microsoft’s Media Center PCs be able to support this growing demand. Although as a platform Vista has been approved by CableLabs at this point, an important step that will still be necessary for the PC/CableCARD reality is CableLab’s approval for finshed individual OEM PCs as well. Although Vista has been approved, OEMs will in fact still need to get their individual machines certified by CableLabs as well. Central to this certification according to Jim is the idea of a “protective path.”

Getting something approved through CableLabs is no easy task and this will very much favor the larger OEMs who have the funds, resources and clout to get this done. Jim said to expect to see the CableLabs approved PCs out from the big guys first but reiterated his commitment to smaller OEMs in fighting for them to also get their machines CableLabs approved as well. Jim said that Microsoft would fight clawing and scratching for these smaller OEMs. It will be interesting to see between now and Fall what that will mean. What it means for you as a consumer though is definitely do *not* think that you can just buy any old Media Center PC today and then upgrade it for CableCARD support in the Fall when Vista ships. The entire PC will need to be certified and this is what I’m waiting for before I buy mine. I’ll probably buy a high powered Dell when they have one out and would expect as a large OEM that they would have one of the first CableLabs approved PCs to market.

That throws a little wrench into things. The more I hear about CableCARD and Windows Vista, the more confused I get. Sometimes I wish for the good old days of analog…

Thomas Hawk - My Dinner With Microsoft Exec Jim Allchin