That was the while idea behind Cable Card. Slip a simple authorization card into your TV, and access premium digital channels. But due to a lot of early compatibility issues combined with the fact that cable companies couldn't offer PPV or On Demand on them, they have basically fallen by the wayside.

Which is what the whole NEW version of Cable Card was supposed to fix: all the interactive applications and revenue sources that cable companies want, without the trouble of cable boxes.

But I'm not even sure the local cable companies around me would go for that. Rogers seems to enjoy their cable box rentals, and have even found new ways to slip in advertising. Although we are allowed to buy the boxes and don't have to rent them month-to-month if we don't want (although they still ding you for a $3 "digital service fee").