CableCARD is a special-use PCMCIA (PC) card that allows consumers in the United States to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, personal computers and television sets without the use of other equipment such as a set top box (STB) provided by a cable television company. The card may be provided by the local cable provider; usually for a nominal monthly fee. Another name for a CableCARD is an M-CARD on some cable boxes.
In technical contexts, "CableCARD" refers more broadly to a set of technologies created by the United States cable television industry in response to requirements by federal government's Telecommunications Act of 1996 that cable companies allow non cable company provided devices to access their networks.
Use of the term CableCARD can be confusing, because some technologies refer not to the physical card, but to a device ("Host") that uses the card. Some CableCARD technologies can be used with devices that have no physical CableCARDs.
Read more about CableCARD: Background, Existing Standard and Certification Procedures, Physical CableCARDs, Manufacturers, Adoption, Technical Overview, AllVid