Isn't Firewire required?

[Presence]

I thought I read somewhere or heard a while back that some new Federal regulation required all new cable boxes to have a Firewire connection as an output option. Was this not true, or did Dish manage to skate out of this because they, after all, are not cable?

[whatchel1]

I thought I read somewhere or heard a while back that some new Federal regulation required all new cable boxes to have a Firewire connection as an output option. Was this not true, or did Dish manage to skate out of this because they, after all, are not cable?

E* & D* both went w/ HDMI. This is a different form of digital connection. IEEE 1394 is not the direction that consumer products have gone.

[gizmotoy]

The federal law does not require all cable boxes to provide Firewire outputs. It requires the cable companies make available a cable box with Firewire outputs should you specifically request one. HDMI is not comparable. The law was implemented such that a consumer could record from their cable box digitally. As far as I'm aware, this is no currently available HDMI capture card, and HDMI->Firewire cards are in the four-five figure price range, so HDMI would not comply with the spirit of the law.

Whether or not the law even applies to the satellite companies, I have no idea. I guess you could see if any of the currently offered boxes have Firewire outputs. If not, chances are good they don't fall under this regulation as they wouldn't risk being sued over something like that.

[Hall]

The federal law does not require all cable boxes to provide Firewire outputs. It requires the cable companies make available a cable box with Firewire outputs should you specifically request one. That's exactly correct. Some think it means every set-top from the cable company has to have a Firewire connection, but they're wrong. I know that my local TWC has a Pioneer 3250HD (I think) available that has working Firewire and that's what they offer.

Also, as noted, Dish isn't a cable company. There are many rules in place that differentiate them and this is the first time I've read or heard of the Firewire connection "rule" directed at E* or D*.