CableCard 
A small PCMCIA-size card available from most digital cable providers nationwide that can provide digital and high-definition cable service to third-party HDTVs, PCs and other components, such as DVRs like TiVo HD. Requires a Digital Cable Ready TV or a component that has a CableCard slot. CableCard currently does not itself support EPG or VOD (video-on-demand) functionality, which is a significant disadvantage compared to a cable box, although many components and TVs allows their own EPG solutions. While common among high-end HDTVs in 2004 and 2005, in later generations CableCard slots have become increasingly uncommon in televisions.