How does a Digital Cable Ready television work?
In addition to containing electronics typically found in most television sets, a Digital Cable Ready television incorporates many of the same electronics that are found in a digital set-top box. The only exception is that a Digital Cable Ready television does not contain technology that will allow the television to display scrambled (i.e., encrypted) digital signals. Signal decryption technology is instead built into the CableCARD. Since Cox encrypts most, if not all, digital cable signals, a CableCARD must be inserted into a Digital Cable Ready television in order for that television to receive Cox Digital Cable programming.
