Wired magazine has an article summing up the pros and cons of CableCard technology. CableCards are essential to the TiVo Series 3 (it sports 2 CableCard slots), and a recent federal appeals court ruling requires cable companies to support them.
In short:
Advantages:

  • No cable box needed
  • Can be sent through mail
  • No need for kludges like an IR blaster

Disadvantages:

  • One-way system (although CC 2.0 fixes that)

I’m curious to see when Charter… er.. SuddenLink starts to support CableCards…!