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–Rebrands OCAP as "tru2way" –Trumpets Success of OpenCable Interoperability Event
–Seeks Participants for CableNET Technology Showcase
–Hosts ITU Meeting Approving and Updating Various Standards
–Unveils Switched Digital Solution for UDCP’s

US cable-industry research, development and standards body, CableLabs, announced last week that it is dropping the (interchangeably used) terms OpenCable Platform and OpenCable Application Platform (note: the OpenCable Application Platform standard, generally referred to as OCAP, is designed to be built into set-top boxes and integrated digital televisions, so that broadcasters, cable operators and other interactive TV application developers can develop two-way ITV services that can run successfully on any cable TV system that supports the standard)–at least in the context of consumer marketing and branding–in favor of the more consumer- and retail-oriented brand, "tru2way" (which it is trademarking). It says it is licensing the brand to cable operators, programmers and consumer electronics manufacturers that are looking to develop devices to access OCAP applications and services (note: the organization says that use of the brand on OCAP-enabled devices is "strictly voluntary for manufacturers"), and that most cable operators plan to advertise, use and support the tru2way brand and technology. Companies that have licensed tru2way/OCAP technology to date include Digeo, LG Electronics, Panasonic Corp. of America, Samsung Electronics, Broadcom and Intel. According to CableLabs, major cable operators have "committed to deploy support for the tru2way platform" by the end of 2008 in service areas covering over 90 million homes. The tru2way brand was developed by brand consulting firm, Siegel + Gale, in consultation with CTAM, the NCTA, and representatives of major cable providers.

In other CableLabs news:

• The organization recently held a week-long OpenCable interoperability event, which, among other things, showcased hardware manufacturers demo’ing interoperability among OpenCable and Enhanced TV applications. According to the organization, the event featured a "complete ecosystem" of OpenCable vendors, including CableCARD and carousel specialists. CableLabs bills its interop events, which are free of charge to qualified participants, as providing vendors with "an informal, laboratory setting," where they can test their latest products within the organization’s headends and testing environment, determine their compliance with CableLabs specs, and assess the ability of their products to interoperate with other devices in an end-to-end OpenCable system. The organization also uses the events to validate and fine-tune its test environment and procedures. 15 vendors took part in the event, which was also attended by representatives of major cable operators–including Time Warner Cable, which claims to have deployed 150,000 OCAP-compliant set-top boxes to date. Those two-way boxes are supporting such applications as EPG’s, VOD and interactive TV advertising. CableLabs says its next OpenCable interop event is scheduled for the spring: information on participating in that event can be found on the organization’s Web site.
• The organization will once again hold CableNET, its annual showcase of new technologies and services, at the NCTA’s Cable Show (formerly known as the National Show), and is now accepting applications from companies interested in participating. According to CableLabs, the showcase is intended to highlight a wide variety of next-generation broadband services, as well as services that cable operators are likely to offer to consumers in the near future. Information on participating in CableNET can be found on the showcase’s dedicated Web site, www.cablenet.org.
• The organization recently hosted a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Study Group 9 (note: the group, whose full title is the Integrated Broadband Cable Networks and Television and Sound Transmission Group, focuses on broadband services), at which a number of IPTV and HDTV standards were approved. According to CableLabs, the meeting saw Group 9 approve for standardization "a major recommendation contributing to the advancement of IPTV." The recommendation is numbered J.700 and entitled "IPTV Service Requirements and Framework for Secondary Distribution." "Secondary distribution" is an ITU term, denoting use of a transmission channel for distribution of video/audio programs to users at large, whether by, for example, an over-the-air broadcast channel or a fiber or cable network. In addition, CableLabs says, recommendations pertaining to second- and third-generation IPCablecom were "consented"–i.e. approved for consideration by the full ITU for standardization. According to CableLabs, these recommendations add to a suite of over 25 recommendations that have been developed for cable and hybrid networks primarily designed for television and sound program delivery to the home as integrated broadband networks to also carry voice and other time-critical services, including VOD services. Equipment based on these recommendations–including modems, set-tops, signaling equipment, interactive TV application platform interfaces and digital program insertion–have had "widespread implementation" in networks in Asia, Europe and North America, CableLabs says. The meeting also saw the ITU update its J.202 Recommendation, entitled "Harmonization of procedural content formats for interactive TV applications." The update was designed to reflect the most current version of the ETSI GEM ("Globally Executable MHP) standard, which forms the common core of a number of middleware standards around the world, including OCAP in the US and Korea, ARIB in Japan, and MHP in Europe and elsewhere. In addition, the meeting saw the ITU vice chairman for API’s, Charlie Sandbank, and the chairman of ITU Study Group 9, CableLabs president and CEO, Richard Green, discuss a plan currently being contemplated by the FCC that would require the US cable architecture to support an architecture that diverges from the J.200 Recommendation supported by the US in the ITU. The discussion resulted in the two vice chairmen of Study Group 9 sending a letter to the FCC, expressing their concerns.
• The organization has teamed with TiVo, Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, BigBand Networks and C-COR to develop a new solution, which it says extends the functionality of certain Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Products (UDCP’s) that use CableCARDs to access switched digital services previously unavailable to such devices. The solution consists of specifications for a new external interface that enables UDCP’s equipped with a USB connector and the necessary firmware to access switched digital cable channels: a new adapter using this interface will attach to the UDCP device, allowing it to access such channels, CableLabs says. According to CableLabs’ Richard Green, the development of the new adapter is a result of the cable industry’s need for solutions that can manage bandwidth, so as to allow for more efficient deployment of advanced services: the introduction by cable operators in recent years of interactive TV services, HD channels, broadband Internet and digital phone service has resulted in significant consumer demand and therefore higher bandwidth requirements, Green says. In order to meet these requirements, the cable operators have been implementing switched digital video, allowing them to preserve bandwidth by transmitting channels to customers on an as-needed basis (rather than transmitting all channels at the same time). However, switched digital channels currently cannot be accessed by UDCP’s, because those products were not designed to access interactive services. According to CableLabs, the new adapter will solve this problem, enabling consumers to access both switched and non-switched digital cable channels, and will be available to consumers in the first half of 2008. Devices that could benefit from the new adapter include TiVo DVR’s and other one-way CableCARD-enabled products equipped with a USB connector.

Originally publishd in Issue 7.58 Part 1  January 14, 2008  Subscribe: http://www.itvt.com