2007 CES Featured Cable's Two-Way Future; High-Definition Cable Content Now Available on PCs.CableLabs([R]) Briefs Two-Way Licensees at CES LOUISVILLE, Colo. -- With more than a dozen manufacturers displaying two-way "plug-and-play" TVs, set-top boxes and other cable-ready devices, the just-completed 2007 Consumer Electronics Show marked a significant milestone in the cable industry's efforts to bring interactive digital TV services to consumers that will not require the use of a leased set-top box. The new plug-and-play devices will use the cable industry's software platform - called OCAP OCAP Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (Canada) OCAP Open Cable Application Platform (middleware software specification) OCAP Out of Control Action Plan [TM] or OpenCable[TM] Applications Platform - to facilitate the delivery of interactive applications and services. Major cable operators are rolling out support for the new OCAP platform on their networks in 2007 and 2008, setting the stage for wide availability of the new two-way plug-and-play devices. In addition to the two-way devices, a new technology interface that will allow consumers for the first time to view high-definition and other digital cable content on new Microsoft Vista-enabled personal computers was also displayed at CES. The cable interface for personal computers - called OCUR OCUR OpenCable Unidirectional Receiver OCUR Ontario Council on University Research (Canada) OCUR Open Cable Unidirectional Receivers or OpenCable Unidirectional The transfer or transmission of data in a channel in one direction only. Receiver - will initially support one-way services (e.g., linear programming) while a two-way interactive interface is being developed. "The 2007 CES demonstrated how far cable and our manufacturer partners have come in preparing to bring consumers a whole new array of interactive TV devices," said Dr. Richard R. Green, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CableLabs[R]. "This progress clearly shows that the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers are adopting and developing products that incorporate cable's interactive TV software," he added. Thirteen companies displayed two-way plug-and-play cable-ready products at CES this year, including a LG plasma TV A flat panel TV that uses the plasma display technology. See flat panel TV, plasma display and LCD vs. plasma. that won a CES 2007 Innovations Award. Products that were displayed, and their manufacturers, included: * Samsung - Exhibited a high-definition DVR (1) (Digital Video Recorder) A device that records video onto a hard disk from one or more ceiling mounted video cameras. Part of a security system, the DVR typically supports 4, 8 or 16 separate camera channels. set-top box that includes a CableCARD[TM] interface. (Samsung has previously won CableLabs certification for a two-way, OCAP-enabled cable-ready digital television.) Cox Communications Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television and telecommunications services in the United States. It is the third-largest[2] cable television provider in the United States, serving more than 6. announced at the show it has signed an agreement with Samsung to accelerate development of OCAP-based interactive services on Samsung's HDTV sets and other products. Some of these services, including the GuideWorks interactive program guide, began testing in Cox's Gainesville, Florida Division last month. * Panasonic - Displayed a high-definition digital plasma television running the full-featured Comcast i-Guide[TM], including video on demand and other interactive applications using OCAP standard middleware. In a press conference, Panasonic announced that this device would be trialed with Comcast during 2007 and be deployed in retail in 2008. * LG Electronics - Showed a newly CableLabs certified, fully two-way plug-and-play cable-ready digital plasma television using OCAP. * Thomson - Demonstrated a two-way plug-and-play cable-ready OCAP-enabled DCI (Display Control Interface) An Intel/Microsoft programming interface for full-motion video and games in Windows. It allowed applications to take advantage of video accelerator features built into the display adapter. 9000 set-top box with NDS See eDirectory. NDS - Netware Directory Services OCAP middleware. * TiVo[R] - Showed the TiVo DVR guide running on an OCAP-compatible, Motorola leased set-top box running TVNav, with plans to port to full OCAP. This will support a market trial of a Comcast service offering where customers can choose to use the TiVo interface with their cable service. * Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company - Showed the Explorer 8550HDC (Hard Disk Controller) See disk controller. HDC - Disk Controller two-way cable-ready set-top box, with support for CableCARD, OCAP, advanced codecs The following is a list of codecs. Audio codecs Non-compression formats
* Motorola - Displayed a line of interactive set-top boxes, including OCAP. Comcast expanded its purchase agreement for a number of OCAP-based set tops including Motorola's "Follow Me TV" multi-room DVR technology. * VividLogic - Showed reference designs for set-top boxes and digital televisions. * Mitsubishi - Mitsubishi has licensed an OCAP middleware stack from supplier VividLogic. * Pioneer - Pioneer has licensed an OCAP middleware stack from supplier VividLogic. * Funai - Funai has licensed an OCAP middleware stack from supplier VividLogic. * ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) A low-speed serial bus for connecting keyboards, mice and other input devices on Apple IIgs and Macintosh computers. Starting with the iMac in 1998, the ADB was superseded by USB. - Displayed a prototype two-way cable-ready set-top box using OCAP and a CableCARD interface. * Digeo - Exhibited a Moxi[TM] multi-room DVR with CableCARD interface; Moxi's DVR application has been ported to OCAP. * Broadcom - Displayed a reference design for a two-way cable-ready television or two-way cable-ready set-top using OCAP and a CableCARD. At least two other companies not listed above also showed OCAP-related products in private meetings. The new cable-ready OCUR solution for personal computers includes a CableCARD interface, and allows for the display of one-way services, such as high-definition video, on Microsoft Vista-enabled personal computers. The manufacturers that displayed this product included: * Microsoft * AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. * Dell * Hewlett-Packard * Gateway * Toshiba * Niveus - featuring a "dual OCUR design" which allows viewing two channels at the same time. CableLabs Briefing Also during CES, CableLabs briefed 10 companies that have signed the license which enables them to build two-way interactive cable-ready products, called CableCARD-Host Interface License Agreement, or CHILA. By signing the CHILA license, a company obtains necessary intellectual property rights and signals its intent to design cable-ready products that can display two-way cable-delivered interactive services, such as interactive program guides, video on demand, enhanced television, etc., without the need for a set-top box. The briefing included information about MSO (1) (Multiple System Operator) Typically refers to a cable TV organization that owns more than one cable system, but it may refer to an operator of only one system. activities now underway to provide support of OCAP on the cable network in 2007 and 2008. They also briefed manufacturers about developer conferences planned for 2007 and supported by a growing array of tool developers and systems integration support, as well as lab support activities available at CableLabs in the coming year. Companies in attendance included Advanced Digital Broadcast  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , SA; AMD; Digeo; Digital Keystone; Funai Electronics Co., Ltd.; LG Electronics, Inc.; NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. ; Panasonic Corporation of America; Samsung; Toshiba American Consumer Products, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control ; and Vidiom. The complete list of companies that have signed the two-way CHILA license also includes: Broadcom Corporation; Himax Technologies, Inc.; MAKUS Inc.; Micronas GmbH; PC Partner; Stexar Corp.; Sunplus Technology Co, LTD; Tata Elxsi Limited; Thomson; Video Without Boundaries, Inc.; VividLogic Inc.; and ViXS Systems Inc. About CableLabs Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com. CableLabs[R], DOCSIS[R], CableHome[TM], PacketCable[TM], OpenCable[TM], OCAP[TM], CableCARD[TM], Go2Broadband(SM) and CableNET[R] are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. |
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