CABLE GIANTS SAY THEY WILL SUPPORT SET-TOP BOX STANDARD
After blistering criticism from CEA, CableLabs announced it had finalized open middleware specifications for set-top boxes, in move that furthered transition toward DTV. Called OCAP 1.0 (OpenCable Application Platform), software is designed to allow any consumer with box to receive services from cable operators, including interactive TV, CableLabs said, and will allow manufacturers to build HDTV receivers that can respond to cable. Leading cable companies represented by CableLabs executive committee, including nation’s top 6 MSOs, said they would support OCAP. “CableLabs has accomplished an unprecedented milestone,” said Joseph Collins, CEO of AOL Time Warner Interactive Video and chmn. of CableLabs board. FCC Cable Bureau Chief Ken Ferree said he hadn’t had chance to review new standard but was “encouraged” that development could bridge rift between cable and consumer electronics developers and manufacturers. “We recognize that the middleware element is an important part of making navigation devices commercially available, as well as moving forward with the digital transition,” Ferree said.
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CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro called announcement “a positive step” but said “a lot of other things still have to happen.” CableLabs announcement came after CEA, in Nov. letter to FCC, asked federal regulators to intervene and stop cable operators from blocking fully functional navigation devices for digital TV (CD Nov 8 p3). Then, CEA said it also was concerned about lack of commitment from individual MSOs in supporting standard. CEA had signed agreement with NCTA in Feb. 2000 in effort to establish such interoperability standards, but those talks stalled. And late last month, subject came up in private meetings between leaders of House Commerce Committee frustrated by slow pace of DTV transition and industry executives (CD Nov 30 p6). CableLabs Pres. Richard Green said OCAP standard would allow developers to “go full steam ahead into competitive manufacturing of set- top boxes and cable-friendly digital television receivers.” But Shapiro said there still were “many obstacles,” including questions on licensing of technology as well as CEA desire to have recognized standards body become involved in process. “Most fundamentally, we need to reach an environment in which cable operators have enough confidence in the OCAP standards that they can say they will rely on them in the devices they, themselves, distribute to their customers,” Shapiro said.
New technology will allow consumers to receive digital cable TV service without having to use sidecar device or buy separate digital receiver, NCTA spokesman said. Instead, technology will be integrated in DTVs to allow plug-and-play operability and will be available on cable industry set-top boxes, he said. As for criticism cable has received, spokesman said: “This demonstrates a good-faith, progressive effort to address digital compatibility and commercial availability issues.” He said cable leaders realized there still were issues that needed to be resolved but intended to work with CEA and other parties to resolve them.
CableLabs said OCAP would allow consumer electronics manufacturers to build and market set-top boxes or integrated TV receivers directly to consumers. Among manufacturers and middleware developers who hailed new development were Panasonic, Canal Plus Technologies, Liberate, OpenTV, Microsoft TV. OCAP is based largely on European Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) middleware specification created by Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) organization. That means there are opportunities for worldwide interoperability of interactive applications and content, CableLabs said. MHP and OCAP specifications also have been submitted to ITU as contribution to international standard, CableLabs said.
CableLabs said old set-tops would continue to work and OCAP could run on top of other software already in them. Interactive TV applications already deployed by cable companies will continue to work when customers upgrade to an OCAP-compliant device, it said. CableLabs has started setting up OCAP test plan as well as coordinating developer support program. Organization plans developer conference in Feb. CableLabs also said it was planning an informal OCAP interoperability test wave at its laboratories in March.