NCTA SHOW SEES SURGE IN NEW, ADVANCED CABLE SET-TOP BOXES
CHICAGO -- A whole new wave of digital cable set-top boxes is washing over the cable industry, thanks at least in part to increased collaboration with the consumer electronics industry. At the NCTA convention here this week, more than half a dozen manufacturers are showing off their latest advanced set-tops on the exhibit floor. Their roster includes such CE giants as Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony and Zenith, cable stalwarts Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta and high-tech upstarts Pace Micro Technology and UEC Technologies.
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The new digital set-tops, which take up much of the show floor space once reserved for new programming networks, come with bells and whistles that have long been promised but rarely delivered in the cable business. As in the satellite TV business, which has long had a dizzying array of digital set-top devices, there now are cable set-tops with high- definition TV (HDTV) capability, with personal video recorder (PVR) technology, with cable modems and with wireless connectivity, among other features. “For the first time in many years, I see enough technological innovations in the set-top area to reclaim” cable’s technical edge, Charter Communications Exec. Vp-Chief Technology Officer Steve Silva said. “It really helps us move from the information age to the broadband age. There are lots of them out there.”
At the show, several box manufacturers have introduced new digital cable set-tops. Motorola unveiled a low-cost all-digital box designed to handle interactive program guides, impulse pay-per-view and video-on-demand (VOD). It said the new 2-way box, known as the DCT-700, would sell for less than $100, much less than its workhorse DCT-2000 digital box that already is widely deployed by cable operators.
In another set-top move, Pace showcased what it called “the world’s first digital cable adapter (DCA).” The low- cost device, targeted at analog cable subscribers who don’t want to upgrade to digital cable, converts digital video signals for viewing on analog TV sets. Pace said the adapter, equipped with 2 tuners, could help cable operators switch their networks to all-digital transmission and thereby free up precious analog bandwidth. It said the device should sell for about $70 once it was produced in high volume.
Pace also announced an agreement with Bright House Networks (formerly known as Advance/Newhouse) to deploy the Pace DC-550 HD set-top, one of the manufacturer’s 2 HDTV boxes. Bright House thus becomes the 2nd large MSO to deploy one of Pace’s HDTV set-tops, joining Time Warner Cable.
Pioneer unveiled a new digital set-top, the Voyager 4000 box with both dual HD tuners and Pioneer’s new Passport Echo PVR software, allowing it to show HDTV pictures and offer PVR features. It said the set-top, aimed at high-end cable customers, would start shipping in the fall.
Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) showcased a new digital box designed specifically for retail sale to consumers. S-A said the Explorer 3270HD set-top offered HDTV viewers simple installation, more audio options and new stretch and zoom capabilities for HD sets. Plans call for the set-top, already available in stores for Cox Communications’ HDTV subscribers in northern Va. and 4 other cable markets, to be offered in other retail locations.
Cable industry software providers are sharing in the digital set-top bonanza, too, signing deals with cable operators and box manufacturers to enable the set-tops for carry more applications and help them run more efficiently.
In one of the biggest software announcements at the show, Microsoft announced a deal with Comcast to put its new digital TV software platform, Microsoft TV Foundation Edition, on Comcast digital set-tops. The software supplies an interactive program guide that also can run VoD, games and other content. Under the deal, Comcast will test the software later this year, then roll it out.
In the show’s other big set-top software announcement, Comcast said it had signed a deal with Sony to license the latter’s Passage conditional access technology. Comcast also said it would start a field trial of the technology later this month. The MSO deal is the 2nd for Sony, which landed Charter for Passage in Jan. In related news, Zenith signed a deal with Sony to license Passage in Zenith’s line of digital cable set-tops and TV sets.
Cable executives said more such devices were on the way, due largely to competitive pressures from satellite TV providers and cable’s efforts to work with CE manufacturers and retailers after decades of hostilities. They expressed the hope that the recent “plug-and-play” agreement between the cable and CE industries, which set common technical standards for one-way digital set-tops and other devices, would lead to more products soon. First up, they said, should be cable set-tops with built-in DVD capabilities and home entertainment media centers.
“We see this as a way to really spur innovation,” said Mark Coblitz, Comcast senior vp-strategic planning. “This is just the very beginning of having consumer electronics companies focus on cable.”