OpenCable officially becomes tru2way

Posts with tag CableLabs

Cable industry consortium CableLabs has announced that they've drafted version 3.0 of their Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications, otherwise known to those in the know as DOCSIS. The news sure to grab the most attention out of the specs is that they'll let cable operators offer speeds as high as 160Mbps downstream and 120Mbps upstream, which would open up more possibilities for HD channels and Video on Demand. The specs also incorporate Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), further opening the door for cable providers to offer more IP-based services. As our peeps at HD Beat point out, however, the hardware changes required to meet the specs are pretty significant, making it unlikely that we'll see a complete roll-out before 2008 at the earliest.
It's not really clear why the old CableCARD hasn't taken off as expected -- consumers blame their cable providers, who blame the card manufacturers, who blame device makers -- but nonetheless, the technology is far from dead, and now it looks like those long-awaited multi-stream CARDS could be available before the end of the year. CableLabs recently announced that Motorola's "M-Card" has joined Scientific Atlanta's offering in finally earning the organization's coveted "qualified" status, paving the way for such great functionality as picture-in-picture on compatible TVs and multi-channel recording for properly-equipped DVRs. Although the M-Card does improve upon current-gen CableCARDs by delivering access to more than one channel at a time, it is still classified as a version 1.0 device, and therefore won't allow the bi-directional communication necessary for on-demand or pay-per-view goodness. Still, this development is good news for consumers, as it should lead to increased demand for the cards, which will hopefully serve as a kick in the pants for the weak link in the CableCARD chain, whoever it is.







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