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Why do CableCARD host devices still cost so much?
We've been talking about CableCARD long before Engadget HD ever existed -- some might remember HD Beat -- and one thing that hasn't changed in the last five years is that 3rd party host devices still can't access VOD and the cheapest ones aren't cheap at all. TiVo, Moxi and ATI aren't the only ones who find it hard to make the economics of a $300+ device work either, as cable operators around the country have been petitioning the FCC for waivers, arguing that CableCARD set-tops cost to much to deploy. The estimates to add a CableCARD slot to a device vary from between $50 and $100, but either way the prices haven't come down much (if any). Well more recently TiVo has stated the obvious and has requested that the FCC conduct a probe to reveal the reasons. Ultimately the cost is just yet another reason why CableCARD is a failure, but since it's all we've got for now, we might as well try to figure out ways to make it cheaper.
Zodiac and Alticast to power Cisco / Scientific-Atlanta tru2way set-top boxes
There stands a good chance that you've never heard of Zodiac Interactive nor Alticast, but if a Cisco / Scientific-Atlanta tru2way set-top box ends up in your abode in the near future, there's an even better chance that those two firms will play a crucial role. The duo has just announced plans to plant its embedded software within tru2way STBs, with the combined solution enabling cable providers to "deliver interactive services and applications including next-generation interactive user interfaces, guides, messaging and advanced VOD." Additionally, MSOs will be able to more easily offer subscribers "advanced services such as TV widgets," though there's currently no timetable for when a completed box will be made available. Did we mention that the widget race was officially on?
Comcast / Cox join venture looks to support tru2way development
Ahead of tru2way's expected big splash next week, TVWorks and itaas have worked out a deal to combine tru2way standards with itaas' istart developer program. Devs cranking out the OCAP tru2way apps for TVWorks (jointly owned by Cox and Comcast) platforms can join istart to get the tools and support necessary to test and deploy them. istart is also hooked up to Time Warner Cable and Scientific Atlanta's tru2way initiatives, so this should ease rollout against various networks and hardware standards, although we're still waiting to see more compatible hardware slated to hit store shelves.
tru2way demonstrations to dominate The Cable Show
The Cable Show '08 is shaping up to be quite the event. Not only will Motorola's forthcoming MTR700 tuning resolver be on display and strutting its stuff, but the much anticipated tru2way technology will be impossible to miss. Companies such as Samsung, Sigma Designs, and Zodiac Interactive will be in New Orleans showing off tru2way tech, while advanced video demonstrations are promised to come from Digeo, Motorola, Pixel3, and Symmetricom. More specifically, Sigma Designs will be demoing an "integrated tru2way-based set-top-box that features four narrow band tuners which can display three video channels -- HD as well as SD," while Zodiac Interactive trumpets its Zidget framework, which "utilizes its plug-in architecture to support applications such as local search, weather, traffic, sports scores, and local news without disrupting the TV viewing experience." Needless to say, May can't come soon enough.
Cisco reveals 8500HDC DVR set-top-box series
We knew full well that Cisco would be axing the Scientific Atlanta brand, so it shouldn't come as any surprise to you to see a new series of STBs emerge at CES with a shiny Cisco logo gracing the front. The 8500HDC DVR series will include the 8550HDC (analog and digital tuning support), the 8540HDC (digital-only tuning support) and the 8552HDC (optional MoCA support, enabling Ethernet-over-coax). Furthermore, the trio promises to deliver "internet and premium content services," instant messaging support and a "richer media experience" to boot. As it stands, we aren't sure when the general public will be able to get their hands on any of the new boxes, but Cisco does claim that they're now "commercially available for its service provider customers." For more nitty-gritty on the new lot, click on through to the read link.[Thanks, Will P.] %Gallery-13739%
OpenCable officially becomes tru2way
In the latest episode of as the cable industry turns, the rumors that CableLabs would rename OpenCable to tru2Way are indeed true. For those keeping track at home, once upon a time the world dreamed of ditching their cable box, but wanted to continue to take advantage of all the services their cable co' forced them to pay for. Then after an act of congress and ten years time; along came CableCARD, but left out VOD and PPV, so we all waited with baited breath for CableCARD 2.0 -- but it never came. But hope wasn't lost, as CableLabs released OCAP, which was marketed as OpenCable, but there was still no love from the industry. So what is CableLabs to do? It does the same thing anyone does when in this predicament; give it a new name. Whether a new name is what's needed to gets things moving remains to be seen, we're at the largest consumer electronics show in the US this week and although we've yet to see any tru2way enabled HDTVs or DVRs just yet, we'll keep you posted.
Motorola's new lineup of MPEG4 HD STBs
Moto's VP was just saying that MPEG4 would take over cable too, and so it begins with its first MPEG4 STB. This new lineup of cable set-top boxes will have all the bells and whistles including; MPEG2, MPEG4, OCAP, CableCARD, MoCA and most interestingly Dolby Digital Plus -- you know the new codec commonly used on HD DVDs. We can see where this is headed already, first we'll see these new boxes in the wild and before you know it new channels will require the latest hardware -- sound familiar? It should, it's how the satellite providers did it. In the long run this will help cable bring us more HD, but considering cable co's are footing the bill for all these boxes, we'd suspect the MPEG4 rollout will take much much longer than it did for either DirecTV or Dish.[Via Mediaexperiences2go.com]
CableCARD 2.0's identity crisis
It is commonly misunderstood that we've been waiting for CableCARD 2.0 in order to have two way communications between our cable host device and our cable co'. We've talked about how this just isn't true before, and in fact the CableCARDs we've had since day one are capable of authorizing a host device for two way communications. Part of the reason for all the confusion is CableLabs -- the entity responsible for this whole thing -- and now it appears they're going to continue to mix things up. What we thought was CableCARD 2.0 is really Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) and later named OpenCable for short, and now according to Mike Robuck at CED reports, the name is likely to be changed to Tru2way. Sure, we see how much more sense this makes, but if they do end up changing the name as CES this year, we just hope that this time they stick with it.
Time Warner Cable deploys 150k OpenCable STBs, aka CableCARD 2.0
Most of us have been confused about why our CableCARD host devices don't support two-way services, and it's been wildly misunderstood that we were waiting for CableCARD 2.0. The truth is that CableCARDs have been capable of authorizing two-way communications for some time, but there wasn't a way for 3rd party cable devices to be certified by CableLabs -- like the latest cable deployed STBs -- for two-way communication. Cable's solution to this is middleware software originally called OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) and more recently renamed to simply: OpenCable. Until now most of this only existed on paper -- or a in a lab somewhere -- but according to B&C, Time Warner Cable has standardized all the STBs in their markets running the Passport Guide with OpenCable STBs. The reported 150k boxes are mostly made by Samsung, but cable veteran Scientific Atlanta will eventually represent the majority of them. This is an important milestone for big cable, as they want to prove the viability of the OpenCable platform to the FCC. You see the consumer electronics industry (think TiVo and Microsoft) is against the model and is pushing the FCC for what they call Digital Cable Ready Plus (DCR+) instead, because OpenCable would mean that the cable co's would have control of the software running on your TiVo. Either way, we hope that the FCC makes both options the standard, as we can see were TV manufacturers might prefer to cut costs and let the cable co' manage the code, but at the same time leave TiVo to continue to innovate.
Two-way communications for TiVo on the way
There's a lot of confusion around CableCARDs and more specifically what's stoppin' companies like TiVo and Microsoft from making OpenCable host devices that can access two-way services. VOD and PPV is one thing, but not having access to programming that you've already paid for just 'cause they're being deployed with the latest distribution technology is another. Don't get us wrong, we love new technology, but we don't like it when we bought the latest HD TiVo or Vista Media Center with a CableCARD slot only to be disappointed 'cause the latest HD channel is only available via our provider issued POS STB. The latest OpenCable specification is supposed to change all this, but for companies like MS and TiVo it isn't worth the price of admission. Now it looks like there will be another option, in the way of a so-called Tuning Resolver. This device will physically resemble a USB tuner, and will plug into your TiVo and your cable co's coax feed, and with a little help from a software update on your TiVo, it'll allow you to watch those switched digital channels that you'd otherwise be denied access to. At this point it's nothing more than a proposal from the NCTA to the FCC, but with any luck it'll materialize and before we know it the Chicken Littles will have to find something else to run around and complain about.
Samsung launches HL-S5686C iDCR DLP TV, TWC goes OCAP
Although last year's lovefest with OCAP was short lived after CES concluded, it seems that we're actually seeing the fruits of Samsung, Time Warner, and Advance/Newhouse Communications' labor towards getting OCAP in the home. Today Samsung unveiled its OpenCable-compliant HL-S5686C iDCR DLP HDTV alongside Time Warner's shiny new SMT-H3050 HD set-top box (for folks without the aforementioned set), and the group announced that "interactive digital cable services are now live" in TWC's New York City systems. Furthermore, the cable provider stated that it would soon embark on the expansion pathway, blazing trails to get the goods to Milwaukee, WI and other cities covered by Advance/Newhouse's Bright House Networks cable systems. The new cable services include TWC's OCAP Digital Navigator as well as its in-house-developed interactive program guide, and should be available to interested customers right now in the selected area(s). Moreover, Time Warner is opening up the wonders of OCAP for all to discover as a part of its "Home to the Future" exhibit, which is a four-story interactive installation within the firm's center in NYC's Columbus Circle. So if you're eager to give this OCAP thing a whirl, the newfangled display will be open to the public starting today, and will continue to be for three weeks.
