Post by dkennedy on Jun 5, 2006 4:05:02 GMT -5
Two-Way Talks Are Status Quo
June 2, 2006
By Karen Brown, Multichannel News
Negotiations between the cable and consumer-electronics industries to create interactive digital-cable-ready devices available at retail appear to be slogging forward, according to the latest status update filed by the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association with the Federal Communications Commission.
Overall, there was little indication of forward progress based on the report, which largely mirrored the March 31 60-day update. It reiterates that cable and consumer electronics engineering teams continue to hammer out elements surrounding how interactive applications interact. That issue centers on what happens when multiple applications – some provided by the cable operator for things like on-demand video and others supplied by the device maker or a third-party software developer – compete for the same processor, memory and display resources.
Often referred to as the “two-way agreement” the talks have been ongoing for more than two years. In late 2003 the FCC approved the two groups’ plan to make available TV sets and digital boxes in retail stores using removable CableCARD technology developed at CableLabs.
In a March 30 filing, the NCTA indicated that since introduction in July 2004, more than 141,000 removable CableCARDs have been distributed by the top ten cable operators, and that there are more than 400 digital cable-ready TVs and set-tops certified to use CableCARDs.
But that only covers products able to receive one-way digital signals from the cable network. The follow-up agreement now under negotiation centers on devices capable of two-way communications with the cable network, so they can support services such as interactive TV and on-demand video.
The latest report does indicate the cable and consumer electronics negotiators have agreed to a plan to create a joint team to design a conformance testing program for interactive products and software applications.
That said, a scan of recent filings on the project indicates conflicts still exist between cable and consumer electronics makes. In a March 23 ex parte filing with the FCC, the CEA noted several electronics manufacturers had been running into consumer complaints about their CableCARD-enabled devices, and that in many cases it could be traced to cable operators’ authorization and billing systems that have not been correctly configured to support of CableCARD devices.
“Such problems have been aggravated by insufficient training of local operator service personnel in troubleshooting, installation and service, and the unavailability of working and tested CableCARDS,” the CEA filing stated.
An NCTA response filed March 31, though, countered that “where problems have arisen, a significant number have been with host devices in addition to any issues with CableCARDs or the operators’ networks.” It went on to speculate that the problems more than likely stem from some electronics makers’ testing their devices for CableCARD compliance themselves, rather than having the testing done at CableLabs.
June 2, 2006
By Karen Brown, Multichannel News
Negotiations between the cable and consumer-electronics industries to create interactive digital-cable-ready devices available at retail appear to be slogging forward, according to the latest status update filed by the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association with the Federal Communications Commission.
Overall, there was little indication of forward progress based on the report, which largely mirrored the March 31 60-day update. It reiterates that cable and consumer electronics engineering teams continue to hammer out elements surrounding how interactive applications interact. That issue centers on what happens when multiple applications – some provided by the cable operator for things like on-demand video and others supplied by the device maker or a third-party software developer – compete for the same processor, memory and display resources.
Often referred to as the “two-way agreement” the talks have been ongoing for more than two years. In late 2003 the FCC approved the two groups’ plan to make available TV sets and digital boxes in retail stores using removable CableCARD technology developed at CableLabs.
In a March 30 filing, the NCTA indicated that since introduction in July 2004, more than 141,000 removable CableCARDs have been distributed by the top ten cable operators, and that there are more than 400 digital cable-ready TVs and set-tops certified to use CableCARDs.
But that only covers products able to receive one-way digital signals from the cable network. The follow-up agreement now under negotiation centers on devices capable of two-way communications with the cable network, so they can support services such as interactive TV and on-demand video.
The latest report does indicate the cable and consumer electronics negotiators have agreed to a plan to create a joint team to design a conformance testing program for interactive products and software applications.
That said, a scan of recent filings on the project indicates conflicts still exist between cable and consumer electronics makes. In a March 23 ex parte filing with the FCC, the CEA noted several electronics manufacturers had been running into consumer complaints about their CableCARD-enabled devices, and that in many cases it could be traced to cable operators’ authorization and billing systems that have not been correctly configured to support of CableCARD devices.
“Such problems have been aggravated by insufficient training of local operator service personnel in troubleshooting, installation and service, and the unavailability of working and tested CableCARDS,” the CEA filing stated.
An NCTA response filed March 31, though, countered that “where problems have arisen, a significant number have been with host devices in addition to any issues with CableCARDs or the operators’ networks.” It went on to speculate that the problems more than likely stem from some electronics makers’ testing their devices for CableCARD compliance themselves, rather than having the testing done at CableLabs.