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.
Filed under: Industry, Displays, Other hardware, Set-top boxes, Samsung, DLP
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe @ Jan 18th 2007 1:46PM
Shocking to hear Milwaukee is on the target markets. TWC there couldn't even get cable card to work on my parents' Sammy HLR.
Of course, this is total crap. This is yet another way for the cable co's to lock up the EPG in to whatever ugly, clunky interface they want. At least CableCard (in spirit, not practice) allowed the consumer's device to drive the EPG. It sounds like OCAP leaves the entire experience in the hands of the company least likely to differentiate it - the cable crooks. The cable providers have no incentive to deliver a rich, functional, well-designed EPG. They do, however, have plenty of motivation to sell ADVERTISING on that space and ensure that every time you turn on your fancy new HDTV, you're tuned to one of their fantastic VOD preview channels.
CE manufacturers and STB innovators (like TiVo, the people at Myth, even M$ with MCE) have an incentive to make the EPG as consumer-friendly and functional as can be. This allows them to differentiate their TV or STB or HTPC in the marketplace and provides them competitive advantage. Since the cable providers have no competition, they have no interest in serving the consumer by differentiating their service. Their motivation is to strictly milk the maximum revenue possible off of their monopoly position.
I, for one, hope D* and/or the IPTV providers figure this out quickly and consent to allowing for innovation in this space. Allow people to roll their own HTPC's with your tuners. Roll out add-on's for Vista or AppleTV that make sense. Cut deals with TiVo, Myth, or Microsoft to get your content on these consumer driven devices. I have no doubt Apple's design shop could create something far more compelling than anyone at Time Warner or Comcast. Hell, D*'s already proving it is hard to replicate what TiVo did for them on their own.
Content providers please note: STAY OUT OF THE USER INTERFACE BUSINESS - YOU SUCK! Leave the heavy lifting on the consumer end to the people fit (and motivated) to do it. Just keep charging us up the wazoo for the and the content you provide and the pipe that delivers it, not the EPG/DVR we use to watch it.
riverside_guy @ Jan 19th 2007 3:29PM
"...the group announced that "interactive digital cable services are now live" in TWC's New York City systems."
Well, very technically speaking, interactive service has been live for years and years. They've been doing PPV for quite a while, one COULD say that's an interactive service.
Now, interactive via an OCAP enabled software system, 100% false. It IS anticipated that this year will see some form of rollout of their OCAP enabled software (commonly referred to by a code name, "Mystro" Digital Navigator). If TWC does follow it's previous pattern, it will be rolled out in certain specific areas for several months before a wide deployment is initiated (in the past, those test areas appear to be low density areas). Still that OCAP software is running on some TWC systems and it seems a lot of those folks wish they had the previous software back (that being Passport).
The issue of some brand new STB is another story. It doesn't say it's a DVR; TWC ain't saying, but judging by the huge quantities of DVR boxes sitting at their office ready to be given to customers sure leads one to think DVR penetration is very significant (maybe more than 50%?).