Joining Sony & six major cable companies in signing a memorandum of understanding of understanding regarding tru2way technology this week were Intel, ADB, Digeo, Panasonic and Samsung. As these companies have already announced work on compatible technology, some of which we've seen recently at The Cable Show, the names there aren't the surprise, it's the one that isn't (yet), LG. While they -- and presumably other companies -- look over the agreement, details haven't yet been released, but Multichannel News notes some elements include that the MSOs (Comcast. Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision and Bright House) deploy at least 20% tru2way set-top boxes until 10 million are deployed and they've committed to supporting the technology by specific dates. Another element that might concern some companies, according to Cable Digital News, is a "monitor application" that the cable company uses to control how devices use processing resources. All the same, once these details have been hammered out and are out in the open, it should lead to a much smoother roll out of tru2way than its CableCard 1.0 predecessor and ensure everyone's equipment works as planned.

[Via Multichannel News and Cable Digital News]

The NCTA Cable Show kicks off today, and Pace Micro Technology is ready with a line of MPEG-4 capable set-top boxes aimed at provers in North and South America. Besides handling advanced compression technologies with ease, they'll handle all that switched digital video (SDV), all-digital network, DOCSIS channel bonding and tru2way support the kids are so into these days. Two way messaging (for updating ones Facebook status/Twitter/Plaxo) is also in the bag, oplus backwards compatibility with older networks. Pictured is the "Aspen" box, a dual-tuner DVR CableCARD host box, but expect Apache (HD, no DVR) and Denali (SD only, no DVR) flavors to also be tucked securely in a cable guy's truck near you when they launch later this year.

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.

While most are just dipping their toe into the BD-Live pond so far, Dreamer is thinking bigger. With its middleware Biddle software (based on the same DVB-GEM spec as OCAP, and also available to cable operators) included on a Blu-ray disc, the company claims its ready to deliver an "interactive TV service" consisting of VOD, web browsing, e-mail, social networking access or nearly anything else you can imagine. The upshot is that any internet-connected PS3 (or any other BD-Live capable hardware on the way). By downloading only what's necessary at the moment, the client overcomes the Blu-ray program size restriction and delivers what customers have already come to expect from leading Korean IPTV and cable companies using the software in their STBs. The first titles with the software included are planned with KD Media this month in Korea, but the company is still showing its software off to domestic providers, with an eye towards hopping on expected $299 Blu-ray players (not yet) and into American homes.

[Via Multichannel News]

Hi-def and DVRs go together like peanut butter and jelly, but even with all the great DVRs available today, none are perfect. TiVo offers the best overall user experience and features, but lacks a few fundamental features that most cable STBs have -- like VOD, for starters. Although this isn't TiVo's fault, when it comes down to figuring out what's right for your family, it really doesn't matter. During Tivo's earnings call yesterday, it was reaffirmed that TiVo is working one step closer to making the ultimate cable DVR by including two-way functionality using the latest CableLabs standard tru2way. For those who haven't been keeping track at home, tru2way has undergone an identity crisis, and if you go back long enough, you'll find that it was called CableCARD 2.0 -- by someone. The way this would work is that you'd have a way on a TiVo to access the cable company's UI, so good or bad, when you're accessing VOD content, you'd see the same thing as if you were using a Moto or SA Cisco box. What isn't known is if current HD TiVo owners, with the help of a tuning resolver and some software, would have access to the same features. We don't see why not, but this stuff is already way more complicated than it should be, and at this point we wouldn't put anything by CableLabs.

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.

We got a chance to touch Motorola's sexy new 250GB DCX series MPEG-4 / Dolby Digital Plus / MoCa / OCAP cable STB tonight. You already know the important information so we'll get you to the in the wild pics without much ado other than a quick recap of what ports the promo unit was sporting on its "not available for photographs" backside: HDMI, USB, eSATA, component, digital audio out (S/PDIF and coax), 1394, ethernet, M-Card.

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]

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.

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.

Most people think going digital means going HD, but we know all too well that this couldn't be further from the truth. One thing that going digital does mean is more efficient use of the limited resource, bandwidth. Big cable looks forward to digital for many reasons, but most of all so they can drop all those bandwidth sucking analog channels and shift the throughput to additional revenue streams. We learned last month that this wasn't going to happen untill at least 2012, but cable has a few options -- none of them are good. They have the option to deploy STBs, but thanks to another FCC mandates these boxes are no longer cheap and can cost about $150 because they have to support CableCARDs and the hardware for OCAP. The most interesting option is from a company called Broadlogic that produces a chip that can decode 80 MPEG-2 streams at the same time, which would convert the signal from digital to analog at the house and eliminate the need for STBs while saving the bandwidth of the analog channels. It could be worse however, if the FCC had forced them to provide an analog and multiple digital versions of a channel.

[Via ConnectedHome2Go]

When we think of CableCARDs we think of all the problems we've had, from installers who have no idea what they're doing to cable providers refusing to install them. But, if we think about the original intention, we have to stop and wonder if the whole OpenCable plan can be considered a success. Considering the number of TV manufacturers that've stopped supporting them, it makes us think they're DOA, but when we look at Media Center and TiVo, there's little doubt that it's debatable. Either way, you can't argue that to some, they are essential to the ultimate HD experience so much so that Canadians are now petitioning the Canadian equivalent of the FCC to adopt the technology so that they can enjoy them too. Sure, TiVo and Windows Media Center users are a relatively small group, -- all things considered -- but thanks to the FCC's July 1st mandate big cable has now deployed more CableCARDs in a few months than in the first 3 years. So while it's good that cable has no choice but ensure that they work on their network, the installers aren't getting any more proficient in installing them cause they come sealed in the STB. We still find it ironic that big cable would brag about how many CCs they've installed, but we do look forward to seeing what OCAP might mean for HDTVs and we're still holding our breath that the FCC forces big cable to create a 2-way alternative for TiVo and the likes.

Read: Operators Become Biggest CableCard Users
Read: Get Involved: HDTV Cable Boxes Challenged in Canada

In the past week we have been on a quest to make sense of this entire CableCARD mess. We started out by talking to Motorola which was great, but left us even more confused, so we decided to go straight to the source and give CableLabs a call. While we're not excited about the answers, we did learn that CableCARD 2.0 does exist and it's ready to go. Along the way we also learned what's preventing TiVo and Microsoft from adding our favorite features to their latest CableCARD host devices.

Last week we learned that CableCARD 2.0 is a specification (not a physical device) that would allow consumer electronics companies to sell bi-directional CableCARD hosts that would work on any cable system in the US. But ever since CableCARDs started to hit the street we've wanted to be able to take advantage of all the features we pay for -- like VOD and PPV -- and until this specification is ratified companies like TiVo just won't be able to make this happen. While it's difficult to really get a handle on what is holding up the works, it seems like the requirement for OCAP support is the biggest point of contention.

With the July 1st CableCARD mandate right around the corner, we have really wanted to know how the cable companies are going to continue to provide VOD -- and other bi-directional services -- without CableCARD 2.0. Thanks to our friend Mari over at ConnectedHome2Go, we got to spend some time with Mark DePietro, the Vice President of Strategy of Motorola Home and Networks Mobility, and he filled us in on some details about CableCARDs. The most shocking thing we learned was: there is no such thing as a CableCARD 2.0 -- it's a standard, not a physical device.