Rich Fiscus
13 Aug 2008 2:03
Cable television providers and consumer electronics companies have been busy planning for a future where TVs and DVRs can not only decrypt cable signals using CableCARD, but also use Tru2Way to add support for features like Video On Demand (VOD). Meanwhile other companies whose interests lie in alternate transmission formats like IPTV are working behind the scenes to get regulations that would require an IP (Internet Protocol) interface as a mandatory feature for cable boxes.
Unlike much of the world, where cable television just uses another variant of the DVB standard, digital cable in the US is based on a standard called QAM, which is unrelated to either ATSC Over The Air (OTA) or DVB-S satellite formats. The interest by companies like Sony and Panasonic in making all-in-one devices that don't require a cable box has made both Intel and Verizon nervous enough to ask the FCC to look into regulations that would require some type of ethernet interface in the cable system.
Both companies have an interest in IP-based TV services. In fact the biggest difference between what traditional cable providers and upstarts like Verizon and AT&T are looking for is the openness. Both Verizon FiOS and ATAT&T U-verse use open IP standards for transmission.
With the development of technologies that allow mainstream consumer electronics channels to provide cable box functionality directly to consumers instead of relying on cable companies to provide receivers, it becomes more important for these new services to get equal support in the new TVs, DVRs, and any other devices.
A letter from Verizon to the FCC at the end of last month outlines the importance of this kind of "platform-agnostic" approach. The letter states "Verizon would welcome such openness on the part of the cable industry – that is, the opportunity to participate in their technology and standards processes. The Commission should endorse and encourage these efforts."
They're not the only company to lobby regulators for IP support either. On July 16 Intel, a company with a significant interest in the sort of enterprise networks required for IPTV, sent their own letter to FCC regulators suggesting some type of IP support should be mandated in addition to the IEEE 1394 (firewire) interface already required by current regulations.