In the early days of CableLabs, video was just on the brink of digital. Audio had already done it—this was the period in time when music stores began to stock fewer records and tapes, and more CDs.
By the early '90s, the primary technological focus amongst cable operators, broadcasters, consumer electronics makers, and anyone else involved in the television food chain was that transition, from analog to digital.
The digitization of video would have a far-reaching and permanent impact on the television business. Making video digital gave rise to the next logical step -- experiments with digital video compression -- and, ultimately, high definition television.
CableLabs stayed deliberately close to the action on digitization, compression, transmission, and delivery. It worked with MIT researching compression; it worked with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for joint HDTV and ghost-canceling research; and it worked with Jerrold Electronics which built an advanced television test bed.
CableLabs also sought out information from the supplying community on what was available. The groundbreaking request for proposal in 1991 led to the industry's acceptance of a digital modulation process called quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM, pronounced quam). On behalf of its members, CableLabs teamed with the Advanced Television Test Committee and the Electronic Industries Association to co-locate HDTV test gear in Alexandria, VA. The arrangement allowed for complete testing of a proposal-stage HDTV transmission standard in one location.
And, by 1996, CableLabs had created and spun off a group that would manage the licensing arrangements for MPEG-2, which had become (and remains) the predominant compression standard for digital video. The entity, called MPEG LA, LLC, was headquartered in Denver.
In addition to ensuring that cable was ready for HDTV and that digital video deployments were not held up by intellectual property rights skirmishes, this early work set the stage for creation of the OpenCable initiative. OpenCable, now commercially dubbed "tru2way", also became the industry response to an FCC mandate for the development of interoperable set tops that could be sold at retail.
Like the DOCSIS project, OpenCable was planned to generate interoperable devices that could be sold at retail and which would work on any cable systems. This activity was occurring during a time of intense acceleration. Between 1999 and 2000, the number of Americans subscribing to digital cable service nearly doubled, from 4.9 million in 1999 to 8.3 million in 2000.
CableLabs also initiated a software component of OpenCable called OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform). Based on the internationally standardized java language, OCAP has advantages: for programmers, it enabled a content authoring environment that is write once, run anywhere; for cable operators, the specification assured parity among interactive TV suppliers, so that no one operating system or middleware gained control over the interactive authoring environment; and for cable customers, OCAP assured a wider range of interactive applications that can be provided on a national footprint. Then, the U.S. cable industry converged OCAP with the European set-top middleware specification known as "MHP," for "Multimedia Home Platform."
Based on internationally recognized standards and attracting support from global corporate giants like Panasonic, Samsung, [Sony], and LG Electronics, CableLabs efforts to work with the consumer electronics industry were beginning to bear fruit. Several interim products were built by manufacturers in 2004-06, proving out the CableCARD interfaces and setting the stage for the "tru2way" brand to succeed in both retail devices and cable operator leased STBs.
This step also created a retail presence, and partnership opportunities for cable, dovetailing with their efforts to take advantage of retail customer acquisition, as also seen in the CableLabs Go2Broadband initiative. And then in 2008, to build momentum in the retail market, cable operators and CableLabs created the tru2way brand. It was announced in grand style by then CableLabs Chairman Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast, during a keynote presentation at the annual consumer electronics show.
On the software side, OpenCable lands a work area within Java.net - a significant gathering place for software developers capable of writing tru2way and ETV applications and leveraging the same environment that has produced the recent explosion of cool applications on mobile devices and on the Internet.
And now, the rollout of tru2way devices by cable operators and retail device manufacturers alike is under way. The stage is set with a dynamic national platform that can unleash innovation from cable, consumer electronics manufacturers, advertisers, and programmers. A powerful wave of new exciting applications and services should follow.
The digitization of video would have a far-reaching and permanent impact on the television business. Making video digital gave rise to the next logical step -- experiments with digital video compression -- and, ultimately, high definition television.
CableLabs stayed deliberately close to the action on digitization, compression, transmission, and delivery. It worked with MIT researching compression; it worked with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for joint HDTV and ghost-canceling research; and it worked with Jerrold Electronics which built an advanced television test bed.
CableLabs also sought out information from the supplying community on what was available. The groundbreaking request for proposal in 1991 led to the industry's acceptance of a digital modulation process called quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM, pronounced quam). On behalf of its members, CableLabs teamed with the Advanced Television Test Committee and the Electronic Industries Association to co-locate HDTV test gear in Alexandria, VA. The arrangement allowed for complete testing of a proposal-stage HDTV transmission standard in one location.
And, by 1996, CableLabs had created and spun off a group that would manage the licensing arrangements for MPEG-2, which had become (and remains) the predominant compression standard for digital video. The entity, called MPEG LA, LLC, was headquartered in Denver.
In addition to ensuring that cable was ready for HDTV and that digital video deployments were not held up by intellectual property rights skirmishes, this early work set the stage for creation of the OpenCable initiative. OpenCable, now commercially dubbed "tru2way", also became the industry response to an FCC mandate for the development of interoperable set tops that could be sold at retail.
Like the DOCSIS project, OpenCable was planned to generate interoperable devices that could be sold at retail and which would work on any cable systems. This activity was occurring during a time of intense acceleration. Between 1999 and 2000, the number of Americans subscribing to digital cable service nearly doubled, from 4.9 million in 1999 to 8.3 million in 2000.
CableLabs also initiated a software component of OpenCable called OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform). Based on the internationally standardized java language, OCAP has advantages: for programmers, it enabled a content authoring environment that is write once, run anywhere; for cable operators, the specification assured parity among interactive TV suppliers, so that no one operating system or middleware gained control over the interactive authoring environment; and for cable customers, OCAP assured a wider range of interactive applications that can be provided on a national footprint. Then, the U.S. cable industry converged OCAP with the European set-top middleware specification known as "MHP," for "Multimedia Home Platform."
Based on internationally recognized standards and attracting support from global corporate giants like Panasonic, Samsung, [Sony], and LG Electronics, CableLabs efforts to work with the consumer electronics industry were beginning to bear fruit. Several interim products were built by manufacturers in 2004-06, proving out the CableCARD interfaces and setting the stage for the "tru2way" brand to succeed in both retail devices and cable operator leased STBs.
This step also created a retail presence, and partnership opportunities for cable, dovetailing with their efforts to take advantage of retail customer acquisition, as also seen in the CableLabs Go2Broadband initiative. And then in 2008, to build momentum in the retail market, cable operators and CableLabs created the tru2way brand. It was announced in grand style by then CableLabs Chairman Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast, during a keynote presentation at the annual consumer electronics show.
On the software side, OpenCable lands a work area within Java.net - a significant gathering place for software developers capable of writing tru2way and ETV applications and leveraging the same environment that has produced the recent explosion of cool applications on mobile devices and on the Internet.
And now, the rollout of tru2way devices by cable operators and retail device manufacturers alike is under way. The stage is set with a dynamic national platform that can unleash innovation from cable, consumer electronics manufacturers, advertisers, and programmers. A powerful wave of new exciting applications and services should follow.
 Please click on the highlighted buttons for details. |
1989: CableLabs focuses attention on a plug-in device for analog TVs and VCRs described by their manufacturers as "cable ready." The intent of the device, known as EIA-563, or "multiport," is to remove the inherent incompatibilities between cable set-tops and "cable-ready" TVs. A meeting of key cable and CE participants, and an April 1990 trip to Japan by CableLabs staff and board members, fails to interest the CE side in the technology.
December 1989: CableLabs and General Instrument Corp.'s Applied Media Lab study viewer perception of NTSC picture quality. June 1990: CableLabs and the Advanced TV Test Center, an Alexandria, Va.-based Advanced TV Test Center, finalize their agreement to provide CableLabs with access to the ATTC facilities. Testing is done to support the FCC's Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Services.
July 1990: CableLabs and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) announce plans for joint HDTV and ghost canceling demonstrations. September 1990: CableLabs picks Jerrold Communications (now Motorola) to build its ATV test bed. 1991: CableLabs, the Advanced Television Test Committee (ATTC), and the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) co-locate their HDTV testing gear in Alexandria, Va. The arrangement allowed for complete testing of then proposal-stage HDTV transmission standard, in one location. Mostly, the tests subjected the HDTV signal to an assortment of impairments, to see how competing systems would fare when subject to real-world transmission environments.
March 1991: On the heels of a Q3 1990 request for information (RFI), CableLabs announces it will assist InSight Telecast begin to jointly develop a cable-focused, electronic, onscreen program guide (EPG). March 1991: CableLabs, General Instrument (now Motorola) and Scientific-Atlanta form Cable Digital Transmission Consortium to gather information and proactively develop digital video compression systems. In addition, a Video Compression Subcommittee (of the larger Technical Advisory Committee) forms and issues an RFI on consumer focused digital video compression. August 1991: CableLabs participates in the laboratory phase of advanced television testing. August 1991: Tele-Communications Inc., Viacom Cable, and CableLabs jointly issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a studio-to-headend video compression delivery system. Plans call for launches in late '92. Public Broadcasting Service subsequently joins the two MSOs in its intention to buy gear. From this, the era of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation began. August 1991: CableLabs teams with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Electronics Industries Association (EIA) and the Association of Maximum Service Telecasters to test five different "ghost cancelling" systems in Washington, D.C. CableLabs participated as a way to better understand what multi-path interference (ghosting) does on a wire, in the form of micro-reflections. December 1991: CableLabs Advertising Technology task Force, chaired by Chris Bowick, then with Jones Intercable, issues RFI on compressed digital commercial insertion systems. 1993: CableLabs contributes service provider point of view to the creation of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 digital video compression standards.
September 1993: The Advanced Advertising Task Force publishes "An Information Processing Platform for the Cable Television Advertising Business". It details a set of suggested "data elements" for a system that would interconnect ad agencies and cable operators. 1995: Installation of cable test laboratory at the Louisville, Colo. headquarters. The lab built upon the HDTV impairment test facility in Alexandria, Va., to assure that test existed for equipment conformance with transmission standards, such as 64-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation, the underpinning of cable-delivered digital transmissions).
April 1996: General Instrument (now Motorola) and Divicom pass CableLabs' MPEG-2 Encoder tests.
May 1996: MPEG LA, LLC created, to manage the licensing of MPEG-2 related intellectual property rights. July 1996: Enhanced Services Deployment Group, chaired by Tony Werner (then of Tele-Communications Inc.) is formed to develop a series of guidelines for cable system operations personnel to consider when they launch new broadband services such as high-speed data, telephony and interactive services. March 1997: Scientific-Atlanta's MPEG-2 Encoders Pass CableLabs Conformance Tests.
August 1997: OpenCable Task Force formed, chaired by then-MediaOne COO William Schleyer. First task: An RFI seeking vendor input on how to best configure its next-gen digital video platform. The RFI signaled the industry's intent to only buy set-tops that complied with the interface specifications of OpenCable. More than 20 responses came in, from 32 computer, consumer electronics, and cable industry suppliers. May 1998: OpenCable specification first released to the vendor community for peer review. The spec included the use of IEEE 1394 ("fire wire") to connect between set-tops and consumer electronics, and to support multiple HDTV formats.
July 1998: The first OpenCable vendor conference is held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Denver. Intent is to facilitate information sharing and collaboration amongst all in the food chain of digital video devices - including makers of component electronics, test equipment, TVs, and set-top boxes. July 1999: First round of OpenCable interoperability tests are initiated. Participants include General Instrument, Mindport, NDS Electronics, SCM Microsystems, and Scientific Atlanta. The tests focused on removable security cards (then called "PODs," for "Point of Deployment" modules, and subsequently renamed "CableCARD").
August 1999: CableLabs issued a final set of hardware specifications that form the foundation of the cable industry's OpenCable™ advanced digital services project. All portions of the OpenCable hardware specifications now have been released to the manufacturing community. September 1999: RFP issued for OpenCable middleware, which would subsequently be called "OCAP," for "OpenCable Application Platform," later to be known as "tru2way®" in its consumer-facing orientation. First applications identified: Electronic program guides. Sixteen companies reply, among them Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, NDS, Liberate, Hewlett-Packard Co., General Instrument, Excite@Home, and the Advanced Television Systems Committee. October 1999: The first OpenCable specifications are publicly released as part of the suite of OpenCable 1.0 specifications. These build-to specs describe core functional requirements for OpenCable receivers as well as critical interface and security requirements to support the separable security module (POD or CableCARD). February 2000: CableLabs leads the cable and consumer electronic industries to a historic agreement on key technical requirements of the RF interface and the carriage of broadcasters PSIP data on the digital cable plant.
April 2000: OpenCable conference attracts 120 people from 50 participating companies. Intent is to facilitate information sharing and collaboration amongst all in the food chain of digital video devices - including makers of component electronics, test equipment, TVs, and set-top boxes. July 2000: CableLabs OpenCable™ Review Board verified the interoperability of the industry's first digital removable security devices from Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta. With the completion of this testing, CableLabs finished its initial work on digital point of deployment (POD) modules (later called CableCARDs), enabling cable operators to meet the government imposed July 1, 2000, deadline for POD availability. The POD modules are a critical element in enabling manufacturers and retailers to engage in retail sale of interoperable navigation devices, such as set-top boxes and integrated digital television sets. September 2000: CableLabs selects lead authors to begin development of OCAP specifications. Sun Microsystems became the lead contributor and Sun's contributions were based upon significant work already completed in applying Java™ technology for television applications. Corresponding Java technologies, including Java TV, have been licensed by Sun to CableLabs for use in the specification. September 2000: OpenCable's second 2000 milestone was its September resolution on advanced set-top software, known as "OCAP" (OpenCable Application Platform). OCAP separated the set-top software environment into two pieces, and specified vendor authors for each to develop written specifications. The advantages of OCAP and its two layers were envisioned as beneficial to software developers, cable MSOs and cable subscribers. For programmers, it means a content authoring environment that is "write once, run anywhere." For cable MSOs, the specification assured parity among interactive TV suppliers, so that no one operating system or middleware gained control over the interactive authoring environment. For cable subscribers, OCAP, while transparent to their usage, assured a wider range of interactive applications. March 2001: The first cable middleware (OCAP) specifications are released for industry review and comment.
November 2001: First testing of digital advertising insertion gear performed, necessary for MSOs to splice local digital ads into live video streams. November 2001: U.S. cable industry adopts the European set-top middleware specification known a MHP, for Multimedia Home Platform. This becomes the foundational specifications for OCAP and tru2way. MHP was developed by the European Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) group. Intent is to harness pre-existing and useable work, rather than starting such an ambitious program from scratch. January 2002: First OCAP specifications are published, based on the DVB MHP spec.
January 2002: The first three manufacturers sign the PHILA (Pod-Host Interface Licensing Agreement), which puts them on a fast-track to develop, test and deploy OpenCable gear. February 2002: First CableLabs Developers' Conference for OCAP attracts 90 companies and 165 attendees. Presentations span developer toolkits, content authoring tools, applications management, Java trends, and support programs. Demonstrations focus on "application portability," or, the ability to write and sell at retail an application that runs on multiple cable systems. February 2002: Video on demand specification released to stabilize metadata activities across vendors and content suppliers. Metadata, or data that describes other data, is used to identify titles, actors, producers, run dates, expiration dates, and other business-facing VOD needs. May 2002: Patent pool established for OCAP. August 2002: Cable operators issue RFP to solicit industry implementations of the OCAP middleware and to hasten the ability of cable operators to launch new OCAP-based services. CableLabs facilitates the RFP. Fourteen companies respond, among them: ADB, Alticast, Canal+, Liberate, Microsoft, OpenTV, Panasonic, Phillips, and Pioneer. August 2002: OpenCable specifications extended to support additional profiles of HDTV receivers. The specifications describe requirements for retail products that can run OCAP and the DOCSIS Set-top Gateway (DSG) signaling mechanism. October 2002: Panasonic becomes the first major TV manufacturer to sign up to make cable-ready devices. The PHILA license was later changed to "CHILA" (C=Cable), positioned Panasonic as an innovating risk-taker - the first among its peers to take a solidly pro-cable technology stance. October 2002: Digital advertising insertion techniques enter fourth phase of development. December 2002: CableLabs provides critical technical support and leadership to the successful conclusion of the historic "Plug and Play" agreement with the consumer electronics industry that will define the future FCC rules for unidirectional digital cable ready products (UDCPs). January 2003: HDTV added to the Go2Broadband(SM) service locator.
January 2003: Chip maker Broadcom Corp. signs PHILA agreement (subsequently CHILA). May 2003: "I've gone from being a naysayer about HDTV, to saying 'bring it on." --Bill Schleyer, Adelphia CEO, speaking at the 2003 CableLabs Financial Analysts Conference in New York City. June 2003: Microsoft signs OpenCable CHILA agreement paving the way to the development of a technical solution to deliver digital cable content directly to the Vista Media Center PC using CableCARD technology. June 2003: Scientific Atlanta successfully passes certification testing of the first security module (CableCARD) fully compliant with the December 2002 CE agreement and the updated FCC rules for separable security. July 2003: Motorola successfully passes certification testing of their first security module (CableCARD) fully compliant with the December 2002 CE agreement and the updated FCC rules for separable security. August 2003: NDS becomes the third manufacturer to pass certification testing of their updated CableCARD removable security module. August 2003: Panasonic implements OpenCable specifications and is awarded certified status for four models of integrated digital television sets (DTVs) that will connect directly to cable television systems and receive digital services without requiring set-top boxes. April 2004: The first consumer DTV receiver products from Sony, Hitachi and LGE following the Plug and Play agreement and the new FCC rules for UDCPs received Verified status through testing at CableLabs.
June 2004: Four additional digital TV manufacturers received Verification status for products submitted to be tested as Digital Cable Ready including: Mitsubishi, Philips, and Thomson. This event brought the total number of CE companies with cable ready products to nine. June 2004: The JavaOne conference, a big event for the software developers with the know-how to build OCAP applications, is the site of the first ITV contest for OCAP. July 2004: OCAP specification achieves ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standardization via the SCTE August 2004: Toshiba and Pioneer are added to the list of CE companies with verified digital cable ready products. This brings the total number of verified cable-ready DTV models to over 60. October 2004: Samsung first to sign CableLabs licenses for two-way TVs. November 2004: CableLabs approves the Philips VCPS system as the first secure digital recording technology under the FCC's rules for digital output approval of cable-ready DTVs. January 2005: CableLabs releases the VOD Asset Distribution Interface (ADI) Metadata Specification, Version 2.0.
March 2005: Panasonic signs licenses to build two-day digital cable TV products, joining Samsung. In April, Digeo signs and in December Thomson signs the two-way license, as well. August 2005: 38 companies participate in interoperability tests for OCAP and ETV (Enhanced TV) platforms. August 2005: In a major milestone for cable's interactive digital evolution, Samsung Electronics achieved Certification status for an OCAP™-enabled interactive digital television set. "Samsung is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to build a 2-way integrated digital television. This is quite a feat considering the complexity of these new devices," said CableLabs President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green. November 2005: Microsoft agrees to enable HD, digital cable programming on Windows-based PCs in announcement with the cable industry in a joint announcement about what came to be known as OpenCable Unidirectional Receivers (OCUR). CableLabs approves the Windows Media DRM for use in these devices for content security. November 2005: Samsung signs to work on downloadable security technology, an alternative to CableCARDs. January 2006: CEOs of the top cable operating companies hold a news conference at CES in Las Vegas to announce their respective plans for deploying OCAP over the coming years.
2006: Thirty percent of digital cable customers within Time Warner Cable's Brooklyn/Queens, N.Y. system participate with an ETV-enabled test of "Last Comic Standing." By contrast, NBC's "two screen" (TV + laptop/PC) interactive efforts in the same timeframe generated 2-5% participation. March 2006: Under the FCC Plug & Play Rules, CableLabs announced today that it has approved a recording technology developed by EnCentrus Systems, Inc. that enables consumers to enjoy home recordings of certain high-value cable programming for use in DCR products which are compatible with the cable industry's CableCARD removable security modules. The CPDO technology is the first secure hard drive recording solution approved by CableLabs for use inside and outside such products. April 2006: Through successful testing at CableLabs, TiVo achieves verification status of their first Digital Cable Ready (DCR) product. For TiVo, this means it can build and deploy a DVR that is Digital Cable Ready and contains a CableCARD slot. April 2006: ADB and Panasonic sign licenses to include downloadable security in its gear. April 2006: Scientific-Atlanta's multi-stream CableCARD is the first of a new generation of removable security devices qualified by CableLabs; multi-stream cards enable a set-top or digital device to descramble more than one video stream at a time enabling such features as "watch & record" with a single module. April 2006: VOD "triggering" application demonstrated as part of the scope of the ETV (Enhanced TV) specification. It means a person watching linear television could be presented with a clickable offer on the screen. When clicked, the viewer "telescopes" into a VOD server, to see the offer. ABC's Enhanced TV group becomes a key contributor to the work. April 2006: Real Networks is approved to supply its digital rights management (DRM) product, Helix, for premium content sent through a unidirectional (one way) device, to a PC. It means that cable customers can watch digital and HD programming (specifically including scrambled channels) on their computer. May 2006: Version 2.0 of the VOD Content MetaData specification is released. July 2006: Motorola's first multi-stream CableCARD is qualified by CableLabs. November 2006: CableLabs extends options for makers of Plug & Play unidirectional digital cable products by adding support for multi-stream CableCARDs to the test plan. November 2006: A groundbreaking interoperability event at CableLabs combines ETV and digital ad insertion, showing that ETV ads can be successfully spliced into ETV video streams. January 2007: An OCAP-based and two-way digital television made by LG Electronics passes CableLabs certification.
January 2007: More than a dozen manufacturers displayed two-way "plug-and-play" TVs, set-top boxes and other cable-ready devices at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. This marked a significant milestone in the cable industry's efforts to bring interactive digital TV services to consumers that will not require the use of a leased set-top box. June 2007: Intel Corporation and CableLabs announced the two companies signed an OpenCable Platform Agreement that will include support for the OpenCable Platform in future Intel consumer electronic (CE) system-on-a-chip (SoC) products. Incorporating support for OpenCable allows digital televisions, set-top boxes, digital media recorders and other networked consumer electronics devices to run standard applications and services delivered by cable operators, consumer electronics companies, program networks, and other software developers. August 2007: Working in cooperation with Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Technical Operations, CableLabs and the Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (DTLA), LLC, announced CableLabs' approval of the DTCP-IP technology for protection of cable content on UDCPs using Internet Protocol for unidirectional and bidirectional digital cable products. November 2007: CableLabs announced that, along with TiVo, Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, BigBand Networks and C-COR, it has developed a new solution that extends the functionality of certain UDCPs that use CableCARDs™ to access switched digital services previously unavailable to such devices. January 2008: tru2way brand succeeds OCAP for consumer and retail settings. The announcement is made by CableLabs Chairman Brian L. Roberts during a Comcast-sponsored keynote at the CES.
January 2008: CableLabs issues public interface specifications enabling support by UDCPs that use CableCARDs™ to access switched digital services previously unavailable to such devices. February 2008: Java.net opens OpenCable area, triggering the start of third-party applications development for OCAP and tru2way. May 2008: In a signing ceremony with Brian Roberts, president and CEO of Comcast Communications, Samsung Electronics becomes the first consumer electronics manufacturer to sign tru2way license agreement. May 2008: Sony Electronics and the six largest cable companies negotiate and sign a national plug-and-play agreement establishing a platform for retail devices to receive interactive cable services. June 2008: Cable tru2way platform gains endorsements with MOU signatures from Panasonic, Samsung, ADB, Digeo and Intel Corporation. July 2008: Funai Electric signs the multi-industry tru2way MOU. |
||||||