EchoStar, CableLabs Ink tru2way Host Device License Agreement with CableLabs

EchoStar Technologies said that it has signed the tru2way Host Device License Agreement with CableLabs (News - Alert).

 

Terms of the agreement allows EchoStar to implement OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) middleware and the CableCARD interface on devices using tru2way technology.

 

OCAP is an operating system layer designed for consumer electronics that connect to a cable television system. CableCard is a plug-in card that enables users to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, and more without the use of other equipment such as a set top box (STB).

 

tru2way, a national software platform, enables cable’s interactive services to be delivered to two-way plug and play TVs, set-top boxes, and other devices. Also, tru2way creates a national footprint for the developers of interactive services to develop products, which works on cable systems in nearly every U.S. market.

 

“We are firmly committed to becoming a vendor of choice in the cable industry, leveraging decades of systems and manufacturing excellence and today’s announcement asserts our commitment,” said Mark Jackson, president at EchoStar, in a statement.

 

This latest agreement provides EchoStar an alternative to the existing CableCARD-Host Interface License Agreement (CHILA), and the OpenCable Application Platform Implementer Agreement.

 

By the end of 2008, prominent cable operators have committed to support the tru2way platform on systems covering more than 90 million U.S. homes. The tru2way License Agreement is available to any manufacturer of consumer electronics devices.

 

Under the new tru2way Host Device License Agreement, manufacturers can access technology required to interface with two-way interactive cable networks. Also, the license provides for self-certification and paper certification of retail devices.

 

The agreement also grants manufacturers the rights to participate in CableLabs processes, and offers approval of new digital outputs through a tru2way trademark license.

 

Recently, CableLabs announced that LG Electronics (News - Alert) and Funai Electric have signed the multi-industry tru2way Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

 

Established in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, CableLabs is a non-profit research and development consortium pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies to help its cable operator members.