The cable industry has said it will begin OCAP launches in 2006 and complete headend installations nationwide by the middle of 2009.
The OCAP middleware software specification for interactive television was established by CableLabs, the non-profit cable industry research and development consortium. OCAP is based on the European DVB MHP standard, enabling applications to run across a broad range of set-top boxes and cable-ready televisions and ultimately provide a national footprint for interactive services.
The cable companies noted that common standards have always been a benefit to the industry and the consumer, citing the example of the DOCSIS cable modem standard. They said that OCAP holds similar promise and represents the most potent competitive advantage for cable providers over their satellite competitors.
Progress was also announced on a new downloadable conditional access system known as DCAS that will ultimately replace the CableCard system based on removable security cards.
The OCAP middleware software specification for interactive television was established by CableLabs, the non-profit cable industry research and development consortium. OCAP is based on the European DVB MHP standard, enabling applications to run across a broad range of set-top boxes and cable-ready televisions and ultimately provide a national footprint for interactive services.
The cable companies noted that common standards have always been a benefit to the industry and the consumer, citing the example of the DOCSIS cable modem standard. They said that OCAP holds similar promise and represents the most potent competitive advantage for cable providers over their satellite competitors.
Progress was also announced on a new downloadable conditional access system known as DCAS that will ultimately replace the CableCard system based on removable security cards.