How OCAP Supports a New Line of Digital TVs and Gadgets

The business of mashing a digital set-top box inside a television set requires, perhaps not surprisingly, a tall amount of software. Many of the features in a traditional cable box are duplicative with those of the TV, for instance. That creates a need for software that knows how to pass along requests (“tune this, tune that”) to the circuitry that can complete the task.

OCAP is a big part of that software mix.

	‘Comcast is committed to OCAP and to bringing interactive cable devices to retail.’ Brian Roberts Chairman and CEO Comcast Corp.   This “IP” Means “Intellectual Property” Intellectual property patents have been one of the stumbling blocks to widespread deployment of interactive TV. If an applications developer or distributor wanted to use patented software, they often have had to negotiate over expensive royalties or risk potential copyright infringement. OCAP uses some patented software, both in OCAP 1.0 and its association with MHP 1.0. To make licensing easy and affordable, a streamlined process has been developed for device manufacturers and service providers. Under those terms, OCAP fees run $1.50 per consumer device (a digital set-top or television, for example) for manufacturers, and, for cable operators, 30 cents per subscriber per year, or a one-time five-year license for $1.50. MHP fees are $2 per device, and 25 cents per household per year, or $1.25 under the five-year option. According to CED Magazine, manufacturers had been concerned about higher fees, so these levels should be considered reasonable. The fees will go into a pool for distribution to the patent holders, which include Comcast, OpenTV, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.), Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Thomson, and Time Warner Cable. Via Licensing Corp., a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc., is administering the program (www.vialicensing.com). See a press release about the licenses. Technically, companies that choose to take the fast-track “CHILA” path to digital devices also agree to pay royalties. It goes like this: CHILA contains OCAP. OCAP was developed with the intellectual property of many companies. Thus anyone signing CHILA agrees to pay royalties for the IP within OCAP. Additional background information on intellectual property information related to OCAP (CHILA, OCAP Implementer's License Agreement, and the OpenCable Contribution Agreement) is available at www.opencable.com/documents - CL, LE

At least two categories of equipment will include “OCAP inside.”

One is the high-end digital cable set-top box, such as those leased to consumers by cable providers. Those will contain OCAP more for business reasons than sex appeal. OCAP forges a common platform, so that the stuff that consumers see can be written once and run everywhere.

Tactically, that means re-coding existing features that digital cable customers regularly see, like the on-screen program guide and on-demand ordering systems.

Two is consumer electronics devices, like HDTVs and digital video recorders (DVRs), to start. Game players, portable video devices, mobile phones, wireless gadgets and personal computers with OCAP can be part of the mix.

A Unified TV
 

When available, this new line of OCAP-enabled digital TVs will provide an attractive offer for consumers: One TV, one remote, and full access to all cable-delivered services without the need for a separate box.

That includes “two-way” services, which require a link to fetch stuff from servers nested inside the cable system: electronic program guides, on-demand shows, and interactive “triggers” to desired information. (Imagine getting to the end of a favorite TV show, then seeing a prompt that asks you if you’d like to see another episode. The prompt is the “trigger.”)

For a program network or content creator, OCAP provides assurance that their creations will work across this unified environment of TVs and devices.

For consumers, this new line of TVs and OCAP devices will truly be “plug and play”—you connect them to cable and, voila, everything that you’ve subscribed to comes in as it’s supposed to do.

The Certification Process

To make sure that everyone’s on the same page – and to make sure things work properly when they get into people’s homes – consumer electronics makers must get a license to build OCAP-based TVs. In the ongoing work between cable and consumer electronics companies to find product harmony, a license was born.
 
Brace yourself. Its name definitely qualifies as an acronym that perhaps describes itself a bit too literally: “CHILA,” pronounced “cheye-luh,” rhymes with “lila.” It stands for “CableCARD Host Interface Licensing Agreement.”

Companies that sign the CHILA agreement, through CableLabs, agree to build devices that can be tested and certified to run approved two-way applications across the cable plant. Part of the agreement is a stipulation that OCAP will be included.

As of 2007, CHILA agreement signatories include Digeo, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung and Thomson.

CHILA is widely viewed as a “fast track” way to get cable-sanctioned product into the marketplace. Faster than, say, the ongoing effort to work out ways for cable, consumer electronics, information technologies/IT, and copyright owners (studios), as part of the larger “two way plug and play” negotiations, to all be able to benefit from cable-connected two-way devices.

CableCARDs and Host Devices

Cable and consumer electronics negotiators agreed in late 2002 on guidelines to promote devices, particularly digital TV sets, that support one-way (“unidirectional”) delivery of digital content from a cable system. That accord also is known as the “plug and play” agreement, because it supports interoperability between cable systems and digital TVs.

Mostly, it assures that premium cable services are protected through the use of a CableCARD, which slips into a slot in the TV. Work also is underway to build the security features right into the TV, without the need for the CableCARD. That effort is called “DCAS” (pronounced “dee-kaz”), and is looking like a 2008-2009 priority. Suffice it to say that DCAS, as a technology, requires that OCAP is present.

One of the terms that pops up in discussions about “OCAP devices” is the “host device.” A “host device” is any piece of hardware that touches and interacts with the cable plant. A digital TV with a CableCARD slot is a host device. Ditto for an HDTV. A digital set-top box also “hosts” cable-delivered services.

At this writing, the industries are still seeking uniform guidelines on two-way (“bi-directional”) delivery, so that interactive services work seamlessly over cable and connected devices (based upon requisite security, licensing and business arrangements, of course).

Living In a CHILA World

Sometimes the easiest way to understand something is to wonder what the scene would be like if it didn’t exist. If there were no CHILA, it’s entirely possible that Customer Joe walks into a store this year, buys a digital TV, or an HDTV, or DVR, tagged as “interactive digital cable ready.”
 
But once it was in Joe’s house, and all plugged in, something wouldn’t work.

That’s why there are technical tests. A big part of CHILA is tests: They’re hard, and often dull, but they matter in preventing customer care calls later.