Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems by Manlio Allegra  Home         IPTV, Broadband Video, Mobile Video Topics: Main | IPTV Service Providers  | IPTV Content | Set-Top Boxes |  Middleware | Encoding | DRM |  Silicon  |  IPTV Regulatory  |  Test Systems  |  Europe  | China  | Archive |     Microsoft and CableLabs Team on HD Cable Programming for Windows PCs Microsoft and Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs) reached an agreement under which PC manufacturers will be able to offer digital-cable-ready Windows Media Center-based PCs in the holiday 2006 time frame. These Media Center PCs will be equipped with a CableCARD module, allowing consumers to enjoy one-way cable programming, including premium high-definition cable content, on their personal computer and throughout the home on compliant network-connected devices, such as Xbox 360, while protecting cable operators' investments in high-value content in a digital environment. Microsoft is working closely with CableLabs to document final approval of Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) as a content protection technology for OpenCable products that receive one-way cable content under the terms of this agreement. The specified OpenCable architecture allows for multiple DRM systems to be used in the device and ensures content providers of protected delivery of content to the PC. Microsoft Windows Media Digital Rights Management is the first major DRM system to complete the due diligence necessary for approval by CableLabs. The OpenCable project will continue to play an important role as the new agreement moves forward, allowing the cable industry to work closely with the consumer electronics and IT industries to innovate rapidly on the new specifications developed by Microsoft and CableLabs. CableLabs will host interoperability events to enable vendors working on products based on these specifications to test products in CableLabs facilities and conduct more formalized certification testing. "This agreement is an important milestone for our customers who want access to high-definition digital cable content on their PCs and a major step toward enabling a solution for the delivery of that content," said Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of the Windows eHome Division at Microsoft. "The cable industry is very interested in having the PC serve as another means to allow consumers to enjoy cable programming," said Richard R. Green, president and CEO of CableLabs. "By working with Microsoft and the IT industry, we have come up with a solution to enable consumers to enjoy the wide range of entertainment options they want." "This agreement carefully balances the need to preserve the flexibility of the personal computer for consumers with the need for cable operators to be confident that the hardware and software shipped with compliant Media Center PCs will function like a CableCARD-enabled digital television," said Glenn Britt, chairman of CableLabs and chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. http://www.opencable.com/ http://www.microsoft.com 16-Nov-05 Singapore's Next Gen Nationwide Broadband Network Launches 8/31/2010 SingTel Launches Services over NGNBN Fibre 8/31/2010 BT Confirms Selection of Huawei for Next Gen Access 8/26/2010 Occam Supplies Multiservice Access in Indiana 8/25/2010 NTELOS Selects ADTRAN for FTTH 8/24/2010 Australia's NBN Hangs in the Balance 8/23/2010 Lantiq Samples 65nm VDSL2 CO Chipset with Line Bonding 8/23/2010 WildBlue Wins $19M Grant for Rural Satellite Broadband 8/19/2010 North Carolina's Golden LEAF Gains $140 Million in Funding 8/18/2010 PacketFront Employs Mindspeed Processor for Gigabit-to-the Home CPE 8/18/2010 Korea's CJ HelloVision Picks Arris for DOCSIS 3.0 8/17/2010 PMC-Sierra Collaborates with Incognito Software on FTTx for MSOs 8/16/2010 Verizon Tests Gigabit Ethernet Service on FiOS 8/16/2010 Orange's Internet-TV-Phone + Mobile offer in France 8/12/2010 Orckit-Corrigent Gains TSEC for GPON in India 8/9/2010 ADTRAN Supplies its Total Access 5000 in Maine 8/9/2010 Ohio's Wabash Mutual Selects Occam in Broadband Stimulus Project 8/3/2010 Great Plains Comm. Selects ADTRAN Total Access 5000 8/2/2010 Huawei and Silicon Vendors Complete DSL Retransmission Test 7/27/2010 ADC and AFL Reach FTTX Licensing Agreement 7/27/2010 BT Employs "SmartWater" Invisible Paint to Deter Cable Theft 7/26/2010 Qwest Launches Heavy-Duty Internet -- 40 Mbps 7/22/2010 ZyXEL's VDSL Products Gain IPv6 Phase II Certification 7/21/2010 Alcatel-Lucent Wins PON Contracts with China Mobile and China Telecom 7/21/2010 Netflix Reaches 15 Million Subscribers as Streaming Grows 7/21/2010 > More news...   Search  this site   Search the Web   Get Your Column Published Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems by Manlio Allegra Interview: NSN's Sue Spradley on LightSquared's Wholesale Mobile Data Paradigm by Sue Spradley Mobile Backhaul Transition Requires New Testing by Joe Zeto Cybersecurity Requires Public/Private Coalition by Greg Oslan A Rethinking of Cloud Services and Network Architecture by Jim Theodoras Delivering Scalable Video Solutions <br><i> Advantages of SVC-Optimized QoS</i> by Andy Singleton