--Is Working with CableLabs on OCAP Extensions
Paul Allen-owned Digeo has signed a CableLabs agreement for the OCAP specification. The signing of the agreement means that Digeo can now deliver OCAP-compliant versions of its Moxi Media Center. (Note: the Linux-based Moxi platform--which Digeo offers as a licensable reference design and whose customers include Adelphia, Comcast, BendBroadband, Sunflower Broadband and New Wave Broadband--allows end-users to store, access and manage a variety of entertainment content, including digitally recorded TV programming, music, photos, games, and VOD titles, through a single, unified menu. The platform is notable for its interface, which has won two Emmy awards in succession, and which replaces the standard "spreadsheet" EPG interface with a so-called "cross-hairs" configuration, consisting of two intersecting animated lines at right angles to each other: customers use the left and right arrow keys on their remote control to scroll through a series of options on the horizontal line--e.g. Channels, Recorded TV, Find & Record, On Demand, Pay per View, Settings, etc.; they then use the remote's up and down arrow keys to scroll through the sub-listings of the currently highlighted option, which appear as a vertical line intersecting the line of options.) Digeo previously signed CableLabs' CableCARD Host Interface Licensing Agreement (CHILA), which defines the two-way host profiles that use OCAP. The company says that it is also working with CableLabs to develop a new generation of OCAP extensions to support advanced media center capabilities: the extensions, it says, will enable OCAP to support multi-room architecture, advanced user interfaces, and accelerated 3D rendering. As part of its partnership with CableLabs, Digeo says that it will soon be sending visiting engineers to the US cable industry research-and-development organization's facility in Louisville, Colorado, to participate in the development of the OCAP media center extensions. "OCAP is one of the most important industry standards emerging for the cable industry," Digeo CTO, Toby Farrand, said in a prepared statement. "Signing this agreement represents Digeo's commitment to be an early adopter and supporter of OCAP." Other companies that have signed the agreement include Samsung and Panasonic.
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