--CableLabs Releases OCAP RI 1.1.3 and tru2way SDK Rel2
Samsung Electronics announced last week that it has signed a letter of agreement with Quebec-based cable MSO, Videotron, that will see the latter providing Canada's first tru2way service, using Samsung's multi-room HD DVR solution. "We are very excited to enter the Canadian cable broadcasting market with Samsung's latest products and are committed to deploying these new services successfully," Woonsub Kim, EVP and head of the Telecommunication Systems Division at Samsung Electronics, said in a prepared statement. "Samsung's goal is to be a worldwide leader in the set-top box industry by continuing to develop innovative products." Added Videotron's SVP of engineering, Daniel Proulx: "We are committed to meeting growing consumer needs for personalized media by offering tru2way-enabled devices. A strong collaboration between Videotron and Samsung will result in an interoperable and more abundant home entertainment service."
According to Videotron, the addition of Samsung tru2way-enabled set-tops will strengthen its illico digital TV service, which already offers a range of interactive TV services, including ITV advertising and games (note: the MSO's interactive TV vendors include etc.tv, itaas and Visiware). The company says that the Samsung boxes will be available through its retail network. Samsung, which says that it is confident that "the timing is perfect for the Canadian launch" of tru2way, also offers tru2way-enabled set-tops in the US (note: it claims to have delivered around 400,000 tru2way boxes to Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks).
News of the Videotron-Samsung tru2way deal comes just a few weeks after Dermot O'Carroll, SVP of engineering and network operations at another Canadian cable MSO, Rogers Communications, told attendees at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo that his company has not committed to adopting tru2way and believes "there's probably a better answer out there," adding that "we have the option of going with something more Web-based" (see the article published on itvt.com, October 29th).
In related news: CableLabs has just released Version 1.1.3 of the OCAP Reference Implementation and Rel2 of the tru2way SDK. More information is available here.
