operators, announced today that the two companies have signed an OpenCable Platform Agreement and will include support for the OpenCable Platform in future Intel consumer electronic (CE) system-on-a-chip (SoC) products.
Incorporating support for OpenCable allows digital televisions, set-top boxes, digital media recorders and other networked consumer electronics devices to run standard applications and services delivered by cable operators, consumer electronics companies, program networks, and other software developers.
"The cable industry has a very strong commitment to the OpenCable Platform, and to deploying interactive services through both retail and leased digital devices," said Dr. Richard R. Green, President and CEO of CableLabs. "Having Intel support the technology really brings the OpenCable Platform to a new level of maturity and will further enable innovation from consumer electronics manufacturers, advertisers, content providers and cable operators for the benefit of our mutual customers," he added.
Future Intel platforms will include OpenCable Platform technologies certified by CableLabs for interactive applications. Interactive digital cable-ready products can access interactive program guides delivered by cable operators, as well as premium services ordered on-screen, such as video-on-demand (VOD). The devices will also include support for the CableCARD removable security module. The CableCARD encapsulates the local cable system-specific conditional access technology, thus enabling nationwide portability of these two-way devices.
In April, Intel said it planned to deliver Intel Architecture (IA) SoC products for a new generation of Internet compatible consumer electronics devices. By incorporating many features and standards into Intel's silicon products, these SoCs will help manufacturers accelerate product delivery and deliver more cost-effective designs that provide strong processing performance and flexibility. Intel's first CE-optimized IA-based SoC is scheduled for 2008, pairing a IA processor with leading-edge A/V processing, graphics and more.