[opendtv] News: Microsoft, CableLabs Sign Digital Cable Deal for Windows- based PCs
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 09:25:26 -0500
Microsoft, CableLabs Sign Digital Cable Deal for Windows- based PCs
November 18, 2005 12:00am
Source: Communications Daily
Communications Daily is reporting a landmark deal between the cable
industry and one of its biggest occasional adversaries, Microsoft and
CableLabs. The report states that the companies announced a pact
Wed. to bring digital and premium cable TV service, including HDTV
programming, directly to personal computers for the first time,
starting late next year. The agreement, at least 18 months in the
making, will allow future PC users to watch digital and premium cable
programming on their computer screens without the need for cable
set-top boxes. Computers equipped with Microsoft's Windows XP Media
Center operating system will act just like conventional TV sets,
taking in the video and audio signals from the coaxial cable line and
delivering the programming to the PC monitor.
Like today's fledgling digital-cable-ready TV sets that also don't
require separate set-top boxes, the Media PCs will just need
CableCARDs, the removable security modules that the cable industry
already offers under its OpenCable program. Microsoft and CableLabs
executives said the pact will enable computer manufacturers to
produce digital-cable- ready PCs in time for next fall's holiday
shopping season. Citing strong market demand, Microsoft officials,
who have previously sold more than 4 million Media Center Edition
licenses, said they have started talking to major computer makers
about incorporating the cable-ready features into their next
generation models.
The report continues: Like the current generation of
digital-cable-ready TV sets, the Media Center PCs will be able to
show only one- way digital cable programming. They won't be able to
show 2-way digital programming, such as interactive program guides or
video-on-demand (VOD). But CableLabs and Microsoft officials said the
agreement should help pave the way for a bidirectional digital cable
pact. "It's a great step," Dulchinos said. "We think the next step is
a truly two-way deal." As the first agreement to cover digital and
premium cable programming delivered to a non-TV device, the Microsoft
deal is also breaking new ground on the thorny digital rights
management (DRM) issue. The partners said Microsoft is working
closely with CableLabs to "document final approval" of Windows Media
DRM as a content protection technology for one-way OpenCable
products. CableLabs officials said the nonexclusive pact with
Microsoft may serve as a model for DRM licensing agreements with
other computer hardware and software developers. The list of possible
companies includes Apple Computer, RealNetworks, Linux, Sony and
others.
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