RSSSony partners with cable providers on digital cable ready TVs
By Ed Oswald | Published May 28, 2008, 4:59 PM
The electronics maker said Tuesday that it will work with six major cable operators to include digital cable technology in its next-generation television sets.
With the new sets, consumers will no longer be required to use a set-top box in order to receive advanced services. Sony has penned an agreement with Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, and Bright House Networks, which collectively provide service to about 82 percent of cable-receiving households. The agreement is essentially a memorandum of understanding on how channel guide and digital program delivery technology will be rolled out to the consumer.
"We are very pleased with this announcement," CableLabs spokesperson Mike Schwartz told BetaNews.
The technology used is called tru2way (formerly known as OpenCable or OCAP), which first rolled out at CES in January. At the time, Sony was not listed among the partners, although Panasonic and LG showed off television models based on the technology.
Peripherally, the technology is related to CableCARD, and the company behind tru2way -- CableLabs -- is behind both. The difference here is that CableCARD is a removable unit for retail devices, whereas tru2way is the middleware that provides for the control of functionality.
The technology eliminates the need for an additional converter or receiver box, simplifying the cable installation process and allowing for the use of advanced features such as on-demand, DVR functions, and program guides.
Sony's move could very well solidify tru2way as the standard for non-set top deployments. While CableCARD was intended to do the same thing, it did not garner enough support from the industry to make it viable.
The potential losers from these deals are Motorola and Scientific Atlanta. The two companies earn a significant portion of their revenues from the sale of their set-top boxes to consumers.
But more importantly, the deal puts Sony on a competitive scale against companies such as Motorola, TiVo, and Macrovision, all of which have a stake in not only pushing switching technology to the nation's households, but in controlling the slate of programming piped through to their digital TVs.
Cable is so 20th century technology. They lose market share to DBS each and every day.
Ho-hum Sony.
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|Comcast charges me $15 a month for their digital HD set top box. Expect a much higher price for that Sony HDTV.
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|They charge that much because they can. That's how a monopoly works. If you had the choice to go out and buy a TV that didn't need a box, or better yet could just buy the box yourself, they would have a harder time gouging you. Why do you think the cable companies have been resisting a government mandated digital standard for over a decade?
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|Now if only Sony can reach a similar agreement with Directv we can finally be rid of the unbelievably cheap electronics we have fostered upon us by an otherwise superior distribution medium.
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|Consumers will like the switch as long it is available on all TV's not just Sony. Otherwise it will only complicate matters with some consumers needing a box and some not.
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