First step taken toward online cable programming for all cable customers

Cable-Tec Expo 2009: CableLabs Seeks Common Approach For 'TV Everywhere' [Multichannel News]

 
At this moment, the nation's two largest cable operators - Comcast and Time Warner Cable - are testing web video streaming sites with cable programming content for their customers. Comcast expects to turn on its web video portal, called Comcast OnDemand Online, by the end of this year for all Comcast customers with their cable and broadband products. Yesterday at the Cable-Tec Expo in Denver, the cable industry's research and development consortium, CableLabs, announced a request for information to define a common technical framework for cable operators to provide online access to cable programming content.

Completing such a common framework world give all cable operators the ability to implement their own versions of online programming access with authentication for current customers. This CableLabs RFI is the first step in a process that promises to develop standards for the entire cable industry to roll out this innovative product to our customers.

Vendors have until December 11th to respond to the CableLabs RFI. Key components of the RFI include service architecture, technical interface specifications, resource attributes specifications, infrastructure components and security for customers' private information. From the responses, CableLabs will begin putting the pieces together toward the release of a standard for online cable programming.

Comments

[Steve Huff]

What's next?
What about channels that are purely streaming?

Instead of someone getting a "package" they will just enter a channel address and pull the channel just like they under a URL and pull a website. You don't get the internet and get a package that comes with certain websites.

Cable networks will just become broadband providers. IPTV is the future, I just hope it happens soonier rather then later, but rest assured it will happen.

Although I'm sure Cable networks don't like this idea, at least they are not satellite providers.

[Rob Jones]

Let's see, Time Warner wants to put caps on your internet usage and then offer you IPTV so you can hit those caps in 14 days. Wow

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=661000669]

No thanks. Comcast is offering this, but it counts against your bandwidth cap. You can only get so much money out of each cable customer. Without the cap, looks interesting, with the cap- not worth it. Eventually cable companies will start capping cable TV itself and meter usage. They will find a way.