Cable to standardize technology, calling it "tru2way"

[scb147]

Sounds like Comcast, Time Warner and Cox are all going to be switching over to this "tru2way".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_o...gLkcEE1vAI

Will this be the answer to the home-built HTPC users here in the USA for getting digital cable without relying on a STB or CableCard?

[nbarsley]

I think that it will unfortunately not be the answer that we are looking for. I copied this post from "DCToolTall" on slashdot as reference. Its a really interesting read, it seems like its going to be increasingly more difficult for HTPC's in the future because of the way that the advanced 2-way services are being set up. Heres the post:



In order to kind of understand the way the cable-cards work, you kind of need to know the way the entire system works...sorta. So let me try and explain the makeup of the cable headend. I deal primarily with the Scientific Atlanta systems in our area, so I'm more familiar with it (and where to find the references online which I can share.). Keep in mind that both systems do the same thing, the way in which they do it is just a little different. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns457/...egory.html [cisco.com] the figure here is kinda basic, and includes stuff not really needed...but may help as a visual aid.

In the Scientific Atlanta platform, you have your primary controller. This system, running off Solaris, Pretty much "controls" the entire cable video network. It contains the configuration information for all the modulators which send the video over RF to your home. It also contains all the conguration information for your settop box, package information, security information, Channel Map configurations, etc. When the video source is configured on the QAM (Modulator) it can be encrypted. On the SA system, there is a special server connected directly to the DNCS responsible for maintaining the encryption keys and information. This encryption helps to prevent unauthorized access to the digital signal. The most obvious (without getting into conspiracys or opinions on greed and whatnot) reasoning for encrypting a channel is so that little johnny doesn't stumble across hardcore sex in the clear with his QAM tuner TV.

In the Cable-Card enviroment, the cablecard is responsible for the decryption of this signal. The encryption is done via a public/private key system. When a cablecard is loaded on the controller initially, the DNCS at this point knows the Secure Micro of the cablecard. When the card then gets authorized for the encrypted feed, it at that point is sent the information it will need to be able to decrypt the video feed. This process tends to work without many problems. The REAL complication with cable-cards tends to be a bit more involved with the pairing process.

From what I understand.... the pairing tends to be pretty much the DRM of whole mess. no wonder it causes so many problems. But then again, nobody can avoid it these days it seems. Anyways, there are primarily 2 Id's that come into play here. The CableCard's ID, and the Host device ID. This is pretty much where you are pairing up the 2 devices and getting them to play nice to each other and know who the other person is. It's this item that pretty much tends to be the real pain in getting a cablecard working. (personally.. I hate TIVO's.. ). The unfortunately thing about standards, is while they are there to tell you how things are supposed to work, talk, and act together. They don't always go into the nitty-gritty of how to implement those standards, user interfaces, or procedures. For instance, especcially in a dual-turner TIVO, they can be a bastard to set up. Why? First you must make sure that just the primary card is in slot 1. Pair the 2 devices (usually will involve giving the card and host id to the cable provider so they can pair them in the controller). Then you may need to force the TIVO to re-scan the channels so that it can attempt to make sure it's now seeing and can decrypt those video feeds. ONCE everything is working perfectly with the first card, THEN you can put the second card into slot 2 and try and get it working by repeating the previous steps. The problem here is that if you start with both cards in the device, the TIVO doesn't like it. if you don't do things in exactly the precise order....the Tivo doesn't like it. If at any time the Tivo doesn't like something and you need to start from scratch....It is a LONG COMPLICATED issue in trying to reset everything so you can try again. Even TV's don't have a standard way of pairing a cablecard and so an install tech who doesn't get a lot of plain cablecard installs can sometimes be thrown for a bit of a loop. because different device makers do things differently, it makes it virtually impossible to train every tech on every possible possibility of an interface they could run into.

The other problem that comes into play a lot of times is that while a cable-card can be 2-way, the device it's plugged into often times is only a 1 way host. The problem you run into with interactive services on a standard Cablecard "consumer" device such as a TIVO or TV is that it 1. can't talk back to the TV network so it can't make the request....and 2. Those interactive programs are usually an application downloaded to your cable-box, so you can't guarantee that even if they COULD download the application, the device would be able to run it. All the cablecard does is the decryption of the signal. It doesn't have the ability to run any of the more advanced applications that are currently out there.

OCAP.... or Tru2Way is basically an evolution in the way the separation is handled, in that it takes into account the software side of things. What it does is seperate the core hardware OS needed to access the hardware, and create a standard on how application talk over the network...how they communicate with the hardware....etc. It actually makes it a lot easier for providers of the 3rd party applications out there (such as your VoD platform providers like SeaChange or Tangent) to create a VoD application that will run on any device, instead of just the "standard" settop boxes that your cable Co. usually provides. It also makes it easier for your cable company to say with any certainty that it will work on your TV....or OCAP TIVO.... or 3rd party settop box.

Here are a couple links for you if you are interested. First, The primary developer site for OCAP/Tru2Way, complete with all the specs in case anyone is interest. http://www.opencable.com/ocap/ [opencable.com]
Second... For those geek-hounds, Scientific Atlanta's settop box catalog. http://sciatl.com/products/customers/sub...etTops.htm [sciatl.com] I've actually heard that they will start selling these boxes direct to the public in the near future for those who are interested.
And SA's general site if anybody wants to do some more digging around for specs, information, etc. It's all there. http://sciatl.com/products/customers/index.htm [sciatl.com]. For that matter, you can find the CableLabs site with various specs and whatnot at http://cablelabs.com/ [cablelabs.com]


And As if this wasn't a large enough email.....I'm going to go ahead and give everybody here a headsup on something that is coming VERY soon, and another reason why an upgrade in the background tech/specs is needed here. With demands for higher speed internet services and other techs coming over the Coax, as well as customer wanting more and more HD quality programing, VoD, etc, A big issue cable companies are running into is RF Spectrum to run all these services on. The Cable Companies are actually capped as far as the frequency range they can max out at by the FCC. I believe the current top-end allowed was recently upped to about 1ghz here in the USA, however many plants are still running in the 750-900mhz range of available frequency. This spectrum needs to cover not only all the video, but all the internet, phone, and other advanced services. The more advanced 2way services, the more spectrum you would need to dedicate for the return path. All those analog channels that are still being sent out (typically everything under CH 100) are taking up 6mhz just by themselves. Because of the increasing demand and frequency crunch, a big move you are seeing is people setting up SDV on their networked (Switched Digital Video). Basically it kind of works on the same idea of Video on Demand as far as the backend goes, but instead of being a dedicated one-on-one video broadcast, it's a one-on-many within the node. Because approximately 80% of TV watchers tend to watch about 20% of the available programming (not too hard with a coupla hundred channels, and faves like your local channels, tnt, Discovery, etc), the idea is to move say the least 10%-20% of programming channels into a SDV setup where they aren't actualy being broadcast over the Cable unless somebody actually wants to view the channel. This would keep a channel like "The Ping-Pong channel", which you may only have 2 or 3 people in your town who actually might watch it, from taking up the space on the network unless they are actually watching it. It frees up the capacity for faster internet speeds or more HD content. The down side.... because it works like VoD in that it makes a request for the channel, and the system must then tell your cable box where it dynamically assigned the channel frequency wise, is that 1 way devices won't work with the system. It also uses a special app loaded on the box to manage the process. This is one advantage that OCAP has over cablecards, in that you would be able to truly talk 2-way with the system, and you would be able to run the OCAP complient application on your device regardless of who actually MADE your equiptment.

Hopefully the signal to noise of this post is such that it won't be a total waste of time for people.

[tvshowman]

nice post. it is important to understand that tv signals in the future will not be decryptable unless you are a parter in the system and that will make it difficult for PVR software to obtain these licenses as the contracts will be exclusive to the wealthy partners.

there will most likely be mechanisms in place to prevent commercial skip and will include tailored sponsor ads based off of your tv interests....

now include some webcams and a microphone along with the creative hacker and you have an eavesdropping tool to count how many are watching each show

hehe