PVR Wire

OpenCable Applications Platform (OCAP) is a CableLabs software environment ("middleware") destined for cable boxes/DVRs.

Cable companies and their hardware partners have been embracing the evolving standard, while independent manufacturers haven't been very enthusiastic. As OCAP development continues, we caught up with Nick Chakalos, a Senior Director of Motorola's Digital Video Solutions.

How does OCAP benefit the typical consumer?

"OCAP will bring about more innovation and will speed the deployment of new media-sharing and interactive television features. It will do this in a few ways. First, by offering an open, standard platform across disparate set tops and operator networks, OCAP will provide third-party developers and networks with a critical mass of platforms to spur development.

"Second, by providing a high-level Java-based programming model, OCAP enables more feature-rich services that can be developed and deployed quickly. hird, by building OCAP extensions so that set-tops in the home talk to mobile devices such as mobile phones and portable media players, consumers can take their service and their content with them on the go. If you've heard anything about Motorola's vision of seamless mobility, our goal is to create an ecosystem where consumers can access media-rich content no matter where they are or what device they're using. One key to making this vision a reality is in working with open standards like OCAP."

When can we expect to see OCAP in our homes?

"Many people are predicting that 2006 is the year of OCAP, and our understanding is that pretty much all of the Multi-System Operators (MSOs) will do market trials in the second half of this year. Several MSOs were vocal at CES about rolling out OCAP systems by October, and we've already announced field trials with operators like Cox Communications.

"Well over a year ago, Motorola began a company-wide project to re-architect our core software platforms around Java/Linux. On the set-top side, we had a great foundation from which to start this initiative. We acquired MHP software developer Tality in 2003, Ucentric Systems in 2005, and have ramped our Java software engineers around the globe over this time. Given the Java and MHP foundations of OCAP, our OCAP stack is right in line with corporate effort."

How much will OCAP cost consumers?

"OCAP is a technology that helps cable operators run their businesses more efficiently. It won't cost consumers anything directly, but with operators dangling new services in front of them, the MSOs are betting that many consumers will choose to pay for added features."

Is OCAP limited to new hardware?

"Yes, there are some limitations. There are low-end set-tops already sitting in consumer homes that will not support new OCAP solutions. However, there is no urgency to replace those set-tops.They can continue to the end of their life cycle and then be replaced by OCAP-compliant set-tops, or consumers can decide to upgrade in order to access new services, much the way they do now to get digital cable and digital video recording capabilities. We ensure both these legacy set-tops and new OCAP-based set-tops can co-exist in the same network.

"In the meantime, there are several set-tops already deployed that do support new OCAP solutions. Our OCAP software stack can be ported to any of Motorola's already-deployed advanced set-tops (set-tops that support HD and/or DVR, like our 3000 and 6000 series) and to any of our upcoming Host set tops. The issue is having enough memory and processing capability to accept new software."

What is Motorola's role in the evolution of OCAP?

"Motorola is one of a number of companies involved in OCAP 1.1 development."

How does CableCARD authentication and decoding relate to the OCAP platform?

"These are two separate initiatives out of CableLabs. OCAP is not required to meet the FCC mandate for separable security, but the industry sees the benefit of rolling out a new services platform to deliver differentiated consumer services at the same time as the Host transition. I'm not aware of the specific issue you reference, though there are bound to be issues, real or perceived, in any major transition such as this. The key is that the industry as a whole share the same vision and are committed to getting there so that issues become challenges to collectively overcome and not deal breakers."

What OCAP applications do you have in the pipeline?

"Our development efforts are centered around making our corporate "seamless mobility" vision come alive. Seamless Mobility means that you can access any of your content – TV shows, pictures, calendar, contacts, email, music, etc.– from any device, in any location, at any time. It's a huge concept that involves making consumer devices work together over wireless and wired networks. We at Motorola work with cellular providers, cable companies, and the telcos now moving into video, so we feel we have a good position to start from in making this vision a reality.

"One concrete example of Seamless Mobility today is our Follow Me TV application. This OCAP-based software app lets you have a full DVR experience on every screen in your home, even if you only have one DVR. We use the existing coax wires in your home to make a two-way, IP network, and then our software provides access to your recordings giving you 'trick-play' functionality from any screen. You can even "move a show" – meaning you can be watching a show in your living room, pause it, and send it to the bedroom, where you can pick it up at the same point you left off. Since it's an IP network, we can stream pictures or music off a computer as well. We've also shown the ability to move a show right to a MOTORAZR."

What is the process of moving recorded content onto a mobile phone? Are consumers limited to Motorola handsets?

"Our technology is based around the "cache-and-carry" approach. Since you've already recorded the show, we transcode it to a format that suits the phone (such as MPEG4), and then copy it to a storage card. Today, we've shown this feature as solely a technology demonstration, as there are many digital rights issues that need to be worked out before this feature is commercialized. Once that happens, expect to see an incremental fee over your existing DVR service for the capability. In order for this feature to be commercially successful, we understand that it must be made available on mobile phones from a variety of manufacturers,provided the device has a storage card and high-speed connectivity for the transfer of the show. Obviously, we started with our own phones because it was easiest to develop for."

What is the status of CEA / CableLabs two-way negotiations and why is OCAP in contention?

"Several CE companies have signed CableLabs two-way agreement. Motorola has been fully supportive of both the OCAP and CableCARD two-way initiatives. In fact, our multi-stream CableCARD has already been certified, and as I mentioned earlier, we're beginning field trials of our OCAP platform later this year with Cox Communications. Both of these initiatives are designed to give consumers more choice, and manufacturers more flexibility to innovate faster. These are goals that both the NCTA and the CEA advocate."

Are CE companies that are not embedded with cablecos at a disadvantage?

"Standards like OCAP and CableCARD are open by design – enabling any CE company to compete for business. The important factors in competition, and what video providers expect manufacturers to provide, are reliability,innovative features and an appropriate cost for their business model. We at Motorola have been able to provide each of these to the industry for some time and we continue to invest in enabling consumer experiences that can help our service providers differentiate their video, voice, data, and wireless services."

Can independent companies or individuals produce applications for the OCAP platform?

"Absolutely. The Motorola MOTODEV program has long been in place to help the software communities develop new applications for the cable market. Today the program is dedicated to helping forward the development of applications specifically written for the OCAP platform."

But is deployment controlled by the cable companies?

"Yes – OCAP, like any software that runs on a cable operator's video network, is deployed as part of a managed service by the operator. There are updates that need to occur on the network side – at the video "headend" – that need to coincide with the sending of the software to the set-top."
Not all CE companies seem enthusiastic about the OCAP push:

"OCAP was designed for use in a dedicated set-top box not having any other functionality but accessing cable services. It has a number of technical resource management systems that want to take total control of the device. Obviously in a multifunction product which may be used for viewing other content, modifications to the way OCAP operates are necessary. A joint technical team is working on some modifications. A major part of the discussions is how far those modifications should go."

What's your take on Philips' concerns?

"The OCAP standard is driven by CableLabs, so its first release focused on enabling interactive and managed cable services. Motorola is one of a number of companies that provide input into the process, but we really can't speak for where this will play out. You'd have to talk to CableLabs about their plans to handle multifunction devices."

TiVo is another company that has expressed reservations regarding OCAP:

"A CableCARD box that is competitive with an operator-supplied integrated set-top box is the distinction that the NCTA overlooks. There is little doubt that cable would support two-way CableCARD products from manufacturers such as Samsung and LG Electronics as long as those products run OCAP and look, feel, operate and are controlled by cable operators in every way. Such products, however, do not provide consumers with a competitive alternative to operator-supplied integrated set-top boxes. They don't offer consumers additional innovative services and features. All they do is provide consumers with a choice between leasing a box from cable or buying essentially the very same box from Samsung or LG Electronics (plus leasing a CableCARD). In other words, you can lease a Honda Accord from your cable operator or you can buy a Honda Accord."

What's your take?

"Separable security and OCAP provide tremendous opportunities for innovation. First, companies can innovate by developing their own OCAP software solutions and applications that operators can deploy to their OCAP set-tops. Motorola's already doing this with our Follow Me TV solution – it's a software solution that uses OCAP as its base, but enables DVR functionality to be resident on every screen in the home.

"Second, there are many innovations that can be brought to the consumer market through a multifunction device. For example, a CE device could include connectivity for a home monitoring solution, letting the consumer display video captured locally from a camera in the home right on their TV screen. Or they could enable a user to upload their pictures or home movies onto the hard drive of the set-top which could then be shared with other portable devices. In other words – there's a lot of innovation that can be done in a retail device and still support OCAP."

We appreciate you taking the time to chat with us.

"Thank you for the opportunity. It was a pleasure."