| Vol. 15, No. 2 - March/April 2003 | ||
Broadcom Corporation Signs |
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Broadcom Corporation, a major chip manufacturer, has signed a POD-Host Interface License Agreement (PHILA) with CableLabs, a research and development consortium of cable operators representing the North American cable industry. This brings the total of PHILA signatories to 17. An earlier announcement had indicated that Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. also had recently signed PHILA. Pioneer was one of the first companies to execute the PHILA Agreement in June of 2002. The agreement covers Pioneer's Home Entertainment Division, which makes digital television sets among other consumer electronics products, as well as its Business Solutions Division, which is a leader in digital cable set tops. The companies that have signed PHILA include manufacturers of digital televisions and set-top boxes, as well as other companies in the digital video industry. The PHILA and related OpenCable™ specifications enable a television set manufacturer to develop and market digital televisions (DTVs) that will be able to directly receive two-way digital services via cable without the requirement for a set-top box. PHILA provides a license to the patented DFAST technology for a standardized and secure communications link between an individually addressable point-of-deployment (POD) security module and the digital television. The card-sized POD module, supplied by cable operators to their customers, is inserted in the card-slot in the TV or set-top box to authorize access to encryption-protected digital programming, including premium cable services. "Signing the PHILA license is a strong indicator that a company intends to be a front runner in the development and deployment of a broad range of consumer electronics for cable customers and the cable industry," said CableLabs President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green. Signing PHILA now grants to a manufacturer a development license under which they may explore the potential for making OpenCable products. These products may include unidirectional products, bi-directional products, or other OpenCable products (e.g., PODs and test tools). The PHILA agreement provides a license to build a broader range of devices, including one-way digital television sets, interactive two-way digital television sets, set-top boxes, and PODs. Profiles for these devices were developed through manufacturer participation in an engineering change request (ECR) process applicable to all CableLabs' OpenCable specifications. PHILA signatories also benefit from testing and certification of new products at the CableLabs facilities using a test procedure that promotes interoperability of OpenCable products with North American cable systems and with OpenCable products manufactured by other vendors. Products that pass full certification by CableLabs may use the "CableLabs® Certified™" trademark. A structure is also established for migrating to streamlined certification (for minor changes), self-certification (for mature products by qualified vendors), and third-party certification (by qualified independent labs). |
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