A CableLabs Preview

CableLabs will focus its demonstrations at the Cable Show on 3 areas: WiFi, DLNA CVP-2 (Commercial Video Profile-2, which enables sharing of pay-TV content) and The Internet of Things, said a rep. The consortium won’t showcase DOCSIS 3.1 but plans to integrate it into show activities in partnership with members and NCTA.

The group announced the availability of the DOCSIS 3.1 PHY (physical layer) and MULPI (MAC and Upper Layer Protocol) specs last fall and since then, first versions of the Cable Modem OSSI Spec and the CCAP OOSI spec have been released. CableLabs expects rapid deployment once products are available and certified. At the show, the group will host 23 vendors demonstrating at CableNET, the industry pavilion within the main show floor. Showcased wares will include WiFi technology with speeds up of 1 Gbps or more, in light of the FCC‘s recent move to expand WiFi access in the 5 GHz band where 802.11ac, or gigabit WiFi, lives. Demos also include a Quality of Service solution on the WiFi air interface.

Meanwhile, CableLabs’ Light House demonstration "illuminates" the opportunity for diverse ecosystems to coexist and operate harmoniously. The group will use various "smart" light fixtures using technologies such as Zigbee, DLNA and Allseen from a standard remote control and an Enhanced TVB Binary Interchange Format application on a set-top box. CableLabs will also showcase several features of recently published CLNA CVP-2 guidelines including MSO HTML5 navigation, video playback with trick modes, and authentication.