Operation OCAP

MSOs told the 1st OCAP Developers Conference in Vegas Sun that they’re really close to launching OCAP, a common software platform that lets cable companies, network programmers and CE makers extend interactivity to TVs and other devices. Cox is currently trialing OCAP in 2 markets with plans to roll it out to 5 markets by year-end, according to CTO Chris Bowick. "I think you could see it in Cox’s national footprint in the 1st half of 2008," he said, adding that Cox has already been doing a lot of work with On Ramp to OCAP, a subset that lets operators roll the spec out to legacy boxes. Time Warner Cable has already begun rolling out Samsung’s HD OCAP box, and this week is purchasing S-A’s OCAP-capable DVR, said TW svp, advanced technology and engineering Mike Hayashi. By July, all of TW’s S-A footprint (70% of its footprint) should be OCAP-capable, he said. TW hopes to trial Motorola’s OCAP boxes later this year with deployment slated for early next year. Bright House is tracking similarly to TW, said Advance/Newhouse svp policy & product Arthur Ordu?a. Comcast is in the midst of technical trials in a few cities, including Denver and Philly, and expects OCAP rollout in ’08, said James Mumma, dir, Comcast ITV prod dev.