Comcast’s quiet acquisition of Dutch technology company Metrological was a strategic move intended to bolster its RDK Management consortium and put competitive pressure on Android TV in the U.S. and European set-top business.

So said the UK’s Rethink Research, which said Comcast “acquired a gem of a vendor with a revered team capable of boosting RDK recognition in Europe while defending the ranks against Android TV's belated invasion into the U.S.”

Related: Android TV’s U.S. Invasion Has Officially Begun

Comcast confirmed news originating out of the IBC Show in Amsterdam this week that it had purchased the local technology company. It also confirmed that Metrological’s staff would report to Steve Heeb, Comcast's VP and GM of licensing and strategic development.

Notably, Heeb is also in charge of RDK Management, a consortium run by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications. RDK Management is the umbrella org for the Reference Design Kit, a pre-designed software stack that powers pay TV set-tops, broadband gateways and other operator CPE.

For its part, Metrological had been employed by Comcast and Liberty Global to natively embed apps including Netflix into video systems like X1. And more broadly, RDK has been working with Metrological since year to provide pay TV customers access to the Metrological App Store, which has more than 300 OTT apps.

Over the last 24 months, RDK has watched as Google’s Android TV platform has become a preferred set-top software base in Europe, with operators looking for an inexpensive means to provide their customers access to popular OTT apps. Android TV lets users shop the Google Play store for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and hundreds of other OTT apps.

In April, Google told MCN that Android TV had been deployed with more than 140 pay TV operators worldwide, and that it was starting to make traction in the U.S.

For its part, Metrological had been looking at ways to get involved with Android TV, too. But the Comcast deal has the potential to swing the momentum back in RDK’s favor.

“Presumably the [Comcast] acquisition signals the end of Metrological’s exploration into the Android TV operator tier arena,” Rethink Research analyst Thomas Flanagan wrote. 

Arris said it is the first supplier to offer Reference Design Kit (RDK) software on its new lineup of EPON gateways, seizing on a trend that has seen cable operators complement their networks with targeted fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) deployments.

The move will put those cable operators in position to unify the software stack they are using for broadband gateways that support both their widely deployed hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks and the small subset of FTTP networks.

RDK is a preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that is managed by a joint venture of Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications. RDK has been adapted for both video set-tops (RDK-V) and broadband devices (RDK-B). More than 350 companies spanning CPE makers, silicon vendors, software developers, systems integrators and service providers are currently part of the RDK community.

Service providers that are implementing RDK software include Comcast and Cox Communications in the U.S.; Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications and Videotron in Canada; Liberty Global, NOS, The Quickline Group, Vodafone and Tele Columbus in Europe; and J:COM, Japan’s largest cable operator.

RELATED: RDK Rides the Adoption Wave

Arris said the integration of RDK into its new EPON gateways will provide MSOs with a unified backoffice system for both fiber and DOCSIS architectures while also simplifying elements such as network provisioning. Arris has also tied its own HomeAssure home WiFi management platform into those EPON devices.

Arris said it recently completed its first RDK EPON gateway deployment in the U.S. with an unnamed tier-1 operator (Comcast is one of the known MSO adopters of EPON technology) and has already pushed ahead with “high-volume” RDK deployments on multiple DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 gateways.

"Arris’s support of RDK for its global EPON gateways is a testament to the continuous innovation of Arris and also demonstrates the versatility of the RDK open-source software," Steve Heeb, president and GM of RDK Management LLC, said in a statement. "As service providers around the globe look to deploy fiber gateways, RDK provides a common method to manage core functionality, including home networking, IoT interfaces, device management, real time diagnostics, and more."

RDK Management LLC, a joint venture of Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications, said more than 40 million devices – including set-tops and broadband gateways – are now running Reference Design Kit software.

RELATED: RDK Rides the Adoption Wave

That total is up by more than 62% from this time last year, RDK Management said in numbers that were released in tandem with this week’s Connected TV World Summit in London.

RDK Management also announced that its community members have surpassed 350 companies, up 17% from 2017. Those members include chipmakers, set-top makers, software companies as well as service operators that include Cox Communications, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, Videotron,  NOS, NOWO, J:COM, Melita, The Quickline Group, Vodafone (formerly Kabel Deutschland), and Tele Columbus, among others.

RDK has historically focused on video set-tops (RDK-V) and broadband gateways (RDK-B), but has also added core interfaces used in smart home and IoT devices, including Bluetooth, Thread and Zigbee, and is developing open source software for chips that run on a range of new devices, including home video cameras and WiFi extenders.

“With more than 40 million RDK-based set-top boxes and broadband gateways deployed globally, it’s clear that service providers, and their suppliers, have found a prime open source software development platform upon which to drive future growth and innovation,” Steve Heeb, president and GM of RDK Management, said in a statement.

RDK Management-- a joint venture of Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications -- and Broadcom have forged a strategic development agreement that will more closely integrate chipset-level software from Broadcom with RDK’s open source software.

They believe the effort, announced as the 2018 RDK Americas Summit gets underway Wednesday in Denver, will create a common software porting layer that will simplify and standardize RDK deployments across consumer premises equipment suppliers used by video and broadband service providers around the globe.

RELATED: RDK Rides the Adoption Wave

The work all stems around the Reference Design Kit, a preintgrated software stack for video set-tops (RDK-V) and a newer flavor for gateways (RDK-B).  RDK Management and Broadcom will initially focus the agreement on RDK-V software, and include broadband gateway system-on-a-chip (SoC) and RDK-B software later.

The new effort is emerging in part because each CPE maker has typically used slightly modified SoC-layer software to support RDK-based devices, even when using the same Broadcom SoC and same version of RDK software. The revised approach, they said, will provide for a more efficient process to keep Broadcom SoC software development kit versions in sync with RDK versions.

RELATED: IBC 2017: J:COM Taps Ericsson for New Multiscreen Service

To that end, RDK Management and Broadcom will synchronize the release of new RDK versions with the new Broadcom SDK porting layer versions that Broadcom makes available to its licensees. The result, they said, will optimize and streamline the service provider’s ability to develop and deploy software used on Broadcom-powered devices.

“By simplifying and streamlining the underlying software, services providers and their CPE suppliers can focus more of their attention on enhancing customer experiences that drive business results,” Steve Heeb, president and GM of RDK Management, said in a statement.

“We believe that optimizing the RDK-SoC SDK porting layer will enable CPE manufactures and service providers to deploy and iterate even faster,” added Rich Nelson, senior vice president and general manager, of Broadcom’s set-top box and cable modem division.

RDK Management said more than 25 service providers in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia are in various stages of evaluation, testing, trials, or deployment, and more than 300 vendors (CE companies, chipmakers, software developers and system integrators) that are involved in RDK.

On the service provider side, known RDK adopters/implementers include Comcast, Cox Communications, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, Videotron, Liberty Global, NOS, The Quickline Group, Vodafone (formerly Kabel Deutschland), Tele Columbus, and J:Com.

Video software and TV apps specialist Metrological said its RDK App Emulator has tested and certified more than 250 apps for set-tops and other devices that run the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated software stack for hybrid and IP-only boxes and gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Time Warner Cable.

RDK Management LLC, the RDK joint venture, and Metrological introduced the RDK App Emulator in April. Metrological combined its application framework with the RDK to create the app emulator, which enables developers to prototype, create and test RDK apps remotely on a laptop without the need for a physical RDK device or set-top box. 

Al Jazeera and Euroenews are among the content developers that have downloaded Metrological’s RDK App Emulator. 

Certification means those apps are deemed deployment-ready for the RDK platform.

Update: A Metrological official said that apps that have been certified for RDK span gaming, weather, social media and news, and include YouTube and Facebook. 

“It has been extremely valuable to affirm that apps are running smoothly on the RDK set-top box software stack without needing modifications or adjustments,” said Albert Dahan, co-founder and CTO of Metrological, in a statement. “We are very pleased to offer this testing tool to the video development community. Open technologies like the RDK, are changing the pace of innovation, opening up development of video services to any developer at web deployment speed.” 

RDK Management LLC, the joint venture running the Reference Design Kit for IP and hybrid set-tops and gateways, has launched a remotely-accessible app development and test environment in partnership with Metrological, a TV application company based in the Netherlands.

Metrological combined its application framework with the RDK to create Metrological’s RDK App Emulator, which will help developers build prototypes and test RDK apps remotely without requiring a physical RDK device or set-top box. Metrological will administer and distribute the new emulator to developers looking to create apps on top of the RDK, regardless of whether they are RDK licensees, the companies said.

RDK Management is a joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global, and has more than 200 licensees, including other MVPDs, chipmakers, set-top makers, system integrators, and test and measurement firms.

Metrological joins other vendors that have close ties to the RDK. In 2013, RDK Management tapped itaas (now part of Cognizant) to oversee community support services and technical support and training for licensees of the RDK, and S3 Group to handle J.V.’s code management function. 

Metrological was announced as an RDK licensee last year. UPC Hungary, a unit of Liberty Global, offers apps from Metrological on the MSO’s high-end IP-based video platform and has  adapted some to run on older non-IP set-tops.

“Supporting app developers to create apps on top of the RDK is a very important part of the RDK mission,” said Steve Heeb, president and GM of RDK Management. “Thanks to Metrological, the RDK can attract an even larger base of app developers that can provide apps to operators. Our long term goal is for the app developer community to view the RDK as the premier platform that brings new levels of innovation to the video industry.”

“This new developer environment gives app developers of any size the ability to develop and test new RDK applications on their own laptops, which will help extend innovative new app experiences to the TV,” added Metrological CTO Albert Dahan. “Metrological is proud to play such an important role in supporting the growing RDK app development community.” 

Adding technical pieces that will make the Reference Design Kit (RDK) compatible with cable systems in Europe and other parts of the globe, the preintegreated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and other devices has extended support for the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard.

The announcement was made Wednesday at the Connected TV Summit in London by RDK Management LLC, the joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global – MSOs that have also deployed or are planning to deploy devices powered by the RDK.

RDK Management noted that it is also working with the RDK community on a path to support the use of in-band DVB system information (SI) for European operators.

“DVB support has been on the RDK roadmap since the inception of our joint venture, and we’re very pleased to announce continued progress on that commitment,” said Steve Heeb, president and general manager of RDK Management, in a statement. The RDK’s applicability is global, and these enhancements will enable operators in Europe and other parts of the world to more easily leverage the RDK for deployment in their markets.”

RDK Management credited SeaChange International for making “significant contributions of software components” that are extending the RDK’s applicability for use in DVB markets.

“SeaChange and its video gateway software customers have realized the advantages that the RDK provides in product development cycles and post-deployment in terms of speed to market and innovation,” added Shiva Patibanda, SVP and CTO of SeaChange. “We’re eager to help our colleagues in Europe garner these performance improvements with locally optimized versions of the RDK.”

The RDK initially focused on video-centric set-tops, gateways and client devices, but has been expanding to support broadband services as MSOs develop all-service gateways based on an underlying, common software stack.

The RDK has been licensed by more than 150 companies, including CE manufacturers, chip makers, software developers, and system integrators. It has also been licensed by more than 15 service operators, including Liberty Global, Kabel Deutschland, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. Other MSOs that are on board as licensees, or at least said to be interested in the RDK, include Rogers Communications of Canada and Japan’s J:COM.

According to an RDK official, the DVB extensions follow the release of RDK 2.0 in February. RDK 2.0 includes a “build framework” aimed at simplifying and speeding up the software build process and to remove the dependency on the Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) middleware. Alongside the release of RDK 2.0, the community also got access to an emulator that lets licensees test applications without the need for an RDK set-top, and an RDK test development kit that provides a framework for automated testing of RDK components and features.

Of recent note, HItron Technologies demonstrated an RDK 2.0-based implementation of a “headless” gateway with an integrated EuroDOCSIS 3.0 modem capable of bonding 24 downstream channels and built-in 802.11ac WiFi. In the demo, the gateway enabled DVR features and a time-shift buffer using an eternal USB hard drive.