Here’s something that happened about a month ago that few seemed to notice – The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) “dissolved” as a non-profit trade group last month and handed certification activities over to SpireSpark International, a newly formed services firm founded by former DLNA execs, including CEO Donna Moore, that is based in Portland, Ore.

Per the announcement, made with little fanfare, the DLNA, which had included Comcast, Verizon and Sony among its members, has “achieved its mission” now that billions of products now carry the DLNA label.

“We are extremely proud of what the members and staff of DLNA have accomplished - creating the world’s largest connected-home product ecosystem with nearly 4 billion units certified across more than 25,000 device models during the past 13 years,” Stephen Palm, chairman and president of DLNA, said in a statement.

In addition to handing the keys to SpireSpark, DLNA certification is now open to all companies, and no DLNA membership is required. SpireSpark will also offer “specialized program support services for organizations that are running their own programs” while focusing on areas such as the certification programs, QA services, engineering services, association setup, conference management, and member marketing services.

Notably, devices still must pass the DLNA certification test to get the certification mark. However, the SpireSpark site notes that there “will be no further work on updating the guidelines” for DLNA.

DLNA released its 4.0 guidelines last year. 

Some cable operators, notably Comcast and Cox Communications, have been focusing on VidiPath, a set of DLNA guidelines that allow them to stream their services and their associated interfaces securely over the home network to other VidiPath-compatible, customer-owned devices.

RELATED: Cable's 'VidiPath' to Retail 

DLNA isn’t the only association with home connecitivty links to undergo a significant change in recent months and years.

Last fall, HomePlug made its technical specs publicly available, claiming that the technology had reached “maturation” as a global broadband standard for powerline technologies even if the standard seemed to be effectively placed on ice. It also announced a memorandum of understanding with the Wi-SUN Alliance that included the transition of certification testing. At the time, it also announced that the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) had signed a Letter of Intent to explore the opportunity for MoCA to assume the certification and test spec programs for nVoy program focused on providing product certification and marketing for interoperable products using the IEEE 1905.1 hybrid home networking standard.

Update: We hear that nVoy-focused work eventually landed at the Broadband Forum. 

The HomePNA Alliance, meanwhile, is now merged with the HomeGrid Forum, a group that promotes G.hn, a home networking platform that can run on coax, phone lines, powerlines and plastic optical fibers.

Meanwhile, other groups focused on home networking technologies such as MoCA and The Wi-Fi Alliance are still humming along. 

The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) this week released the 4.0 version of its guidelines for secure, in-home streaming to interoperable TVs, PCs, mobile devices.

The latest version, it said, solves a “media format not supported” problem between devices, addressing a long-standing complaint from consumers found with some media files stores on their servers.  DLNA said it’s addressing that by mandating transcoding on the media server.

The 4.0 version, which has been submitted for adoption as a global standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), also adds support for Ultra HD video streaming  and HEVC video compression, IPv6, and elements that make supported devices more energy-efficient.  

Products that support DLNA 4.0 will be marked with a new logo.

“With the new Guidelines and logo, consumers will be able to buy products that they know will work together to the highest levels of compatibility while supporting the latest high-definition media formats and energy-saving features,” Duncan Bees, VP of technology and strategy at DLNA, said in a statement.

Comcast, Verizon, Broadcom, AwoX, Dolby Laboratories, Intel, LG, Panasonic, Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter Communications), and Sony are among leading members of DLNA.

MSOs, Cox Communications and Comcast in particular, have been focusing on VidiPath, DLNA guidelines that enable  MVPDs stream their services associated interfaces securely over the home network to other VidiPath-compatible, customer-owned devices through a downloaded MVPD app. VidiPath was one of several options presented to the FCC during the Commission's pursuit of new set-top rules aimed at succeeding the CableCARD.

In a decision that calls into question the long-term future of Dish Network’s virtual client software for certain smart TVs and gaming consoles, the pay TV operator confirmed that the Virtual Joey is currently unavailable for purchase to new customers.

Existing customers can continue to use Virtual Joey, a spokesperson said. Dish declined to comment when asked if the company intends to phase out the Virtual Joey. Dish also has not announced if intends to launch a next-gen version of the client, which Dish had been offering for $7 per month.

The Virtual Joey enables the secure navigation of both linear TV and DVR recordings using HTML5. As a component of a whole-home solution, the Virtual Joey app is authenticated during connection to the associated Hopper HD-DVR device, and behaves like a traditional hardware-based Joey client device.

The Virtual Joey was one of several currently MVPD retail-focused features presented in a report (PDF) issued to the FCC on August 28 by the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC), which advised the Commission on possible alternatives to the CableCARD that could be applied to a range of MVPDs and spark a more robust retail market for set-tops and other video devices. The DSTAC failed to come up with a unified recommendation, instead offering the FCC a variety of possible options.

Other MVPDs are using, or plan to use, different technologies to deliver their UIs and services securely to retail devices.

DirecTV has been focused on an approach based on RVU for “DirecTV Ready” TVs made by Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and LG that connect via the home network to a Genie HD-DVR.

Some major U.S. cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, have been getting behind VidiPath, a set of guidelines developed the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) that identifies devices, including set-tops, consoles and tablets sold at retail, that support subscription TV content from cable operators and other types of MVPDs. At the INTX show in Chicago, a proof-of-concept demo (subscription required) showed Comcast’s X1 platform running on several retail devices, including TVs from Samsung and LG, without the need for a separate set-top box.

In a win for TiVo and a set-back of sorts for the Digital Living Network Alliance’s new “VidiPath” secure IP home networking standard, the FCC granted TiVo a waiver that will defer it from having to implement the DLNA’s technology until June 1, 2017.

In the FCC order released on Thursday, the Commission acknowledged that TiVo does not use an “open industry standard” as required by the rule, but did “find that its network interoperability solution enables subscribers to set up a home network and, given TiVo’s market share, we do not believe that a temporary waiver will undermine the goals” of the rule.

The rule on leased cable set-tops is set to take effect on June 1, 2015 (smaller cable MSOs had until Sept. 1, 2015 to comply), so TiVo has effectively secured a two-year waiver.

TiVo, which counts Suddenlink Communications, Grande Communications, RCN Corp. and Mediacom Communications among its U.S. MVPD partners, filed its petition for a waiver or a clarification of the rule for its products and services supplied to cable operators in August 2014, arguing that all of its products, including those sold at retail and wholesale to MSOs, already contain proprietary technology that would support the kind of home networking functionality supported by the DLNA standard, and that having to “back up” to the DLNA standard would impair its ability to  compete at retail and at the wholesale level. TiVo uses the technology in its whole-home DVR platform for set-tops and mobile devices.

The DLNA urged the FCC to deny the waiver, holding that its guidelines had been available long enough for TiVo to implement. The FCC said it sees benefits in expanding the availability of DLNA-compliant home networking equipment, but again cited TiVo’s “relatively small subscriber base” as a reason why a waiver wouldn’t undermine that process. Plus, TiVo’s currently deployed implementation “deliver much of what the rule intended to accomplish,” the FCC noted.

The National Cable Telecommunications Association and Verizon did not ask the FCC to deny TiVo’s petition but did ask the Commission to use it as an opportunity to waive the rule on an industry-wide basis. The FCC denied their request.

DLNA released the CVP-2 guidelines in March 2014, and followed in September with thedebut of the “VidiPath” brand and a certification  program -- initiatives that will provide a secure, in-home IP networking path, enabling MVPDs to deliver subscription TV content (and bridge their user interfaces and navigation systems) to VidiPath-certified retail CE products such as set-tops, gaming consoles, tablets and streaming devices.

Several major U.S. cable operators, meanwhile, are pushing ahead with the DLNA standard, as VidiPath was a focus of the INTX show in Chicago earlier this month.  Among the demos, DLNA showed Comcast’s Xfinity VidiPath Service for its X1 platform running on the MSO’s production plant and displaying on smart TVs and tablets. This video from an Imagine Park session at INTX shows VidiPath operating in tandem with X1. 

In addition to Comcast, DLNA members such as Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable have deployed or are expected to soon deploy set-tops and gateways outfitted with VidiPath servers.

Even with delayed support from TiVo, some analysts believe VidiPath is poised to take off. ABI Research recently projected that VidiPath-certified devices will be available in about 40% of all U.S. cable homes that subscribe to “advanced services” by 2016, expanding to 70% by 2020. If additional capabilities are added to VidiPath in the coming years (such as cloud-based deployment models and support by OTT video providers), ABI said adoption among the advanced cable service footprint could grow to 100%.  

TiVo took its turn at the FCC to argue for a proposed waiver or a clarification on rules that the CE company use a standardized home networking interface on products supplied wholesale to cable operators and other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).

TiVo’s latest round of comments, filed amid others on the matter from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), landed a few weeks after Verizon Communications urged the FCC to “seize the opportunity” to waive all tech mandates tied to set-tops and other navigation devices that are distributed to MVPDs. Verizon also argued that market-based solutions are being developed and implemented by MVPDs and the CE industry.

TiVo countered in part that Verizon’s request “is overly broad and far beyond the scope of this limited proceeding,” and that while MVPDs do make some cable content available on certain retail devices, those efforts still fall short of the competition envisioned by the current rules, which ban the use of integrated set-top security.

TiVo, which counts RCN, Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications among its MVPD partners, claimed that denying the waiver would “also harm the small and mid-sized cable operators who lack the economies of scale to fund the development of high end set-top boxes and rely on TiVo products and services, developed originally for the retail marketplace, to enable them to provide a superior DVR solution to their subscribers.”

TiVo filed the petition on August 29, acknowledging that TiVo products leased by MSOs don’t support “all elements of an open industry standard as that term has been defined by the Commission, and thus does not meet the letter of the rule.” It also argued that strict compliance of the rule would harm smaller cable operators that use TiVo products, that it would serve no public interests, and would be “extremely expensive” for TiVo given its historic investments.

TiVo also said that it had to work ahead of the DLNA, which released the CVP-2 guidelines in March, and followed in September with the debut of the “VidiPath” brand and a certification  program -- initiatives that will provide a secure, in-home IP networking path that will allow MVPDs to deliver subscription TV content (and bridge their user interfaces and navigation systems) to VidiPath-certified retail CE products such as set-tops, gaming consoles and streaming devices.

The DLNA weighed in with its own comments, telling the FCC that it should refrain from granting TiVo a permanent or temporary waiver because the VidiPath Guidelines “have been available for long enough to enable implementation.” Further, it put forth the claim that recently announced direct-to-consumer IP-delivered services from HBO and CBS “could be enabled by VidiPath.”

The NCTA, in its comments, called on the FCC to clarify whether a ruling by the D.C. court last year that vacated the 2003 Plug-and-Play order (EchoStar Satellite vs. FCC) also vacated the HD set-top box output rule in question. If that’s the case, the NCTA said, the TiVo request for waiver would be moot.

“TiVo’s petition is a good illustration of how ill-suited the constraints of the HD set-top box output rule are to today’s market,” the NCTA said, noting that the rule ties back to a mandate that all HD boxes include an IEEE 1394 digital connector (also known as FireWire), which the market has since rejected in favor of Ethernet and HDMI. The FCC doused the FireWire requirement in June 2010, so long as boxes provide alternative access to content over IP home networks.

The NCTA also pointed out that the HD box output rule is outdated in that it doesn’t reflect how cable video is consumed. Once locked to the set-top box, that content is now delivered through apps to mobile devices, connected TVs, PCs, gaming consoles and other devices, the  NCTA said.

“The better approach is for the Commission to confirm that Section 76.640(b)(4) no longer applies and allow the market to deliver diverse solutions,” NCTA said.

Echoing of another Verizon view, the NCTA said that if the FCC does decide that the HD set-top box output rule does still apply, the Commission should grant a waiver or any extension of the compliance deadline to the entire industry, and not exclusively to TiVo.

Here’s another sampling of what else is making news as the IBC show (September 11-16) gets rolling in Amsterdam (please go here for our first IBC news roundup):

-Media data management and analytics company Mediamorph has raised a $10 million in a  Series B found led by Liberty Global Ventures, with help from  Smedvig Capital, an existing Mediamorph investor. Mediamorph, which has raised $23 million so far according to Crunchbase (Mediamorph confirmed that figure), said it expects to close the round soon, with the participation of one or two more additional investors. The latest round, “will help us invest in our data management platform and bring on key hires to further scale our business,” Rob Gardos, the recently named CEO of Mediamorph, said in a statement.

-Elliptic Technologies said it is working with CableLabs to provide a reference implementation for DLNA’s CVP-2 (Commercial Video Profile-2) specs that utilizes Elliptic’s tVault for DTCP-IP (Digital Transmission Content Protection over Internet Protocol)  security system. DLNA just unveiled “VidiPath” as the consumer-facing brand and label for a certification program that will test CE video devices, including retail products, that are capable of supporting an MVPD’s full suite of services and user interface. Elliptic and CableLabs will provide a CVP-2 server reference design that uses Elliptic’s security and will facilitate client testing and the interoperability of VidiPath/CVP-2 devices.

-Cisco Systems said it’s expanding its Videoscape Virtualized Video Processing (V2P) system to virtualize and orchestrate the key functions required to deliver multiscreen video. Instead of requiring pay-TV operators to hardwire optimized gear for each type of screen, Cisco claims that its new orchestrated approach creates a common pool of hardware and software for multiscreen delivery.

-Broadcom has unleashed a family of eight hybrid satellite/terrestrial broadcast chipsets for set-top boxes that support High Efficiency Video Compression (HEVC)/H.265, a codec that is billed as 50% more bandwidth-efficient than MPEG-4/H.264. Broadcom said it’s also combining HEVC with the modulation efficiencies of DVB-S2, DVB-T2 (terrestrial standard for Europe and South Africa) , ISDB-T (terrestrial standard for Brazil, Latin America, the Philippines, Botswana and Japan) and ATSC (North America and Korea), and home-side IP connectivity using the 2.0 version of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance standard.

-IneoQuest Technologies said it has inked a deal to supply  video headend monitoring systems to Kabel Deutschland, the largest cable operator in Germany. KD’s systems connect about 8.3 million homes.

-Accedo has launched Accedo VIA, a next-gen multiscreen platform for PCs, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles. Accedo stitched VIA together in tandem with several tech partners, including DivX, Elemental Technologies, Movideo, MPP, NexStreaming, NXP Software, Ooyala, PayWizard, Comcast-owned thePlatform, Verimatrix, Vimond, VisualOn and Xstream.

The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has introduced a consumer-facing brand that will be used to identify set-tops, gaming consoles, streaming devices and other retail CE products that adhere to a new set of technical guidelines that enable the support of subscription TV content from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).

In addition to supporting the full suite of pay-TV services of a participating MVPD via a protected IP-based home network, VidiPath will also provide them with a way to bridge their user interface and navigation systems to VidiPath-certified devices that are sold at retail. DLNA released the CVP-2 guidelines in March, succeeding CVP-1, a set of guidelines that allowed only for limited DVR content sharing between an MSO-supplied box and DLNA-certified equipment.

On Thursday, DLNA also launched the VidiPath Certification program, which will be used to certify products that are based on the CVP-2/VidiPath guidelines. DLNA said it will demonstrate VidiPath-based products at the IBC, which off Friday, Sept. 12 in Amsterdam.

Scott Lofgren, president of DLNA and chairman of the DLNA board, said the organization has already held several VidiPath plug-fests and implemented the test programs. Five independent certification vendors have set up testing labs in five locations around the globe. Certification fees vary, including $15,000 for a “Class 1 Base Device” that allows the company to submit an unlimited number of derivatives of an original certified product for testing for a full year. VidiPath software testing costs $1,000.

Lofgren said at least 15 companies are working on VidiPath-compatible products now and anticipates that some will make it through the certification process in time for the 2014 holiday buying season. Additionally, four service providers are looking to support VidiPath/CVP-2 in their services and media servers/gateway products.

Devices that pass the test will be capable of supporting the full pay-TV experience of participating MVPDs. “It’s all about more eyeballs on more content and more devices,” Lofgren said, noting that he sees rollouts ramping up first in the U.S. this year before pushing ahead with service providers based in  Europe and Asia.

DLNA’s membership group includes CableLabs, MVPDs such as Comcast, CableLabs, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Communications, and Cox Communications, as well as suppliers and chipmakers, including Arris, Sony, LG, Intel and Broadcom.

Earlier this year, Comcast declined to say when it would support the new DLNA guidelines, but did acknowledge that it planned to integrate them into set-tops and gateways that run its X1 platform and use the Reference Design Kit, a preintegrated software stack for IP-capable video devices.  

“As products complete the VidiPath Certification process and get introduced into the market, we will be able to provide our services to customers on a growing choice of compatible devices that they can choose based on their unique requirements and preferences,” said Ken Klaer, senior vice president, Comcast Cable, in a statement.

"We are excited that the VidiPath Certification program has now begun. It will facilitate the interoperability between cable operator supplied STBs and VidiPath Certified CE devices, added, Tom Lookabaugh, chief R&D officer, CableLabs.

Looking ahead, DLNA has already outlined capabilities that are on the VidiPath roadmap, including integration with second screens that would allow the user to control content and navigate menus via tablets and smartphones. DLNA is also working on a way for VidiPath to support cloud-sourced content.

The VidiPath/CVP-2 guidelines are pushing ahead as the AllVid Tech Company Alliance continues to urge the FCC to pursue a successor to the CableCARD that could be applied to all MVPDs, and not just cable operators. Led by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the cable industry has argued that the FCC should allow the marketplace to develop on its own without additional government mandates.