Vendors Line Up Demos For CableLabs Confab

Testing and integration support for the Reference Design Kit (RDK), 4K video, and what’s on the horizon for mobile apps are among the demos that vendors will demo at the CableLabs Winter Conference, set to run March 2-5 in Atlanta.

Here’s a sampling of what will be shown at the private event:

  • Synacor, provider of Web start pages and TV Everywhere services, said it will offer an early look at a next-gen framework “that deeply embeds into MVPDs’ native mobile apps, its Android customization capabilities, and a TVE auto-authorization offering that was recently used for its support of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
  • Sumitomo Electric Lightwave and Omnitron Systems will trot out the integration of Sumitomo’s FSU7100 DOCSIS Provisioning of Ethernet (DPoE)-qualified series EPON optical line terminal with Omnitron’s iConverter GM4 Network Interface Demarcation Device. They claim the interop will help to accelerate deployments of DPoE, a CableLabs spec that brings DOCSIS-style provisioning to EPON deployments for business services.
  • Video software specialist Espial, maker of a set-top box client designed to enable operators to port apps to RDK-based boxes, will show off an interactive HTML5-based TV experience running on multiple RDK-based hybrid and IP-only devices.
  • S3 Group will show off native 4K image handling via its StormTest automation platform, and its RDK migration process for MSOs and set-top box vendors. S3 Group is the code management coordinator for RDK Management LLC, the Comcast/Time Warner Cable joint venture tasked with managing the RDK.
  • aioTV said it is among the vendors selected to participate in the event’s Innovation Showcase. Among its recent handiwork, aioTV has introduced an Android-powered “PassBox” that, when linked to a set-top or a digital transport adapter through an HDMI connection, merges over-the-top services and apps with an MSO’s subscription video service.
  • ZCorum will demo its latest diagnostics wares, including the RF Inspector, an app that can replace the meter that would normally be used to analyse downstream spectrum. That app, which sells for $9.95 per year, is designed to work with DOCSIS cable modem chipsets. The current version can work with the Intel Puma 5 DOCSIS 3.0 processor and the MaxLinear MxL261 eight-channel D3 front-end receiver. On the roadmap is support for new 16- and 25-channel modems that use the Intel Puma 6 and MaxLinear’s Full-Spectrum Capture receivers, the company said. ZCorum will also show off a Proactive Network Maintenance tool that lets MSOs locate and fix upstream impairments.
  • SMK Electronics, a maker of remote controls and CE accessories, will showcase a family of “Voice-Over-RF” gesture-enabled remotes that use ZigBee and Bluetooth wireless protocols. The company is also touting a Wi-Fi Direct capability that, the company claims, guarantees secure remote device interconnectivity without the need for wireless routers or access points.