Cable companies' new deal by Claudia Sonea

Good fellows around the world, Sony electronics Inc and US’ six largest cable companies are going to bright our day. Most of you were dealing with issues due to the set-top box imposed by the cable companies like two remote controls or the limitations to one way service. After many efforts to offer quality cable television and the opportunity for consumers to buy the equipment they chose, the manufacturers of consumer electronics and cable companies seem to be on the right track. This news was made public on Tuesday by Sony Electronics Inc., the National Cable and Telecommunications Association with the first one agreeing to implement the cable industry's technology in its products. Although they did not offer any date for when the merged products will be available it is still a good news and a step forward. Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp. and Bright House Networks who own more than 80 percent of the cable market are the six cable companies involved in the deal and they hope to attract other manufacturers too. They hope to get rid of the rented set-top box and the card cables that were rather unpopular among customers. Also there will be a two way feature included, that means video on demand, on-screen channel guides and digital video recorders offered by the cable companies. Yet, there seem to remain an obstacle: the Federal Communications Commission. They requested for a two-way standard, but the FCC gave no answer to their request and the outcome is still unclear. Therefore, don’t go away, more to come…

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_hi_te/cable_boxes;_ylt=Ai3eeiuHpirXzPDNPIwtnois0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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