Audio Video News

Sony has signed an agreement with six major cable operators to make its products compatible with the new bidirectional, or Tru2Way, CableCARD standard. Unlike the original unidirectional CableCARD, the updated standard accommodates video on demand.

The "memorandum of understanding" will potentially make 82 percent of U.S. cable subscribers more receptive to buying Tru2Way-compatible Sony products. The cable ops who signed the agreement are Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, and Bright House.

Other CE companies who have signed on with the CableLabs-developed Tru2Way standard include LG and Panasonic for DTVs, TiVo for DVRs, and Samsung for both DTVs and DVRs. Some of these companies demonstrated prototypes of Tru2Way products at this past January's Consumer Electronics Show.

Sony's move attracted favorable comments from various quarters, including Rep. Rick Boucher, the CE-savvy Democratic congressman from Virginia; Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, a manufacturer trade group; and of course Kyle McSlarrow, CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Many cable operators signed on to offer the original one-way CableCARD, only to actively obstruct its adoption because of the old standard's failure to support VOD. Let's hope this new one has better luck.