Comments on: Despite Big Talk, Tru2way Could Suffer the Fate of CableCard

By: Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:12:03 +0000

@Alfred and @Mari – both good points. I was remiss in not mentioning TV Everywhere. Opencable/Tru2way has been gestating for 10 years, meanwhile you have IP and OTT video and interactivity popping up everywhere we look around the TV, and its certainly not being led by the cable industry. I think tectonic shifts are afoot due to the Internet and rich media being delivered by it reaching the living room (Comcast/NBCU – this is one of the motivations for Comcast IMO).

By: Mari Silbey

Mari Silbey — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:45:07 +0000

I’ve gone back and forth on this question. Tru2way is certainly valuable to MSOs, but it rapidly loses value if the planned migration to IP takes place. I think it’s all going to be a matter of timing. Tru2way will move forward if the IP timeline is long, but it will presumably falter if the cablecos get aggressive on IP. That’s my guess.

By: Alfred Poor

Alfred Poor — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:42:45 +0000

Like Blu-ray, Tru2way is trying to solve a problem of the past. Many cable companies are realizing that the connection they want is Cat5, not coax, and use the Internet for distribution. The new “TV Anywhere” initiative launched by Time Warner but backed now by Verizon and Comcast is the real answer to providing viewers access to what they want, when they want, where they want. And given growing rate of Internet-connected HDTV sets, the cable companies don’t have to worry about more hardware or new STB designs. Ask Microsoft; the money has always been in the software (content/service), not the hardware.