According to a letter the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) submitted to the FCC, TiVo is working on an Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) port. Long term, this seems like an inevitable software engineering initiative if TiVo plans to continue working with the likes of Comcast and Cox.
Multiple guides, multiple VOD applications, switched digital applications, interactive advertising, caller ID, email viewers, on screen subscriptions, and even the TiVo interface are being ported to OCAP.
I’ve got a few questions in to TiVo, Inc on this… Should they choose to respond, I’ll post an update.
UPDATE: I’ve heard back from TiVo who confirms discussions of an OCAP port. This could possibly explain the delay in rolling out Motorola Comcast cable boxes running TiVo software… Though I doubt it: Sounds like the Comcast Moto TiVo is nearly ready to go, whereas OCAP is probably many months away from any sort of widespread rollout.
In conjunction with development deals with Comcast and Cox, TiVo has announced that it is porting its DVR application to non-TiVo hardware, such as Motorola DVRs. This development work is built on a Java-Based pre-cursor middleware to OCAP. Efforts to port the TiVo application to OCAP are subject to ongoing business discussions between TiVo and its cable partners.
By contrast, TiVo has not announced any plans to use OCAP for any standalone boxes, including the TiVo Series3 HD DVR.
DVR software maker Digeo (Moxi) is onboard, and has been developing for the OCAP platform — they don’t have the brand recognition or fervent TiVo fanbase, but they probably have a large head start.
For the uninitiated, OCAP is middleware for cable boxes. The idea is everyone (Cox, Comcast, TWC, etc) runs a common operating system (OCAP) on their hardware and then they build or commission Java software/applications to run on top of it. It’s supposed to save money in the long run and open the door to third party developers, though not everyone buys it. There has also been a proposal that the CableCARD 2.0 spec require OCAP. I had a nice OCAP Q&A with a Motorola exec, if you’re interested in more (potentially biased) info.