By Joel Zdepski, Ph.D., OpenTV, Inc.
CableLabs, through the Open Cable process, has decided to adopt certain elements of the MHP standard. In this paper, we will provide perspectives on the nature of the differences between the MHP and its OCAP equivalent. Some of the implications of the changes as viewed from a middleware vendor and an application vendor will be discussed. OpenTV's road map for implementation of an OCAP/MHP solution that will also afford backwards compatibility with interactive solutions for existing thin set top boxes. The content migration path from thin middleware to OCAP and standards-compliant product architecture will be reviewed. We will also produce a forward-looking assessment of market trends in broadband/iTV content and resulting implications for set top box configurations and the software stack.