By Joseph W. Weber, David Broberg, CableLabs
Under the current agreement between CE companies and cable operators, unidirectional “digital cable ready” televisions may soon be offered to consumers. Cable customers could be able to receive premium digital content without the need for a set-top box through the use of a conditional access point-of-deployment (POD) device. As these single-program POD devices begin to be deployed, CableLabs along with its members and the vendor community is developing a next-generation POD capable of providing multiple streams of premium digital content. This will enable new devices and expanded services such as picture-in-picture, watch-and-record PVR, and home networking of multiple displays within the home. This article looks at the features of the second generation POD and some of the technical details of how it will operate.