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(Credit: CableLabs)

Update: Subsequent to the publication of this story, Panasonic has released a more detailed statement on the status of its Tru2way TVs.

CableLabs' Tru2way got a big boost last month when Sony signed on with a pledge to design and deliver TVs that incorporate the standard, bolstering an already impressive list of backers. The Web was flooded with optimistic reports of a post-cable box Valhalla where you could simply buy a Tru2way TV, screw in your coaxial cable, and have plug-and-play access to your 1,000-channel universe. Before those miracle TVs hit the market, however, they need to be certified by CableLabs--and there are rumors that the initial trials aren't going well. According to IP Democracy, the initial certification tests for Panasonic Tru2way TVs were unsuccessful--to say the least. The post cites "folks close to Tru2way" as calling the Panasonic tests a "'disaster of spectacular proportions'" that resulted in "'dozens and dozens' of bugs."

In an attempt to verify those dire--but anonymous--quotes, we contacted Panasonic and CableLabs for their responses. ... Read More

If the industry press is to be believed, Tuesday's announcement that Sony would be producing TVs with Tru2way compatibility was a watershed event--the electronics world equivalent of the Magna Carta or the Treaty of Versailles. But let's step back a bit and examine what this really means.

Tru2way is a digital cable technology developed by CableLabs that's designed to be built directly into TVs, eliminating the need for an outboard set-top box. In theory, you'd be able to buy a Tru2way-compatible TV, bring it home, connect it to your coaxial cable, and instantly be able to receive your entire lineup of digital cable and high-def channels--including all the interactive video-on-demand and pay-per-view channels that currently require a cable box.

(Credit: CableLabs)

If this sounds familiar, it's because many of the same promises were made several years ago with a technology called CableCard. TVs that shipped with a CableCard slot were called "Digital Cable Ready" (DCR); they required a smart card, provided by your local cable operator, to receive digital and HD channels. The problem with CableCard was that it was an interim solution that satisfied nobody. Everyone--cable companies, hardware manufacturers, government regulators, and consumers--found CableCard technology lacking. Among the problems:

• CableCard was effectively a one-way technology, so it was incompatible with any interactive services, including video-on-demand and pay-per-view services that customers have grown to like, and cable companies depend on as a major revenue stream.
• CableCard was incompatible with Switched Digital Video (SDV) technology, which more cable providers are--or will soon be--utilizing to deliver more HD channels despite bandwidth limitations. As a result, CableCard devices such as the TiVo HD DVR need an outboard tuner (basically, a second cable box) to receive those channels, which often include the newest and most desirable HD stations.
• The CableCard installation and setup still required the cable companies to "roll a truck" to the customer's home--so it didn't save the company any time or money versus a cable box setup.
• Original CableCard setups were limited to just one tuner, so dual-tuner applications--such as picture in picture and the ability to record one show while watching another--were unavailable. (This issue was addressed with dual slots on the TiVo HD, as well as the multi-stream "M-card," which allowed for dual tuning--it was rarely deployed by cable operators.)
• CableCard setups are notoriously finicky, and often require one or more follow-up visits from the cable technician.
• The electronic programming guide (EPG) interface on most CableCard TVs was either bare bones or nonexistent. That was bad for users who've grown used to increasingly sophisticated EPGs (on TiVo and satellite DVRs). It also frustrated cable providers who were used to controlling that interface on their own boxes, where--for better or worse--they could add advertisements, customized graphics, and other "branding" that so excites multimillion dollar corporations.
• TVs with CableCard support often charged a slight premium over their non-CableCard counterparts--meaning that consumers were often paying more, but (as evidenced by the laundry list of issues above) getting less.

Not surprisingly, there was an immediate clamor for "CableCard 2.0" to address all of those issues. And that's effectively what Tru2way is: the next-gen CableCard, without the physical card. (You may have heard it mentioned during its years of development, when it was alternately referred to as "OpenCable" or "Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP)".) And--on paper, at least--it seems as if CableLabs and its partners finally got it right this time.

Tru2way is designed from the ground up to be interactive, customizable (for the cable provider), and plug-and-play. Switched digital video, video-on-demand, pay-per-view, HD channels, dual-tuner support--it should all work without a hitch, and deliver an identical experience on your local cable system, no matter which Tru2way TV you're buying.

There are plenty of other potential advantages. Tru2way TVs should be able to offer additional functionality, such as built-in DVRs. (A handful of CableCard DVR/TV combos were released, but they never took off, thanks largely to the problems outlined above.) And including the tuner inside the TV would offer the potential for better picture quality, since a TV signal native to the TV would no longer be reliant on the so-so video processing found on most set-top boxes.

Beyond the TV, Tru2way functionality could be built in to third-party DVRs (TiVo is already said to be working on a "Series4" DVR that utilizes the technology) and accessories. Among the other possibilities: a Tru2way Slingbox with a built-in tuner; an adapter that turns the Xbox 360 or PS3 into a cable-ready DVR; true home theater PCs; and portable TV viewers (such as the Comcast/Panasonic player shown in January).

So what's not to like? Nothing--except that none of this yet exists in the real world. Until you can actually buy one of these Tru2way products at Best Buy, Circuit City, or Amazon.com, it's all theoretical.

Sony joins Panasonic, Samsung, and RCA on the Tru2way roadmap, but whether any of these companies will actually deliver a real world Tru2way product before the end of the year remains to be seen. And even if they do, there are plenty of other questions. How much will cable companies charge you for the privilege of connecting a Tru2way product to their pipe? (Our guess: exactly the same fee they charge for renting the box you have now.)

And why will companies like TiVo bother developing Tru2way boxes if the consumer will be forced to use the drab cable company interface versus the far superior TiVo UI? Just imagine, for instance, if a future Apple TV offers Tru2way compatibility, but instead of its slick Apple home screen, you're stuck with a Comcast/Time Warner/Cox EPG the minute you toggle to live TV. For most users, that would eliminate the whole reason for upgrading in the first place.

Color us skeptical
The bottom line is this: Tru2way certainly looks to offer the potential for cable customers to return to the simple, halcyon days of "cable ready" TVs--just one wire, just one remote. But until we see the products hit stores in the real world, and see how--or if--they work as advertised on cable systems around the country, color us skeptical. In the meantime, we'll be waiting patiently in the downstairs rec room, sitting on hold with tech support, trying to get the CableCard PC up and running.

What do you think: Will Tru2way make for a better cable TV experience? Or will it be the latest consumer electronics scheme to overpromise and underdeliver?

Update (5/29/2008): Be sure to read the detailed comment below from reader MegaZone (who runs the Gizmolovers website). He offers some important corrections and expansions to my CableCard/Tru2way analysis.

To date, TiVo's CableCard DVRs weren't compatible with SDV channels.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

As of the most recent software update (9.2), TiVo's added quite a few fixes to its high-def DVRs: the Series3 and the TiVo HD now offer the TiVo To Go, Multi-Room Viewing, Rhapsody, and expandable storage features that were originally promised. Now it appears that TiVo has solved the other big sticking point: compatibility with Switched Digital Video (SDV) technology. The company announced today that it's developed (with the help of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association) an add-on USB adapter that will enable its two high-def DVRs to properly tune cable channels being broadcast with SDV technology.

Assuming it pans out, the SDV compatibility is something of a breakthrough because it removes a giant caveat from the buying decision for potential TiVo consumers. SDV technology has been hailed as something of a savior for bandwidth-starved cable operators, because it allows them to cram more digital and high-definition channels into their existing channel space as they struggle for "most HD channels" bragging rights with satellite and fiber competitors. The problem to date was that SDV channels--which effectively are delivered "on demand" when you tune to them--were not available on third-party cable boxes using existing CableCard technology. In other words, customers with standard cable boxes were fine, but anyone with a third-party CableCard device--such as a TiVo, some home theater PCs, and many "DCR" (digital cable ready) TVs--would be unable to watch any of the SDV channels.

With TiVo owners still in the minority and SDV technology not yet widely deployed, the incompatibility problem was a looming issue on the horizon. But with more cable providers set to roll out SDV in the upcoming months, it was set to bloom into a full-blown crisis, with TiVo owners suddenly finding themselves unable to watch new HD channels coming online on their cable system. With a solution now on the roadmap, TiVo's high-def DVRs look a lot more future-proof--and easier to recommend.

The press release specifies that the USB adapter will work with TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs, as well as "any Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Product (UDCP) that has a USB connector and necessary firmware"--which, ideally, includes the forthcoming Digeo Moxi and aforementioned PC devices, as well as future third-party video devices as well. (With USB ports and upgradeable firmware still a relative rarity on TVs--plus the fact that CableCards are disappearing from the spec sheets of most current TV models--don't hold your breath for an update if you're one of the small number of HDTV owners using a CableCard.) The new adapters are scheduled to be available in the second quarter of 2008. No pricing was specified.

Is this the new TiVo Series 3 Lite?

(Credit: Tivo Community)

While a cheaper Series 3 TiVo has certainly kicked around the rumor mill for some time now--and was essentially confirmed by CEO Tom Rogers earlier this year--the rumors have a new air of legitimacy, thanks to the posters at TiVo Community. While "Super Moderators" such as Mike Lang have been coyly hinting that the rumors are true since last Friday, yesterday posts containing images and detailed specs of the new Series 3 "Lite" showed up, along with links to the product page at Buy.com. This all adds up to pretty solid confirmation that we should be seeing a TiVo Series 3 "Lite" sooner rather than later, and according to the rumors, it's really not as much of step-down as you might think.

As far as we can tell from the leaked info, the biggest difference in terms of features between the current Series 3 and the Series 3 Lite seems to be the smaller hard drive, with the Series 3 Lite sporting only a 160GB drive compared to the 250GB drive of the current Series 3. The other differences, at least to us, are pretty trivial: no OLED front display, no THX certification, and just a standard TiVo remote.

With such minor differences, you might expect the Series 3 Lite to be priced only slightly lower, but the rumored MSRP is $300--a full $500 less than the current MSRP of the Series 3 (but both still require a $13 monthly fee). We think that's a trade-off a lot of TiVo fans are going to like, especially since if (as speculated on the thread) there's an eSata port to add hard drive space as on current Series 3--although you need to use a hack to get it working.

Of course, even a Series 3 Lite will still have to compete with the cable company's DVRs, which might not be a user-friendly as TiVo, but they usually offer most of the same functionality for a low monthly free and no upfront cost. And with the new rules requiring further adoption of CableCards by cable companies, we expect TiVo to see some additional competition from other third-party CableCard DVRs--we were impressed by Moxi's demo a few weeks ago. Either way, we're looking forward to getting the full details on the Series 3 "Lite."

Sources: TiVo Community via Engadget