Integrated Broadcast/CATV Tuners

CableLabs' Off-Air Receiver Project Could Pull In TV Signals, Reclaim Bandwidth, Sidestep Retrans Fees

By Todd Spangler 3/12/2007 Multichannel News

Cable wants to put rabbit ears back in the home -- a technical irony that could help the industry conserve big chunks of bandwidth on its network of fiber and coaxial transmission pipes.

The plan could also let the industry avoid shelling out millions in retransmission fees to broadcasters.

CableLabs, in a two-paragraph press release earlier this month, said it is developing specifications for an interface that would let set-top boxes receive digital broadcast signals off the air. This technology would allow households to see broadcast TV signals alongside cable programming -- as an integrated viewing experience, -- the consortium said.

Ok, so what happens if some independent fourth-party manufacturer (say Dell or Apple) starts selling TVs with Cablelabs-compliant digital tuners that integrate off-air broadcast signals with CATV-delivered signals? Or if TiVo starts selling Cablelabs-compliant DVRs? Do Dell, Apple, and TiVo have to get retransmission consent?

And what happens if MDU owners distribute off-air broadcast signals to apartments (just like they did back in the 1950s)? Do MDU owners have to get retransmission consent if residents connect the off-air signal to a Cablelabs-compliant device?

I can't wait.

Neal McLain