Partnership targets OpenCable test
Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 9/1/2003
Digital Keystone (Los Altos, CA; http://www.digitalkeystone.com), a digital media system developer, and SCM Microsystems (Fremont, CA; http://www.scmmicro.com), a silicon and software provider, have joined forces to create a test and deployment platform for cable-based services development. Their HPNX platform tests cross-device integration, interoperability, and specification conformance of systems designed to meet the OpenCable packet communications standard developed by CableLabs.
The OpenCable specification (http://www.opencable.com) was developed with two goals. The first is portability; devices designed to the specification should be able to operate with any cable service provider's system. The second is interoperability; hardware from any manufacturer should be able to operate with any cable system. Compliance with the OpenCable specifications ensures that reception components will work with the operator's conditional access encryption systems.
The partnership combines SCM's security hardware and software with Digital Keystone's media expertise. The resulting test system has a proprietary hardware interface device and an application software suite that runs under Windows XP. Test capabilities include MPEG-2 transport streaming, parsing, and rendering, test of the IP interface bridge to DOCSIS modems, and copy protection certification tests. It also includes a rest results capture and analysis utility. The HPNX system will be manufactured and distributed by SCM Microsystems.
Developers will be able to use the test system to perform in-house testing of systems during development, rather than use outside services. The system will help developers achieve conformance with the specification but is not intended for final certification testing. CableLabs must perform final testing in order to obtain system certification. http://www.scmmicro.com.
