By Mark Bell

With VOD now the norm for many cable households – the challenge for cable operators is to continue to keep ahead of the competition by constantly seeking the next generation of interactive television features that customers have grown to love and expect. The need to constantly evolve has lead to the development of tru2way™ technology, formerly called the “OpenCable™ Platform.

The tru2way platform allows consumers the ability to access creative applications anywhere within cable’s footprint in which the software platform has been deployed, with or without the need for a cable operator-supplied set-top box. Existing tru2way applications include interactive guides, "start over" applications, voting and polling, localized weather updates and games, just to name a few.

With the importance of tru2way technology so evident to the cable industry, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced recently that it will host a tru2way Developers' Conference at The Cable Show ’08, the cable industry’s premier U.S. event. Produced in partnership with CableLabs® and premier sponsor Vidiom Systems, the conference will offer an in-depth look at the tools, traits and trends of cable’s highly anticipated interactive TV platform, and will provide a forum for cable operators, content providers, Java and interactive TV (iTV) developers and companies to share ideas and information regarding the latest tools and trends in the rollout of the tru2way platform.

“The tru2way platform is the path to the future of television,” said Dr. Richard R. Green, CableLabs’ President and CEO. “As tru2way technology is based on the same Java core as BluRay™ disc, cable can really leverage the wealth of available application development skills and resources. The participants in this conference are developing the guidelines and applications that will influence the design of new products and services that will benefit consumers for years to come.”

The second annual conference will offer a full agenda of business and technology sessions; a new hands-on Developers’ Lab designed to promote further developments in the Java-based tru2way universe; and, also new this year, the tru2way Developers’ Showcase Challenge which provides an opportunity for Java developers to create applications for the tru2way platform. Developers will be provided access to download tru2way toolsets, develop applications and submit them to NCTA for a chance to present their concepts in the CableNET® Technology Showcase

The second annual tru2way Developers' Conference begins Saturday, May 17, and runs through noon on Sunday, May 18, just prior to the official start of The Cable Show, the 57th Annual Convention and International Exposition of National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA), in New Orleans May 18-20.

Separate registration for the tru2Way Developers' Conference is required, but participants who register for The Cable Show '08 are eligible to attend at a discounted rate. Information on registration for the tru2way Developers' Conference, as well as on sponsorship and exhibit opportunities, is available online at www.thecableshow.com/tru2way, or by contacting Michael Garner at NCTA Convention Headquarters at 202-463-7905 or mgarner@ncta.com.

For more information on the tru2way platform, please visit www.tru2way.com.