US based Cable Television Laboratories Inc has adopted the middleware software developed by Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), for advanced OpenCable digital set-top boxes that are being deployed throughout North America from mid November.

CableLabs is the technology consortium for cable system operators in North and South America and is now the point organization for continuing cooperation with DVB, which has established a special middleware task force group to coordinate this effort. The DVB platform called Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) will be part of the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) that is the middleware software portion of OpenCable. Cable connected households will be able to access both digital broadcasting and interactive digital applications through the OpenCable box.

The DVB Project an industry-led consortium, was formed in 1993, and comprises of over 300 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, software developers and regulatory bodies. With members in more than 35 countries, the project is committed to designing global standards for the delivery of digital television and data services. The DVB standards cover all aspects of digital television from transmission through interfacing, conditional access, and interactivity for digital video, audio, and data and their objective is to create unity in the march towards global standardization, interoperability, and future proofing.