Six cable-TV operators that serve more than 82 percent of U.S. cable households have inked an agreement with Sony Electronics that will soon prepare it possible for cable subscribers to forego the use of stand-alone set-top boxes. The enabling Tru2way technology, based on Sun Microsystems’ Java runtime environment, enables interactive capabilities in TV sets, gaming consoles, portable media players, and even mobile phones.

Sony executives say the agreement with Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, and instance Warner will pave the way for TV sets equipped with Tru2way software to access digital video-recording capabilities, video on demand and interactive programming guides.

“This marketplace agreement is good news for consumers,” said Edgar Tu, senior vice president of Sony Electronics. “A national plug-and-play digital cable standard for interactive TV receivers, recorders and other products that is transferable and viable wherever you live is ideal for today’s mobile society.”

The Slide Toward Oblivion

Samsung Electronics

recently unveiled several new Tru2way-capable products, including HD-DVR and set-top devices. Even better, Samsung’s launch of an LCD TV with Tru2way built into the box signals that the venerable set-top box could start sliding toward oblivion as soon as that year’s holiday shopping season.

Sony’s agreement with the nation’s top cable giants, which together serve more than 105 million U.S. homes, will eliminate cable set-top box deployment headaches and maintenance costs for cable-TV operators. Another perk: The deal will end those pesky monthly set-top rental fees that many consumers hate.

“The goals of Tru2way are to supply a universal, national platform that will enable consumers to receive cable’s interactive services without a set-top box,” noted Joy Sims, a spokesperson for the National Cable TV organization. “And the same national platform will allow composition creators to develop new applications that can be deployed to all systems [with] Tru2way, using…

Orginal post by Top Tech News