OCAP Gets Boost from Time Warner, Comcast

Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable are creating OCAP Development LLC, a joint venture designed to build an OpenCable Applications Platform (OCAP) middleware implementation that should quicken the pace of interactive-TV development.

The companies said the new venture will incorporate Time Warner Cable’s existing interactive-TV-development work and use third-party developers to continue to build the implementation. It will use the specifications developed and certified by Cable Television Laboratories Inc.

“This is a positive development for the programming community, as it helps to streamline application development. Content providers will be able to write once for multiple platforms,” Time Warner Cable chief technology officer Mike LaJoie said in a prepared statement. “We expect the work of OCAP Development LLC to provide a boost to the entire industry.”

"The creation of this joint venture will benefit consumers by enhancing the cable industry’s ability to bring innovative new technologies to market even faster,” added Steve Heeb, vice president of product and business development for Comcast.