Portals - WSJ.com: Cable TV's New Aim: Free Us From Tangle Of Boxes and Remotes

 It'd be great to be able to not have a 1:1 relationship between display devices and set-top boxes

The new technology, with the cumbersome name of OCAP, for Open Cable Application Platform, is software that behaves like an operating system that runs on digital cable set-top boxes and other devices. OCAP, then, is to set-top boxes what Microsoft Windows is to computers. Adding a new feature, like the ticker, is an easy task regardless of the cable system. That ease is expected to spark a flurry of creativity among software companies, as new applications will no longer have to be tailored to fit separate cable systems.

Even better, manufacturers such as Panasonic, Samsung and LG already have designed OCAP TV sets that will eliminate the need for set-top boxes, the scourge of many a home-entertainment center. With OCAP TVs, scheduled to be available as early as this year, users just have to attach a cable and the set will get video-on-demand, advanced program guides and other interactive features from cable.

Source: Portals - WSJ.com