Deborah D. McAdams / 08.22.2012 11:28AM
Motorola Mobility Licenses Comcast RDK
Ensures set-top interoperability
HORSHAM, PA.: Motorola
Mobility is licensing the Reference Design Kit from Comcast for its set-top
development cycle. The Comcast RDK is a pre-integrated software bundle that
creates a common framework for powering two-way, IP or hybrid set-top boxes and
video gateway devices. Moto says it “accelerates the development and deployment
of next-generation video services such as cloud-based functionalities like video-on-demand,
improved guide experiences with richer graphics and better search
functionality.”
Comcast licenses the RDK to original equipment manufacturers, semiconductor
manufacturers, software vendors and multichannel video programming
distributors. The cable company openly developed the RDK to allow developers,
vendors and operators to use a defined stack of software on one layer, in order
to provision set-top boxes and video gateways. Its standard interfaces and
shared-source code model ensures interoperability of multiple platforms.
The traditional, or current, implementation of the RDK includes CableLabs’ “Reference
Implementation” for OCAP and tru2way, as well as the Java Virtual Machine.
Open-source components of the RDK include: GStreamer (a media management
framework); QT (a windowing framework that allows cable operators to do
multiple applications within the same runtime environment); and WebKit, all of
which are execution environments that can be tailored to each MSO. There are
also optional plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash and Smooth HD.