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.
