NCTA FILES REPLY COMMENTS REGARDING
"PLUG AND PLAY" AGREEMENT
"PLUG AND PLAY" AGREEMENT
In the reply comments filed yesterday, NCTA urges the FCC to adopt the rules proposed by the cable companies and consumer electronics manufacturers in the December 2002 agreement because the agreement serves the public interest and warrants prompt Commission adoption. NCTA’s reply comments address all of the Agreement’s initial comments by other parties, providing clarification of misunderstandings where appropriate, and rebuttal where necessary.
NCTA says that the Agreement provides a host of consumer benefits including that it will:
- Ensure that the next generation of digital television sets will receive one-way cable services without the need for set-top converter boxes.
- Enable consumers with HDTV sets to receive HDTV signals with full image quality and easily record digital content.
- Allow for an array of new devices easily to be connected to the new HDTV sets.
- Permit access to cable’s two-way services through digital connectors on high-definition digital TV sets.
- Encourage manufacturers to speed the production of new sets and services for delivery to the market.
- Ensure that digital cable services will remain easy to access and use by consumers.
- Establish “rules of the road” on home recording capabilities and proposes copy protection rules for digital content based on existing law and studio-CE agreements and which are applicable to all multichannel video programming distributors.
A copy of the filing is attached.