The release of the specification is a contribution of ECCA members for the work initiated by Mandate M/331 of the European Commission. Starting with the collection of commercial requirements, ECCA has consequently synchronised with the Mandate’s plan to foster the introduction of interoperable television services. In submitting the technical specification to the standardisation process, ECCA helps to establish a horizontal market for digital TV, while meeting the needs of operators to maintain control of their networks in order to achieve maximum service quality.

Dr. Manuel Cubero, Vice President digital TV of Kabel Deutschland and Incoming ECCA President points out: “The development of the ECCA set-top box specification is a great initiative as it facilitates a fast transition from analogue to digital, one of the key items on our agenda. It is essentialforthe speedy development of digital TV via cable to have low-priced, cable-ready, interoperable IRDs commercially available very soon.” The successful implementation of the specified feature in commercial products requires a strong involvement of the manufacturing industry, which is invited to discuss the specification with ECCA members.  A workshop is planned for this purpose in Brussels  on 26 April 2004. The draft specification will be provided in advance to silicon manufacturers, cable vendors as well as consumer equipment manufacturers and the European trade association EICTA.

More information from  ECCA
Tel: +32 2 521 1763
Fax: +32 2 521 79 76
E-mail: ecca@ecca.be