Video Without Boundaries Inc.  is the latest outfit to jump into the two-way digital cable products game, announcing it has signed the CableCARD Host Interface Licensing Agreement with CableLabs Inc. so that it can develop OpenCable Applications Platform (OCAP)-compliant middleware on its next-generation MediaREADY media centers.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Video Without Boundaries has been active in the Internet video-on-demand product market with its MediaREADY line of boxes that combine TV, e-mail, an Internet browser, Karaoke and video playback. It joins fellow electronics manufacturers including Panasonic Corp. of North America, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Digeo Inc., ATI Technologies Inc., Broadcom Corp., Digital Keystone, Micronas GmbH, Stexar Corp. and Sunplus Technology Co. Ltd. in signing the licensing agreement, which gives them access to intellectual property rights required for building interactive devices using the OpenCable hardware and software specifications.

 “As the only company with experience in the retail deployment of Linux-based media center technology to have signed the CHILA agreement to date, VWB is blazing new ground in combining two-way digital cable service with fully featured media center capabilities for the retail market,” said Terry Glatt, Video Without Boundaries’ chief technology officer, in a release. “We plan to work closely with CableLabs and to further develop interactive applications that offer consumers a never before seen television experience."

Using OCAP technology, electronics manufacturers can offer devices at retail that can run any OCAP applications or services offered by a given cable operator. Video Without Boundaries’ new media centers also will include an interface for the CableCARD removable security module, which contains the cable operator's conditional access scheme – thereby allowing the devices to move from one cable operator to another.