NEW YORK--BUSINESS WIRE--OEDN The OCAP/EBIF Developer Network announced today the completion of the first End-to-End E2E test of a university-developed EBIF application with one of its participating schools – NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program ITP lab.

“Working with OEDN towards bringing these ITV development and testing tools into the classroom has been a positive experience, and we’re pleased to participate in the OEDN community”

Using the free TVWorks XDK, a university-developed interactive television ITV application was created at ITP – and then uploaded to OEDN partner enableTV in Boulder, CO. enableTV then took that application and loaded it onto their DV-TIDE server desktop headend for streaming to a cable set-top box. The signal from the STB was then sent over the public Internet back to the same workstation the application was developed on at NYU.

This successful test is a first in the U.S. cable industry, and a milestone in OEDN’s history. In 2009, OEDN announced the Academic ITV Software Developer Kit AISDK as an offering to participating schools. Comprised of a framework for EBIF & tru2way OCAP application development & testing against industry standard tools, the AISDK is designed to enable students to build applications locally – while testing them remotely – an end-to-end process that simulates real-world conditions.

OEDN has been working in collaboration with several key ITV companies & partners to make the AISDK available to schools. Those partners currently consist of enable TV, Ensequence, and the Comcast Media Center CMC HITS AxIS program.

“enableTV is pleased to participate in OEDN’s pioneering work to allow students at NYU to test interactive television applications against real-world digital cable environments,” said Walden Miller, VP of Services for enableTV. “With OEDN's coordination, we’re starting to see the beginnings of a positive relationship between the cable industry and academia, with regard to ITV application development and career paths.”

“Working with OEDN towards bringing these ITV development and testing tools into the classroom has been a positive experience, and we’re pleased to participate in the OEDN community,” said Prof. Shawn Van Every, NYU ITP faculty member. “The students are keenly aware of the potential for interactive applications – and we already teach development methods for multiple devices and screens. Television is in some ways the “last frontier” for application development, and OEDN’s academic outreach work lowers the barriers to learning about how to develop applications for the future of ITV, and we’re excited to participate.”

OEDN will continue to serve the role of coordinating all parties involved, and providing student developer support through the OEDN.net website.

“In orchestrating all the parties at the table, OEDN continues to kick-start ITV application development for digital cable in U.S. universities,” said Will Kreth, Sr. Director of Advanced Video Strategy for Time Warner Cable and founder of OEDN. “This has been a goal of ours since we first conceived of OEDN in October 2007, and many thanks are due – but especially to enableTV for donating both the use of their DV-TIDE desktop headend in Boulder, CO and lab equipment for the return path to NYU’s ITP lab, to TV Works for making the TV Works XDK available for free in 2009 – and most importantly – to Prof. Van Every and his students at NYU’s ITP lab, who have embraced learning and developing for EBIF; recognizing its utility as a valuable addition to their existing interactive media curriculum.”

About OEDN

Founded in 2007 and sponsored by five of the leading cable MSOs, the mission of the OCAP/EBIF Developer Network OEDN community is to drive awareness of and application development efforts using the two primary interactive cable television open standards for middleware: OCAP known to consumers as tru2way and EBIF. Through its developer network website, oedn.net and via other well-known social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook, OEDN continues to broadly socialize the advantages of developing interactive applications for digital cable, and strives to bring a new generation of software development talent to the cable industry, through its University Outreach program.

About enableTV

enableTV Inc. was founded in 2008 based on two decades of work by Tim Wahlers, Walden Miller, and their core staff, many of whom have been around since the beginnings of the interactive industry. The enableTV staff have used their extensive experience in the design and development of the operating systems, middleware, applications, and toolkits in the cable, satellite, MHP, and CD-Interactive industries to spring enableTV to the forefront of the Interactive Television industry. enableTV's team were—and are—pioneers in the iTV and advanced media industries with extensive experience in software engineering, iTV application design, testing, consulting, technical documentation, and training, providing a unique set of skills for any technology project. enableTV is based in Boulder, Colorado, with a research and development office in Portland, Oregon.

About New York University’s ITP Tisch School of the Arts

Founded in 1979 as the first graduate education program in alternative media, ITP has grown into a living community of technologists, theorists, engineers, designers, and artists uniquely dedicated to pushing the boundaries of interactivity in the real and digital worlds. A hands-on approach to experimentation, production and risk-taking make this hi-tech fun house a creative home not only to its 220 students, but also to an extended network of the technology industry's most daring and prolific practitioners. ITP is internationally recognized as a unique and vital contributor of new ideas and talented individuals to the professional world of multimedia and interactivity. The department takes a creative and professional approach to the challenges of the information age.

Experimentation is an essential element in understanding both the opportunities and responsibilities inherent in this evolving field. ITP's philosophy of a hands-on approach to learning relies on collaboration rather than competition, fostering a creative environment where exploration, analysis, risk-taking and experimentation can occur. The department provides an open and nurturing environment in which people are empowered to develop their own ideas, no matter how experimental. ITP emphasizes the user's creativity rather than the capability of the computer. The department challenges students to apply their creativity and imagination to the latest digital tools and techniques. The curriculum is devoted to teaching the practice and theory that emerge from the convergence of new media technologies. ITP, currently part of the Tisch School of the Arts, grew out of the work of the Alternate Media Center which was founded in 1971. ITP and AMC have developed an international reputation for pioneering work in demonstration and research in the field of interactive media. 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Interactive Telecommunications Program.