FCC on Fri. issued rulemaking seeking comment on memorandum of un...

FCC on Fri. issued rulemaking seeking comment on memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached by cable and consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers on “plug-and-play” compatibility. Cable and CE companies announced agreement last month on integrated one-way digital cable TV receiver and unidirectional digital cable products (CD Dec 20 p1). Proceeding seeks comment on MOU and proposed FCC rules 2 industries suggested in MOU, as well as potential impact on consumers, small cable operators and multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) other than cable operators. FCC also seeks comment on whether it has jurisdiction in that area, including creation of encoding rules for audiovisual content provided by MVPDs. On issues not addressed in MOU, such as down-resolution of programming, agency seeks comment on whether any action is needed or authorized. Comments are due March 28, replies April 28.