With more than five million subscribers across the US, Cox Communications is the third largest MSO in North America. It is one of 6 major MSOs to have signed the FCC’s tru2way Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing to support tru2way. Tru2way is an open standard that provides a national distribution footprint for cable operators to deliver interactive services.
Cox Trio
The new Cox Trio program guide is a 16:9, high definition interface that gives customers a single window to the wealth of content that Cox provides as part of their advanced whole home DVR solution. Cox Trio presents a complete offering of broadcast, VOD and DVR content in one easy to use interface.
It provides an intuitive, fast user experience by displaying information contextually within three panes across the screen while minimizing user input to simple arrow key and select options. That way, viewers can easily find content, services and features with simple, left and right navigation, without ever becoming lost. TV programs can also be sorted grid-style, by themes, HD-only and by favorite channels.
Cox Trio provides the user interface to Cox’s advanced service package, which is deployed on the tru2way platform and includes whole-home DVR, which enables viewers to record and play back programs from a single DVR all around the home.
The Project
Cox conducted extensive usability and design studies prior to engaging with NDS. Following a detailed analysis of their viewers, they worked with Frog, a noted global design company, to devise a UI design for their next-generation platform, Trio.
Cox needed a team that could implement the Cox Trio design on their new tru2way platform. This integration involved developing and integrating the Trio guide design onto brand new STBs from Cisco.
The overall goal was to take the Cox design and implement it in the most efficient way possible, enhancing performance and response times. Cox also wanted to create the first multi-room DVR solution of its kind.
In addition to the Trio UI implementation, NDS was also tasked with developing a suite of interactive applications for Cox that integrated seamlessly within the Trio guide design. These applications include:
- Information services: news, weather, lottery, movie listings, etc.
- Games
- Video mosaic
- Phone services: caller ID
- Customer service applications: ordering subscription services
- Customizable, interactive application menu
The NDS Solution
After a careful selection process, Cox chose NDS Professional Services for this challenging project. NDS and Cox dedicated 4 weeks to a detailed discovery process, which saved significant development time. At the end of this period, the team outlined their solution.
Initially, NDS would have to develop code that would be used on a very new and relatively immature tru2way STB standard. It was using a brand new middleware stack, which was still under development by Cisco, requiring NDS to work very closely with Cisco to create a well-integrated and robust solution—insuring it was delivered on time for the product launch.
Another challenge was the unique Trio architecture. It requires a careful balance of information caching between the STB and information pulled in real time from the headend over the broadband DOCSIS data channel into the home.
Thanks to NDS’ extensive experience designing and integrating dozens of SD and HD EPGs worldwide, the project went smoothly. Additional resource in North America ensured that the project was completed on time.