A Set-Top Stalemate Ends

摘要

That ringing in the ears of cable TV operators may be the death knell for their old analog set-top converters. An agreement struck last month between cable service providers and makers of consumer electronics gear paves the way for a new kind of device— called a decoder interface— to replace analog set-tops. Decoders will let cable subscribers finally make use of some basic TV and VCR functions that can't be accommodated by analog set-tops, including picture-in-picture viewing and videotaping one program while watching another.