CableLabs Development Lab: The Home Court Advantage
The CableLabs® Development Laboratory facilities were established to accelerate product development for devices that are intended to interoperate under the CableLabs DOCSIS®, PacketCable™, CableHome®, and/or OpenCable™ specifications.
What Developers Have Said ...
“CableLabs provided Hitachi with access to the various headend and conditional access systems deployed across the U.S., all in one location with on-site support for testing and verification of our digital cable ready receiver. Hitachi could not have met our development schedules without the centralized facilities and support staff provided by CableLabs,” said Kengo Ohashi, Vice President, Design, Hitachi Home Electronics.
CableLabs' Development Lab Use Policy establishes the policies, terms, and conditions under which a Manufacturer participating in CableLabs projects developing products against CableLabs specifications may gain access to the CableLabs Development Lab and related facilities in order to advance the development of interoperable products and services for cable networks.

Availability of a larger, more diverse development lab offers the following advantages:
  • Latest Certified/Qualified products available.
  • All current OpenCable CableCARD™ versions and at least one UDCP model from each CE manufacturer also are available.
  • Access to project test scripts available via DocZone.
  • Test equipment available to run all tests related to certification/qualification.
  • Flexibility to your testing requirements.
  • 3300 square feet of lab space.
  • Support available 8:00 am–10:00 pm, Monday–Friday; 8:00 am–5:00 pm Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.
To Use the Development Lab:
  1. Review the Development Lab Use Policy and the Rules of Engagement.
  2. Complete and fax the Development Lab Use Request detailing test activities.
  3. Payment is requested in advance.
The development lab concept is one that has been successful in support of CE manufacturers that have worked aggressively to develop and to advance products intended to interoperate under the OpenCable and Plug-and-Play specifications.

This concept has been expanded to support all projects within CableLabs.

Lab Use Options
Manufacturers can take advantage of the Development Lab for several different purposes, depending upon the targeted project, some of which are:

toggle Pre-Certification Preparation
CableLabs will provide test equipment and test scripts for this purpose, based on the areas identified in Manufacturer's application. Use of the lab for a single week may not be enough time to execute the entire test suite, and not all of the test equipment may be available for the entire suite of tests. This is not the equivalent of a practice run. Test results obtained by the manufacturer during pre-certification preparation do not guarantee that the manufacturer will pass certification.

toggle Implementation of New ECNs
As the specifications change based on new requirements, test plans, engineering change notices (ECNs) to specifications and scripts and, ultimately, the products may change to meet these new specifications. The Development Lab may be used to test implementations of specification changes. Tests may be performed manually (based on the ECN itself) until such time that a test execution plan (TEP) or acceptance test plan (ATP) is available for use.

toggle Product Development
Manufacturers may use the Development Lab for project-specific product development. Members are welcome to use the lab at any time.

toggle Bug Identification and Troubleshooting
Based on the type of issue and the nature of the troubleshooting testing, the Development Lab may be able to support such testing if this testing requires access to other manufacturers' products.

toggle Multi-Manufacturer Interoperability Activities
Manufacturers may need to test and to interoperate in a multi-manufacturer environment. Such testing is sometimes necessary after certification testing for problem resolution, or with the development of new technology.

Even with its new 77,000 square foot building, laboratory space at CableLabs is limited and suppliers who wish to use this development area must reserve space in advance.

CableLabs will provide previously certified and qualified products, subject to availability. Manufacturers must identify in their application any specific products they may wish to utilize during testing.