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That sound you hear may be the death knell for the set-top box/dust magnet in your home entertainment center. Sony and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have announced an agreement that will place the cable companies’ technologies inside future Sony TV models. This will allow consumers to dial up ALL their cable channels, access video-on-demand and use interactive services without having to find a place for a steaming-hot cable box near the TV.

The nation’s largest cable companies - Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House - are on board, and the pressure is now on Samsung, LG and other big-screen makers to follow Sony’s lead. The NCTA says they’re welcome to do so.

You may be happy about one or two less cables cluttering up the space behind your TV, but you also may be concerned about any cable cards you’ve received from your local provider, or that handy digital video recorder in your current rented set-top box. The NCTA is being a little stingy with full details on the agreement but is assuring customers that cable cards will still work and video recording will still be offered. But in what form? The NCTA says Tivos will work with the new TV’s; but will some of the new Sony models also have built-in hard drives for recording? Will the cable companies still be offering separate DVRs for rent?

We also don’t know when to expect the new TVs to hit the big-box stores. But it’s clearly a digital coup for Sony, a victory for space-conscious consumers and validation of the cable companies’ strategy of building out services like VOD. Let’s just hope they don’t use this as validation for yet another rate hike.

Read [Associated Press via Wired News]

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