Tru2way-ready TVs hit a speed bump

Remember Tru2way, the new technology that's supposed to make your cable TV box a thing of the past? Well, word is that the first Tru2way-enabled TVs flunked their initial certification tests—rather spectacularly, as it turns out.

CNET News.com reports on rumors surrounding testing on the first Tru2way sets from Panasonic, which must get the stamp of approval from CableLabs, the consortium of cable operators that developed the Tru2way standard, before they go on sale.

Neither Panasonic nor CableLabs will reveal the outcome of the tests (beyond "no comment"), but according to CNET, those in the know say it was a train wreck—a "disaster of spectacular proportions," no less. Ouch.

Of course, we're just talking the initial trials, of course, and hey—when has any tech product, especially one that's supposed to bridge the (somewhat complex) gap between your TV and the cable sticking out of the wall, arrived from the lab without its fair share of bugs?

That's true, but remember: For years now, the cable and consumer tech industries have been flailing about with products—such as the stillborn CableCard—that were supposed to eliminate the need for a cable box, but never quite got off the ground, and the latest news (or rumors, at least) doesn't give me much cause for optimism.

Indeed, as CNET notes, the stories coming out of the Panasonic tests could mean that we won't see any Tru2way TVs or devices before next year.

In any case, CableLabs says there's still "ample time" for Panasonic's Tru2way TVs to pass muster and arrive in stores on schedule.

Fingers crossed.

Related:
The rocky road to Tru2way [CNET News.com]