NOON -- You might recall that a raft of set-top makers -- including Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and Thomson S.A. (NYSE: TMS; Euronext Paris: 18453) -- had digital terminal adapters (DTAs) on display at The Cable Show in May. (See DTAs on Parade .)

All in the group were gunning for some business with Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), which plans to use these simple, one-way devices to spur along an "all-digital" strategy that's expected to ramp up toward the back half of this year. (See Comcast Confirms Digital Dongle Project.)

You may also remember that Pace Micro Technology was reported to be in the mix as well. We were told that Pace's DTA was on display at the show, but you needed to know the secret password to gain entry to the "whisper room" and get a viewing.

Now that we're a few weeks further out, Pace is a bit more willing to share some additional details about its DTA project, including a couple of photos of the product itself:





At least we now know that it won't look like this dongle-looking "Digital Cable Adapter" Pace showed off about five years ago.

Pace is also being a bit more forthcoming about its position with Comcast. In June, the set-top maker issued a release noting that it had "signed a new contract for the U.S. cable market…for a low cost digital to analogue converter product." (See Picking Up the Pace (DTA).)

Pace is now confirming what most of us already figured out -- that Comcast is in fact the MSO in question. Others to confirm DTA purchase deals with Comcast so far: Motorola and Thomson. (See Thomson Confirms Comcast DTA Order.)

There's at least one more DTA distributor out there that's making some progress with some smaller cable operators: Evolution Broadband LLC . I'm visiting with them later this week, so I should have some new data to share on them, including an update on their plan to offer a DTA with high-definition television capabilities. (See HD No Longer an 'Advanced' Service?)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News