Other cable companies like Cablevision and Time Warner have also inked deals with Sun for using Java OS. Sun's rivals include Microsoft's Windows CE, OpenTV, and Power TV from Scientific Atlanta.

FORBES: Will there be Java everywhere?

"Two years ago, there were grand plans to have a very expensive set-top box in which everything was converged - the telephone, the internet and the TV, " said Mickey Kalifa, UK general manager of OpenTV, which makes the software sitting inside many set-top boxes.

BBC: Turning on to interaction

Meanwhile, other interactive TV firms like TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people ), Liberate Technologies (nasdaq: LBRTE - news - people ) and OpenTV (nasdaq: OPTV - news - people ), have demonstrated how brutal the interactive TV business is: Not one is profitable.

FORBES: The Fight For Interactive Television