Washington - Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE) and six major U.S. cable TV providers have announced an agreement that will enable Sony to develop and sell televisions able to connect directly to cable TV services without the need of a set-top box. The agreement between Sony and cable providers Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Cox, Charter (NASD: CHTR), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and Bright House Networks -- which collectively serve 82% of U.S. cable subscribers -- will allow "two-way" digital TVs and other devices to deliver both standard cable programming and interactive services like pay-per-view and video-on-demand.

Sony will adopt the Java-based "tru2way" standard developed at CableLabs, the cable TV industry's research and development consortium.

"A national plug-and-play digital cable standard for interactive TV receivers, recorders and other products that is transferable and viable wherever you live is ideal for today's mobile society," said Edgar Tu, Sony Electronics' SVP of TV Operations of America.

The companies also encouraged other consumer electronics firms to formally join the initiative.

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