NEW YORK — Comcast CEO Brian Roberts will try to show the cable industry has embraced innovation by unveiling initiatives today to promote new technology, speed Internet connections, help customers manage video options and expand HDTV selection.
In his keynote speech at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the first by a major cable chief at the annual trade and product show, Roberts says he'll show "the two-way, fiber-optic-based network we built is ready for the next generation" of TV, phone and Internet products.

The speech extends an olive branch to the electronics industry. Its ability to create products for the 64% of homes subscribing to cable has been cramped by operators' proprietary boxes and technologies.

Federal pressure and competition from phone and satellite companies have helped motivate the cable industry to create a uniform technology named "Tru2way." It will let outsiders develop TV sets, DVRs and other gear that handles interactive cable services without an operator's cable box. Roberts says all Comcast (CMCSA) systems will support Tru2way by the end of the year. Panasonic, Samsung, LG and Digeo are displaying Tru2way products at the show. Roberts also will announce:

•Comcast in 2008 will offer Internet speeds as fast as 160 megabits per second, up from its current top of 16 mbps. "We're going to download a two hour-plus movie in high-definition in three minutes and 56 seconds," he says. The price will depend on demand.

•Comcast is launching Fancast.com, a website for finding and managing TV shows, video and movie viewing. Users can provide their location and the TV services they get to see personalized listings that cover conventional TV channels, video-on-demand (VOD) and Internet offerings from broadcast and cable networks. Eventually, they'll be able to program their DVRs via Fancast.

Those looking for a particular movie can see whether it's available on video services including Netflix, (NFLX) Blockbuster.com, (BBI) Amazon (AMZN) and iTunes. (AAPL) For movies in theaters, Fancast will sell tickets via Fandango, a service Comcast bought last year.

•Comcast will increase high-definition offerings on VOD to better compete with satellite companies that offer more HDTV channels than most cable companies. Comcast will have 1,000 HD options by year's end, including conventional HD channels and up to 300 VOD movies, TV shows and music videos.

By the end of 2008, Comcast will be testing Project Infinity, an initiative to increase its high-definition VOD capacity. Roberts says VOD servers across the country will offer 6,000 movies, half in HD, in 2009.