(Telecompaper) The US FCC has adopted rules aimed at encouraging competition in the set-top box market. The proposal would see pay-TV providers required to make available certain programming information so third parties could develop alternative boxes or software for accessing the consumer's video subscription. Specifically, it recommends that pay-TV providers be required to deliver three core information streams: service discovery, with information about what programming is available to the consumer, such as the channel listing and video-on-demand lineup, and what is on those channels; entitlements, including information about what a device is allowed to do with content, such as recording; and content delivery, the video programming itself.