Articles

Taming the set-top transition

September 30, 2007 9:20 pm | by Chris Dinallo, VP Technology, Pace Micro Technology Americas | Comments

With the recent FCC mandate for separable security in full force, all in the industry are fully aware set-tops must now be deployed with CableCARDs (with the exception of the small handful of operators with rare FCC waivers). But that doesn’t mean the situation is entirely clear.

Brushing the dust off long tail VOD titles

September 30, 2007 9:10 pm | by Bruce Bahlmann, VP Data Technologies, Sedna Services | Comments

Video-on-demand has seen ever increasing numbers since its first deployments in 1999 en route to the 250 million monthly views received by Comcast alone in July 2007. However, as the popularity of this service continues to increase, VOD is becoming a victim of its own success, with a growing number of denied requests, increasing support costs for managing aging systems, and rising costs for marketing all the titles within growing libraries.

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT - SOUTH KOREA

September 30, 2007 9:00 pm | by CED Staff | Comments

By early 2007, about 29 percent of South Korea’s population – 90 percent of households – subscribed to broadband services, making it the most penetrated broadband market in the world. In the late ’90s, the government mandated that operators provide a 2 Mbps connection for every citizen.

IN PERSPECTIVE: Golden opportunity

September 30, 2007 8:50 pm | by Brian Santo, Editor | Comments

The deal from The Dawn Of The Television Era was you get free TV in exchange for watching the ads. But cable changed the deal. With cable, you have to pay for TV, and you have to watch the ads.

MEMORY LANE: Gored!

September 30, 2007 8:40 pm | by Stewart Schley, Media & technology writer, Englewood, Colo. | Comments

It’s a stretch to think that Gore, the man who later would describe himself as the man “who used to be the next president of the United States” was moved by his mother’s complaints to challenge the regulatory approach governing an entire industry...

CICIORA’S CORNER: 'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...'

September 30, 2007 8:30 pm | by Walter S. Ciciora, Ph.D., Recognized Industry Expert on Cable and Consumer Electronics Issues | Comments

The cable industry certainly is “stuck in the middle” these days. One malevolent force wants to impose dual or even triple must-carry and even complete 6 MHz must-carry. Another malevolent force wants to severely limit cable’s ability to innovate.

CAPITAL CURRENTS: DBS update

September 30, 2007 8:20 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | Comments

In 1992, the International Telecommunications Union adopted an additional frequency allocation for broadcast satellite service in North and South America. The 17.3-17.8 GHz band would be the downlink broadcasting frequency, and 24.75-25.25 GHz would be the uplink (or “feeder link”) band.

UP Front - October, 2007

September 30, 2007 8:10 pm | by CED Staff | Comments

Cox adds third feather to BigBand’s switched digital video hat; Comcast plans to move TiVo software to Scientific Atlanta boxes; CableLabs DTCP-IP deal opens three-screen door; NCTA proposes ‘tuning resolver’ to aid CE devices with switched channels; TWC taps TandbergTV for small-market VOD deployment; FCC puts dual-carriage onus on cable...

IP Capsule - September 28, 2007

September 27, 2007 8:00 pm | by Brian Santo | Comments

Motorola and Sprint's WiMAX operation, called Xohm, demonstrated a WiMAX system consisting of four base stations spaced along four-fifths of a mile of the Chicago River, transmitting to PCs installed on a boat the sponsors rented to cruise by.

xOD Capsule - September 26, 2007

September 25, 2007 8:00 pm | by Traci Patterson | Comments

VOD advertising is getting a lot of buzz in the press and a lot of attention from vendors and operators, but there are similar technologies that are getting nearly as much attention but not as much buzz, and they are switched digital video (SDV) advertising and client-addressable advertising.

IP Capsule - September 24, 2007

September 23, 2007 8:00 pm | Comments

By many measures, Calix is one of the top FTTH networking companies in the world. The company has 450 customers, most of them ILECs in the U.S. and Canada; Calix's customer roster includes Embarq and CenturyTel. The company recently hit a watermark, having shipped its 200,000th GPON optical network terminal (ONT).

xOD Capsule - September 18, 2007

September 17, 2007 8:00 pm | by Traci Patterson | Comments

Internet TV player Veoh adds three high-profile investors - Veoh Networks has added three new investors—Goldman Sachs and two former Viacom execs—as the company furthers its VeohTV offering and pursues new content partnerships.

IP Capsule - September 14, 2007

September 13, 2007 8:00 pm | by Brian Santo | Comments

A fork in the power socket - Comcast is conducting a trial in the Bay Area in which it is encouraging new VoIP subscribers to self-install their service and equipment.

xOD Capsule - September 11, 2007

September 10, 2007 8:00 pm | by Traci Patterson | Comments

A slew of technologies were showcased at IBC 2007 in Amsterdam.

IP Capsule - September 10, 2007

September 9, 2007 8:00 pm | by Brian Santo | Comments

IBC has developed into one of the more prominent shows. This year it was heavy on announcements about video on demand (VOD) and IPTV. For those of us who didn't make it, here's a round-up of only some of the IP-related announcements associated with the show.