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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
OPEN MIC - Lessons Learned from TV Everywhere Deployments
August 31, 2010 8:25 pm | by Marty Roberts, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at thePlatform | CommentsOne of the biggest misconceptions about TV Everywhere is that the log-in process is prohibitively complicated for subscribers of cable, telco or other TV service providers.
MEMORY LANE - All Boxed Up
August 31, 2010 8:20 pm | by Stewart Schley Media & Technology writer, Denver, Colo. | CommentsWith less than 1 percent of U.S. households having purchased one of the things to slip into TiVo boxes or TV sets, the CableCard has been embraced by U.S. consumers with about the same level of fervor as that associated with New Coke, the disastrous 1985 soft drink reformulation.
ENGINEERING WISE - To Expo and Beyond
August 31, 2010 8:15 pm | by Mark Dzuban President and CEO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers | CommentsWhat I can tell you is that Cable-Tec Expo is where problems and problem-solvers meet. The Expo experience will give you the fundamental knowledge, the forward-looking thinking and the technical innovation that will help you now, and in the years to come.
CAPITAL CURRENTS - Exorbitant Rights-of-Way Costs
August 31, 2010 8:10 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsThe FCC’s broadband plan recognizes that exorbitant rights-of-way (ROW) rents charged by local governments can be a barrier to the deployment and availability of broadband service. In fact, there is a case pending before the FCC that provides an opportunity to clarify national policy...
The true value of a 'safe set of hands'
August 31, 2010 8:05 pm | by Stuart Mcgeechan, Vice President and General Manager of Professional Services at NDS | CommentsThe transition to tru2way end-to-end solutions is opening up the market beyond the traditional duopoly. Many operators have some of the skills necessary to implement tru2way (and EBIF), but few have the full skill set required.
OPEN MIC-Web Extra – Customer loyalty rises, falls at point of every purchase
August 31, 2010 8:00 pm | by Michelle Nowak, Global Head of Strategy, Solutions and Marketing for Cable, Broadband and Satellite at Convergys | CommentsWhen a customer is set on the path to dissatisfaction from the outset, it's a potent reminder that customer loyalty rises or falls at the point of every purchase.
WEB Extras - September 2010
August 31, 2010 8:00 pm | CommentsWeb Extra Features: "The True Value of a Safe Set of Hands" & Open Mic "Customer Loyalty Rises or Falls at the Point of Every Purchase"... Upcoming Webinars: Aggregating Content for MVPDs (Sept. 23) & Mobile Backhaul for the Masses (Oct. 7). CED Facebook Community.
The Greening of Cable
July 31, 2010 8:50 pm | by Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief | CommentsCarbon footprints take in more than just energy usage; the source of the energy, for example, can mean that two companies with the same energy consumption might have radically different carbon profiles.
Cross-Platform Apps Still Growing on the Vine
July 31, 2010 8:45 pm | by Mike Robuck, Senior Editor | CommentsWith the proliferation of TV Everywhere type services, phase one of cross-platform application development is well underway. Throw in mobile services and applications, such as this summer’s World Cup coverage, and there seems to be momentum building toward the “any content, anywhere, on any device” mantra.
Network Neutrality – Overgovernance in the Digital Age
July 31, 2010 8:40 pm | by Patrick Hunter, Network Engineer at a National Multiple System Operator | CommentsThe Internet today is the backbone of American and world culture and economics. There is almost no limit to the content available today. Any person with an idea and access to the Internet can share that idea with the world more quickly than in any other time in human history.
IN PERSPECTIVE - Actual News
July 31, 2010 8:35 pm | by Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief | CommentsNot just horsing around: RFD-TV just ponied up $266,000 to buy Trigger, Roy Rogers’ late stuffed horse, at an auction at Christie’s.
MEMORY LANE - Delayed Gratification, Hollywood-Style
July 31, 2010 8:30 pm | by Stewart Schley, Media & Technology Writer, Denver, Colo. | CommentsIn its September 2003 order, the FCC approved arrangements that would allow early-generation HDTV sets to receive signals directly from a connected cable network, without the need for an intermediary set-top device.
CICIORA’S CORNER - Personal Digital Transition
July 31, 2010 8:25 pm | by Walt S. Ciciora Expert on Cable and Consumer Electronics Issues | CommentsContinuing with the theme from the last column, I stopped at several more television receiver retailers and asked two questions: 1) Do you have any digital cable set-top boxes for sale, and 2) Do you have any television receivers with CableCard slots?
OPEN MIC - Solving the DOCSIS 3.0 Upstream Challenge
July 31, 2010 8:20 pm | by Wim Mostert, Director of Product Management for Optical Transport Solutions at Aurora Networks | CommentsFor all of its success so far in deploying next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 technology to systems serving millions of homes and businesses, the cable industry has one big hurdle remaining: The return path.
ENGINEERING WISE - Dzuban, what are you doing?
July 31, 2010 8:15 pm | by Mark Dzuban, President and CEO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers | Comments... This is about Daniel Howard, the SCTE’s newly christened CTO and a guy who’s been knee-deep in forward-thinking ideas for the past 20 years. A guy whose roadmap for the future of cable sometimes takes turns that aren’t always on the radar of others.
