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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Breakdown in Beantown
June 6, 2012 1:19 am | by Brian Santo and Mike Robuck | CommentsThe cable industry is responding to consumer demands and countering the competition with a heavy arsenal of services and features. At The Cable Show, there were numerous examples of how the cable industry is rapidly evolving to improve the consumers experience while adding cash to the bottom line.
Under construction: The multi-screen video business model
June 6, 2012 12:57 am | by Craig Kuhl, Contributing Editor | CommentsThe evolution of a working business model for multi-screen and content is accelerating. Different companies coming from different angles have got many of the moving parts together, but those parts aren’t yet perfectly aligned.
SIP trunking: Meeting the opportunities and challenges
June 6, 2012 12:23 am | by Hamid Qayyum, vice president of MSO sales at Metaswitch | CommentsAfter proving out the technology, and an economic downturn in 2010, businesses are purchasing IP telephony like never before. The business benefits from decreased costs, more efficient networks and increased productivity have driven demand to what has now become a robust market with mainstream technology.
Leveraging Big Data to improve subscriber service management
June 6, 2012 12:06 am | by Stephen Collins, vice president of product marketing and business development at Active Broadband Networks | CommentsBroadband companies are already working with enormous volumes of data. Moving forward, those volumes are only going to increase, and to deal with it all, service providers are going to need to gain a more thorough understanding of how to handle “Big Data.”
In Perspective - Interior decorators
June 5, 2012 5:57 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsCable operators may soon end up doing double duty for their subscribers, acting not only as their service providers, but also as their perpetual interior decorators – sort of like Elgin from the old "Murphy Brown" show.
Memory Lane - Nightmare on DVR Street
June 5, 2012 5:46 pm | by Stewart Schley, media and technology writer | CommentsFrom the evil Dr. Caligari of the silent film era to the freaky Ghostface of the modern “Scream” film series, Hollywood has produced an impressive lineup of scary characters over a 90-year run of horror movie-making. But no fictitious villain ever elevated Hollywood’s chill meter as high as a real-life industry entrant that made its premiere 13 years ago at CES.
Ciciora's Corner - Fast history: Part II
June 5, 2012 5:32 pm | by Walt S. Ciciora, expert on cable and consumer electronics issues | CommentsThe book “High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology” by Philip J. Cianci is an excellent book on the fascinating history of HDTV.
Open Mic - Network DVR vs. TV Everywhere
June 5, 2012 5:22 pm | by Bob Scheffler, senior director of next-generation video solutions at Motorola Mobility | CommentsSince the advent of home entertainment technology – from the phonograph to radio to TV – the living room has long been the gathering place for the family. But in today’s world, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets has created an insatiable consumer appetite for anytime, anyplace content.
Engineering-Wise - Getting smart(er)
June 5, 2012 5:02 pm | by Tom Russell, senior director of standards at the SCTE | CommentsThe Digital Revolution has enabled and promulgated advances in systems management, reliability and delivery of services undreamed of, or relatively primitive in implementation, only a few short decades ago.
Capital Currents - Online video uncertainties
June 5, 2012 4:48 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, president of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsWhen it comes to online delivery of video programming services, the uncertainties still haven’t been resolved, but more entities with a variety of business plans have entered the marketplace.
Upfront - June 2012
June 5, 2012 4:33 pm | by CED Magazine | CommentsA new study, commissioned by Broadcom, of nearly 900 Americans highlights the country’s growing dependence on Wi-Fi connectivity.
Preventing a broadband meltdown
April 30, 2012 9:27 pm | by Cam Cullen, vice president of global marketing at Procera Networks | CommentsThe broadband market is experiencing major upheaval, and MSOs are at the center of the storm.
Home automation: The new frontier for service providers
April 30, 2012 7:38 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsHome automation services have a long way to go before they reach the level of comfort portrayed in “The Jetsons,” but service providers are ramping up their efforts to provide their subscribers with home automation creature comforts that go beyond simple security cams.
In Perspective - Troll’s bane
April 30, 2012 6:53 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsTwitter just announced an astonishing patent policy that provides a fascinating correction to the way the patent system has been going astray.
Open Mic - Advertising to the TV and IP-connected devices
April 30, 2012 6:35 pm | by Jeff Brooks, vice president of business development at Arris | CommentsCable operators are by now very aware of the shifting landscape in content consumption and delivery technologies, as well as the potential changes this will drive in advertising on linear TV and IP-connected devices.
