I spent time at a conference last week where one of the prevailing themes was fragmentation. As much as we talk about convergence (of devices, services, applications), the truth is that end-user experiences are fragmenting. It used to be that many of us watched the same shows on the same types of TV sets, communicated [...]
Filed under: Bandwidth, DOCSIS 3.0, HDTV, Internet, Switched Digital | Leave a Comment »
The cat’s out of the bag. Even though there’s been no official press release, CableLabs leaked and then confirmed that the Motorola MTR700 was one of two tuning adapters to be awarded certification in the recent Cert Wave 60. Quick recap: the tuning resolver is what will allow one-way cable devices to continue to access [...]
Filed under: Cable, Comcast, Motorola News, Switched Digital | 4 Comments »
A couple of savvy folks picked up on my near-throw-away reference earlier this month to the idea of using switched digital video as a tool for transitioning to MPEG-4. The basic concept is that operators could selectively broadcast MPEG-4 programming by offering it on a switched video tier. This would give them the ability to [...]
Filed under: Bandwidth, HDTV, Switched Digital, Video | Leave a Comment »
The news is out that the Starz network is making its move toward MPEG-4. It won’t happen all at once, but the programmer is planning to use MPEG-4 compression with its HD channels starting this summer. Like HBO, Starz is using the Motorola DSR-6050 receiver/transcoder, which supports both MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 outputs.
Obviously there’s a benefit [...]
Filed under: Bandwidth, Cable, HDTV, Switched Digital | 6 Comments »
First the news: Motorola announced the launch of a new universal edge QAM today, the APEX1000. In brief, edge quadrature amplitude modulators (QAMs) are used to translate signals from IP into radio frequency (RF). (Leslie Ellis explains it by saying this modulation turns spectrum into bandwidth.) Operators are finding they need more QAM channels of [...]
Filed under: Bandwidth, Motorola News, Switched Digital | Leave a Comment »
A participant on the NCTA’s switched digital video (SDV) briefing call last week asked why the cable industry isn’t moving more quickly to all-digital broadcast given the bandwidth savings. Verizon’s making the shift, why not traditional cable operators? The answer is that cable companies as a whole have a lot more existing analog customers, and [...]
Filed under: Cable, DTV, HDTV, Switched Digital | 3 Comments »
The NCTA conducted an interesting form of outreach last week. After apparently reading a number of unflattering and possibly inaccurate reports on switched digital video’s impact on CableCARD retail devices, the association put out the word that it would conduct a conference call briefing for any bloggers and journalists interested in discussing the topic. The [...]
Filed under: CE, Cable, CableCARD, Switched Digital, Tru2way | 4 Comments »
I’ve gotten more than few friendly nudges lately for an update on the switched digital video (SDV) tuning resolver. The Motorola device is now officially called the MTR700 and it just came through a CableLabs interop with flying colors. Next the product will be submitted to CableLabs’ Cert Wave 60, and then it will be [...]
Filed under: Cable, Motorola News, Switched Digital, TV | 9 Comments »
EngadgetHD ran a poll this weekend on how many HD channels readers have at home. Keeping in mind that the EngadgetHD audience is geekier than your average room full of people, I was surprised by the numbers as of Sunday night. More than half of the respondents acknowledged having fewer than 20 [...]
Filed under: Bandwidth, HDTV, Switched Digital | Leave a Comment »
Favorite links from a holiday weekend of reading:
Broadband Reports – $2 billion from Intel may bring national WiMAX network
Light Reading – Comcast aiming to implement SDV in 15% of network this year
EngadgetHD – Latest research confirms it – DVRs increase TV consumption
Ars Technica – Retail sales staff don’t know much about the DTV transition
Filed under: DTV, DVR, Switched Digital, WiMAX | Leave a Comment »
