Happy Holidays! This will be your last issue of BGR in 2006. Watch for our new design and revamped Web site on Jan. 11.

• CableLabs heats up the DOCSIS 3.0 landscape with a new RFI.

Products

Promax Explores the US with Portable Analyzer

Promax Electronics introduced the PRODIG-5B US TV Explorer portable analyzer that can measure terrestrial, cable and satellite DTV signals. The US TV Explorer is compatible with 8-VSB, QAM and QPSK (DVB-S and DSS) as well as analog NTSC signals. It also contains an MPEG-2 and AC³ demodulator that makes it possible to display transport stream information and watch digital channels.

The unit allows users to perform detailed spectrum analysis, display all measurements in one screen and watch the TV picture. The AUTO-ID feature searches for channels, detects digital transmission parameters automatically and reads network identification data from the MPEG-2 transport stream.

Enensys Reels in DiviCatch Receiver/Recorder/Analyzer

Enensys released its DiviCatch RF-C cable pocket receiver, recorder and analyzer. It is the first RF device in the company's USB adapter product line. The DiviCatch RF-C is capable of tuning a cable modulated signal and performing analysis measures at RF, modulation and transport levels. The software bundled with the device provides a graphical display of the constellation, offering an instant representation of the signal quality. Signal-to-noise ratio, modulation error ratio and error vector magnitude measurements also provide indications on the signal modulation quality.

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In addition to the RF input, the DiviCatch RF-C also features an ASI input and therefore inherits all standard DiviCatch products capabilities: live or scheduled stream recording, stream forwarding over IP and MPEG-2 monitoring. Because the device integrates both a tuner and a demodulator, the bundled software is also capable of displaying a live stream through the integrated player. The company calls its DiviCatch RF-C "an all-in-one international cable solution": It is fully compatible with Cable standard's all 3 annexes (ITU-J83 Annex A, B and C) covering worldwide digital cable distribution.

Allot Says You Shouldn't Treat Your Subs as One Large Group

Allot Communications launched its new Subscriber Management Platform (SMP), which is designed to help ops identify how and what services hold the most appeal for subs, and how they can be easily delivered and billed.

Using Allot's deep packet inspection (DPI) capability, the SMP monitors subscriber behavior to identify, track and report short- or long-term usage trends. Behavior can be tracked on an individual basis or for groups of subs. By analyzing these trends, ops quickly know which services are the most popular and with whom. The SMP also supports per-subscriber enforcement, enabling ops to create and deploy tiered service plans that allow different subs to have different quality parameters on a per-service basis.

BigBand Scores Big Emmy Nominations

BigBand Networks received two Emmy Award nominations as part of the National Television Academy's Technology and Engineering Awards.

BigBand's switched broadcast technology was nominated for the Emmy in "Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Creation of Non-Traditional Programs or Platforms." BigBand invented switched broadcast as a way for cable ops to free up additional cable spectrum to expand the amount of programming they provide to subs.

BigBand also was co-nominated with Time Warner Cable and several other companies for technology contributions to Time Warner Cable's Start Over digital TV feature. Start Over is designed to allow TWC subs to jump to the beginning of a program in progress without any pre-planning or in-home recording devices. The Time Warner Cable service leverages network-based, time-shifting functionality enabled by BigBand's Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR) and other technologies to extend "on-demand" capability to live programming.

Broadcom Hails New HD Chip

Broadcom announced an HD digital TV silicon solution that supports full 1080p display resolution. Designed in 65 nanometer process geometry, the new "television-on-a-chip" enables CE manufacturers to build high definition 1080p TVs that feature "superior picture, sound and graphics support," whether the content is analog or digital.

In addition, Broadcom says the implementation of 65 nanometer technology allows for the integration of more features, improved performance and reduced overall power consumption, resulting in a lower total system cost for equipment manufacturers. Dubbed the BCM3563, the new device is compatible with the NTSC analog standard, the ATSC digital standard and the digital cable TV standard. In addition, the new chip supports picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture display modes.

Cedar Point Taps B.A.S.E. for International Sales

Cedar Point Communications selected B.A.S.E. Technologies, headquartered in Belgium, to support international deployments of Cedar Point's SAFARI C³ media switching system. B.A.S.E. will assist Cedar Point in identification of customer prospects, sales and other professional services, including installation and remote and on-site technical support capabilities, in Europe and elsewhere. The companies' launched voice services, earlier this year, with Intelvision in the Seychelles Islands.

AMT Launches New Web Site

Advanced Media Technologies launched its new website at www.goamt.com. It features an online searchable catalog of over 200 products from more than 30 manufacturers including Motorola, Amino, DX Antenna, Emcore, Alpha and Drake. The site also displays new products such as the Simulcast Edge Processor (SEP) 48, BNP and MMC from Motorola/RBG and the AmiNet125/125i from Amino. The most recent addition to AMT's products come from its partnership with EGT, which can also be found on the new website.

Visitors also can sign up for AMT's e-newsletter at the site. The publication includes new product and manufacturer information, industry news and discounts on products.

• Harmonic completed the acquisition of the video networking software business of Entone Technologies. The video networking software business of Entone is now wholly owned by Harmonic.
• Openet announced its participation in developing cable industry specifications for delivering residential Voice over IP services and related features. As a participant on the CableLabs PacketCable 2.0 Accounting focus team, Openet contributed to the development of the Residential SIP Telephony Accounting Specification, which defines the spec for usage collection and processing for SIP-based cable telephony.
• SCTE put out a call for papers for Cable-Tec Expo 2007, which is set for June 19-22 in Orlando, FL. Technical paper proposals must be submitted to the Society by Jan. 19. For details, visit http://scte.org/content/index.cfm?pID=193.

Feature: CableLabs Turns Up the Heat on DOCSIS 3.0

CableLabs and EuroCableLabs jointly issued a request for information (RFI) seeking product availability for devices that would comply with the DOCSIS 3.0. DOCSIS 3.0 enables downstream data rates up to 160 Mbps or higher and upstream data rates up to 120 Mbps or higher.

The RFI reflects the importance that MSOs throughout the world place in getting accurate product development and availability information on DOCSIS 3.0 devices from the equipment vendor community in order for the ops to establish their deployment plans for the next generation of IP-based multimedia (voice, data and video) businesses.

The RFI specifically seeks information on DOCSIS 3.0 modems, cable modem termination systems (CMTS) and PacketCable embedded multimedia terminal adapters (EMTAs). It seeks information on what products are being developed to meet the requirements of the DOCSIS 3.0 specifications. There will be no ranking of responses nor will there be an approved supplier list resulting from the RFI.

Ops participating in the RFI are Advance/Newhouse Communications, Armstrong, Aurora Cable TV Ltd.; Bend Broadband, Bresnan Communications, Cablevision Systems Corp., Canal Digital Kabel TV AS, Charter Communications, Cogeco Câble Inc.; Comcast, ComHem AB, Cox Communications, Essent N.V.; Insight Communications, Kabel Baden-Württemberg GmbH & Co. KG; Kabel Deutschland GmbH; Liberty Global, Inc.; Mediacom Communications Corp.; NetCologne, ntl / TeleWest, ONO, Rogers Communications, Shaw Cablesystems, StarHub, SW Television Oy/Welho, TDC Kabel TV A/S, Telenet, Time Warner Cable Inc.; TVCabo Portugal, SA, UPC Broadband, Unity Media, and Vidéotron Ltée.

Deployments

• VOO, a service provider in Belgium, will deploy Cedar Point's SAFARI C³ multimedia switching system. VOO, a joint venture of Brutele and ALE Teledis, will utilize the integrated SAFARI C³ system to deliver residential and business telephony to their existing 700,000 cable TV and Internet customers in Brussels and the Wallonia region.
• Hargray Communications deployed Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform. This is an upgrade to its existing SONET network with multiservice, programmable DWDM transport and aggregation technology that increases its network capacity for VOD, HDTV, metro Ethernet and other high-bandwidth services.
• Concurrent announced the deployment of its one-millionth video stream. The milestone was achieved via a recent shipment to Cogeco, which launched VOD with Concurrent in 2002 and is now upgrading its Ontario systems to accommodate increased on-demand traffic.
• R Cable, a cable op in the Galicia region in Spain, is replacing its analog headend and video transport operations with new IP-based digital headend from Scientific-Atlanta and IP NGN carrier Ethernet platform from Cisco. The new digital headend will use S-A's Digital Content Manger (DCM), which combines multiplexing, digital program insertion (DPI), transrating and scrambling functions in a single device, managing all the digitalized analog services currently running on the network.
  
  Additionally, the Landata Group, the systems integrator for the project, will deploy S-A's IP Streamer (Model D9655) to deliver the IP video streams to the DCM, where they are processed prior to being distributed over the Cisco Carrier Ethernet aggregation network, based on Cisco 7600 Series routers, across the Galician provinces of Coruna, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra.
• JDSU announced it recently shipped it 10,000th ROADM (reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer). According to Ovum-RHK, the number of ROADM unit shipments is expected to grow by over 40% between 2005 and 2009.
• Spanish cable op, R Cable, is delivering a suite of voice, multimedia and advanced IP services, including telephony, video and instant messaging, to business and residential customers using a carrier VoIP solution from Nortel. R's new services portfolio enables business customers to outsource their communications and prepare for fixed mobile convergence, while residential customers can select from a range of new voice and multimedia services.
• Sandvine announced that Liwest Kabelmedien GmbH, the second largest cable operator in Austria, has deployed the vendor's suite of DPI-based policy solutions. Sandvine introduced the solutions across Liwest's 40,000-sub network over the past several months. Sandvine's Network Demographics solution allows Liwest to diagnose congestion problems, ensure quality of service for popular and sensitive applications, while mitigating unwanted malicious traffic that was affecting traffic like VoIP and gaming.
• Thomson announced it delivered its three-millionth digital set-top box and ten-millionth cable modem. Reaching the three-millionth set-top milestone, Thomson says it doubled the volume of digital decoders delivered each year over the last two years. The company has extended its product range since 2005 to include interactive, double- and triple-play decoders as well as MPEG-4 high-def set-top boxes, with advanced functionalities such as PVRs.

The Playing Field

• Tony Werner will join Comcast as CTO at the end of December. He will be responsible for developing and guiding the company's technology strategy and evolving network architecture, including supporting next-generation consumer systems and technologies, infrastructure and engineering, network integration and management tools and technical standards.
  
  Werner succeeds David Fellows as Comcast's CTO. Mr. Fellows announced his plans to transition into a part-time Executive Fellow role with the company earlier this year.
  
  Werner currently serves as SVP and CTO for Liberty Global. He has more than 25 years of engineering and technical management experience, having held senior management positions with Qwest, Aurora Networks, TCI/AT&T Broadband, Rogers Communications and RCA Cablevision Systems.
• 

  Giarolo

  

  Nguyen

  OpVista named John B. Giarolo to the position of SVP of worldwide sales. Previously, Giarolo served as SVP of sales with SOMA Networks. He also held executive positions in sales and marketing with UTStarcom, Luminous Networks, Convergent Networks, Ciena, Ascend Communications and Cisco.
  
  OpVista also added Thi Nguyen as VP of software engineering. He has more than 20 years of executive engineering experience and detailed knowledge in Ethernet and IP, including his most recent position as the VP of engineering with Verilink Corp.
• Amphenol promoted R. Adam Norwitt to the newly created position of president and COO, effective January 1. He currently serves as an SVP of the company, and group GM of Amphenol's Worldwide RF and Microwave Products Operations.
• EGT appointed Chuck Conner to SVP of sales. He joins EGT by way of Harmonic, where as VP of major account sales, he was responsible for more than $400 million in sales.

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