Broadband Gear Report Products for January 24, 2008

Attention Vendors: Applications are now available for BGR's Fourth Annual Diamond Technology Reviews. Dedicated to independent review and recognition of the industry's latest standout products, the program's results will be announced concurrent with SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo in June. For more info on "the Diamonds" and to download forms, visit http://www.broadbandgear.net/diamond-reviews.cfm.

Want to Offer 50% More HD and SD? Imagine Says Add ICE

Imagine Communications released the ICE Broadcast System, which is said to give cable ops the ability to carry up to 50% more HDTV and SDTV digital broadcast signals within their digital broadcast spectrum without sacrificing video quality. The new system is available now, and Imagine reports that it is ready for widespread deployment because it has undergone "extensive refinement, enhancement and stabilization with major cable operators over the last several months."

The ICE Broadcast System consists of ICE Broadcast Processors, which accept and re-process compressed MPEG-2 digital signals using Imagine's ICE-Q video quality algorithms. Then, using the ICE Multiplexer, these signals are statistically multiplexed for Multiple Program Transport Stream (MPTS) digital broadcast over cable. Using this solution, cable ops can broadcast three digital HDTV or 15 digital SDTV signals in a 256-QAM channel while maintaining excellent video quality, Imagine says.

BigBand Unleashes Fifth-Gen SDV

BigBand Networks announced its fifth-gen switched digital video (SDV) platform, Switched Video Services (SVS) 5.0. Spotlighting performance and reliability enhancements, the vendor also points to the technology's abilities to support VOD and make HDTV more affordable for ops to deliver. Enhancements in the SVS 5.0 include the fact that the company's new SDV server-the Switched Broadcast Session Server (SBSS)- doubles the capacity of previous generations while maintaining what BigBand believes is the fastest switching time in the industry. The vendor also further enhanced its bandwidth allocation mechanism in SVS 5.0 to more efficiently deliver multiple-bit-rate HDTV and SD programming.

Additionally, the SVS 5.0 integrates with BigBand's Switched Video Analysis (SVA) app to make decisions whether to switch or broadcast programs based on viewership, designed to make the best use of available bandwidth. BigBand SVS 5.0 brings program-level redundancy to the edge QAM and hitless redundancy to the switched broadcast session server, an approach designed to ensure optimal program and system availability. The fifth-generation SDV solution also can support open-protocol QAM sharing to allow edge QAM resources to be shared across SDV and VOD services. BigBand already supports this capability on the BEQ6000, which can support VOD or SDV individually, or share QAM resources between services.

ARRIS Delivers Privacy Mode Encryption in D5 UEQ

ARRIS is now offering VOD privacy mode encryption for its D5 universal edge QAM (UEQ). This mode reportedly enables U.S. cable ops to easily encrypt their VOD programming, ensuring this content can only be viewed by authorized subs. The ARRIS D5 UEQ is a highly dense and flexible multi-service platform supporting digital broadcast, VOD and multi-protocol switched digital video (SDV). It is also fully hardware compatible with DOCSIS 3.0 and M-CMTS standards today and will be fully compliant with a simple software upgrade available later in 2008, ARRIS reports.

Symmetricom Rolls Out QoE Platform for Cable Ops

Symmetricom unveiled its new V-FACTOR quality of experience (QoE) platform at SCTE's recent Emerging Technologies conference. The platform reportedly enables the monitoring of key sources of potential video and audio impairments by providing a scalable solution that accurately assesses consumer's video quality experience. As an element of the V-FACTOR QoE platform for cable operators, Symmetricom also announced its Q-1000 video headend analyzer. By digging deep into the actual video content, the Q-1000 examines, in real time, the quality and integrity of source video and detects any transcoding or other encoding impairments. V-FACTOR combines the Q-1000 video headend analyzer with network probes, software agents, and NOC software into a comprehensive end-to-end solution.

In other news, Symmetricom released a comprehensive set of materials designed to help MSOs improve the reliability of their DOCSIS network environment. These materials include: "Deploying Reliable DOCSIS Synchronization," a detailed guide for cable operators on deploying the DOCSIS Timing Interface (DTI) in their networks; iPod video presentation; streaming Flash presentation; and an audio podcast. To download the materials or for more info, visit: http://ngn.symmetricom.com/lp/DOCSIS/.

Small, Lightweight OTDR New From Sunrise Telecom

Sunrise Telecom rolled out its new FTT-1000 OTDR, which the company reports is one of the smallest and lightest units in its class. Suited for installation and troubleshooting/maintenance of access, metro and long-haul networks, it provides a dynamic range that can measure >200 km of fiber length and small dead zones. It has a battery life of more than eight continuous hours on a single charge, and comes standard with a high brightness outdoor display, touch screen and weather-resistant housing.

The FTT-1000 troubleshoots events that can degrade quality by pinpointing faults on long-haul, metro and access fiber links. The FTT-1000 includes noise filtering, 4pt least square approximation (LSA) for splice loss measurement, automatic and manual mode configuration, and standard Bellcore GR-196 format for storage. The test system is available in two and three wavelengths, each with high dynamic range and small event and attenuation dead zones.

LiquidxStream Enters Edge QAM Market

LiquidxStream Systems unveiled its universal edge QAM system, the LxS-3216, at SCTE's recent Emerging Technologies conference in LA. LiquidxStream says it "courts new digital services with the highest QAM density available today - 512 QAMs per unit and 32 QAM channels per RF port." The universal product is designed to share resources across various services, including VOD, SDV and advanced digital video.

According to LiquidxStream, adding QAMs requires no customer service interruptions and no network overhaul. Also, the 32 QAMs on each RF port can be placed anywhere in the digital band with no need for contiguous blocks. "With 512 QAMs in a carrier-grade high availability chassis, LiquidxStream's new offering surpasses the present needs of MSOs and will carry them far into the future with the flexibility they need for network growth," the company's President and CEO François Laflamme says. "In fact, the LxS-3216 makes the revenue potential from new digital cable services something that is now fully realizable."

Partnership Looks to Unify Management of the Cable Network Edge

Camiant is partnering with five QAM device manufacturers, including Harmonic, ARRIS, BigBand Networks, Ericsson-Tandberg and Motorola. The strategic integrations implement the interface to Camiant's Universal Edge Resource Manager enabling cable ops to maximize bandwidth efficiency across services, including SDV and VOD. The integrated solutions are deployed in the cable operator network to allow the mixing and matching of vendors' universal edge QAM products for best-of-breed video and data QAM sharing solutions to drive more efficient bandwidth use.

The integrated solutions are said to enable true QAM sharing, freeing QAMs from being tied to a particular service such as VOD. Camiant pools universal edge QAM resources to support everything from VOD, to switched broadcast and data applications. In addition to enabling QAM sharing, Camiant allows ops to establish specific business rules and policies associated with video and data services.

MSO Testing Validates RGB Networks Dynamic Bandwidth Manager

RGB Networks reports that its new Dynamic Bandwidth Manager (DBM) successfully completed testing with "a top five U.S. cable operator," which reportedly has validated its ability to enable the delivery of dramatically more VOD programming without requiring more bandwidth or impacting picture quality. The DBM was integrated into the op's system used for monitoring and testing new and existing digital cable technologies. The testing was also said to have shown that the low latency of the DBM ensures a transparent experience when using VOD's fast-forward, rewind and pause "trickplay" features.

The DBM is based on RGB's Video Intelligence Architecture (VIA), giving it an ability to lower VOD bandwidth usage by up to 50% through the simultaneous processing of up to 1,200 programs. This lowers the cost-per-stream for operators to transrate individual VOD programs.

Phoenix, Weitel Pen Strategic Alliance

Phoenix Broadband Technologies and Weintraub Telecomm executed an agreement intended to provide a comprehensive package of network assurance products and services. First, WeiTel, as an authorized reseller and integrator of Phoenix's power monitoring products, will deploy Phoenix's PowerAgent technology, providing a system with preventive maintenance capabilities. Second, WeiTel will develop with Phoenix a suite of post-sale power system maintenance and repair services that are based on the information delivered to the system operator by the Phoenix Broadband monitoring technology.

Finally, WeiTel and Phoenix will bring to market during Q2 2008 a turnkey outsourcing solution including hardware, monitoring, preventive and demand maintenance. This is intended to provide system operators with an alternative to in-house power systems management and monitoring.

BIAP Hails End-to-End EBIF Solution

BIAP Inc. unveiled an end-to-end Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) solution for the cable industry. The package includes a suite of EBIF applications, an integrated development environment for third-party developers and an EBIF platform that includes an optimized EBIF user agent and support server for ops looking to deploy tru2way (formerly OpenCable). BIAP's interactive programming bundle is now available in EBIF, in addition to the native and middleware versions that have been available since 2003. The EBIF apps deliver advanced ad features such as VOD links, ETV banners, targeting of specific messages to individual homes, and accompanying detailed usage and measurement reports. BIAP's EBIF Studio is a WYSIWYG drag-and-drop toolset that supports rapid prototyping, development, debugging and deployment of ETV apps.

BIAP reports that its EBIF platform includes the industry's first, standards-based set-top box EBIF user agent and application triggering and delivery support server. The user agent is based on the company's compact application framework already deployed to millions of set-top boxes. It is currently available for Cisco's (SA) PowerTV set-top platforms, with support for additional platforms, such as Motorola and OpenTV, set for availability soon.

• Camiant and SeaChange International announced the general availability of an integrated solution that reportedly guarantees QoS and increases quality of subscriber experience for wireline, wireless and cable VOD users. The combination includes Camiant's policy control resource management solution and SeaChange's Axiom VOD software environment. An unnamed major broadband operator in North America is the first to deploy the solution.
• EGT and Weintraub Telecomm announced a strategic alliance. WeiTel will sell, market, install and support EGT's HEMi Headend Micro encoding solutions within North America.
• IneoQuest Technologies is hosting a "Video over IP Basics" workshop Feb. 19-20 at the company's HQ in Mansfield, Mass. For details, visit www.ineoquest.com/content1222.html.
• Lindsay Broadband signed MicroSat Inc. as a sales representative in the southeastern region of the U.S. MicroSat will cover NC, SC, GA, FL, KY, TN, MS and AL.
• Weintraub Telecomm signed a letter of intent to acquire Jensen Communications Corp. (JCC). JCC provides cable design, drafting and mapping services for major North American cable companies and selected commercial customers.