Sunrise Touts RealWORX Web for Ingress, RF Monitoring Abilities
Sunrise Telecom unveiled RealWORX Web, a comprehensive monitoring system for RF cable and broadband communications services. According to the company, it's the only ingress monitoring system capable of monitoring above 65 MHz. The frequency band above 65 MHz allows operators to better detect laser clipping, which is a largely misunderstood network condition that erodes data quality of service. The Web-based platform also is reportedly "the only monitoring system to use a high-end lab-grade spectrum analyzer, making it possible to detect and capture extremely low-level RF impairments like transients, CPD and noise floor degradation," which Sunrise says are invisible to competing systems.
RealWORX monitors digital and analog measurement parameters storing these results as historical data. Special graphs display the measurement deviations over time. In-depth views allow individual channel results to be displayed graphically over time. In addition, a dashboard provides overall health status information for each node, while the node status menu is designed to make it easy for techs to drill down and isolate individual alarm conditions.
Lindsay Aims at VoIP Reliability and QoS in MDUs
Lindsay Broadband is now offering an MDU-UPS system, which is reported to enable cable operators increased QoS and reliability for their advanced digital services.
Lindsay calls the LHA35RM-UPS a low-cost high-performance 1 GHz amplifier complete with a battery based uninterruptable power supply housed in a hinged wall mount high impact polycarbonate enclosure. Weighing in at 12.5 pounds, the system maintains normal operation for a minimum of 10 hours during a power outage with an Ohms power transfer time.
Secure Signals Calls All Cable Ops for Free Beta Testing
Secure Signals is seeking cable operators to participate in free beta testing of GuardDog, a software solution that provides round-the-clock network monitoring to identify unauthorized users of digital video signals. GuardDog is a middleware software product designed to integrate with the operator's existing billing system. It detects non-responding set-tops that have been altered using black market filters to prevent ordering information from being transmitted to the cable operator's billing system. Operation is completely transparent as GuardDog silently monitors and collects relevant information from the billing data stream. Reports from the collected data can be generated as frequently as desired.
GuardDog also provides daily backup of customer accounts, securely storing the data off-site. In the event of a disaster or system failure, GuardDog's point-and-click disaster recovery system reportedly restores data within a matter of minutes.
GoBackTV Demos New End-User Set-Top Box Interface
GoBackTV announced the first public demonstration of a new CoverFlow-style option for the RetroVue MyRV Portal set-top box interface. MyRV Portal is an HTML-based lightweight middleware for RetroVue stream-based TV services. Functionality and appearance of the set-top box's GUI are defined by Javascript and PHP code, which reportedly makes it easy for operators to customize, maintain and update using open PHP/HTML authoring tools. Default navigation includes EPG, historical EPG (for timeshifting), VOD, nPVR, personal channels and playlists.
MyRV Portal, including PHP source code for several sample interface styles, is part of the RetroVue Application Server, which provides service management and resource allocation for the RetroVue System.
New from Nufern: Er/Yb Double-Clad Fiber for Cable Amplifiers
Nufern introduced a high-efficiency Er/Yb double-clad fiber for cable amplifiers. The new SM-EYDF-6/125-HE has a core composition designed for high conversion efficiency in high power amplifiers pumped at 915 to 960 nm. The high efficiency translates directly into high signal output power and reduced pump power requirements.
"CATV amplifier manufacturers have been asking for high-efficiency Er/Yb fiber to help reduce their pump power requirements," Adrian Carter, Nufern CTO and Asia/Pacific sales director, says. "This double-clad fiber addresses those needs for amplifiers utilizing 915 to 960 nm multimode pumps."
Navic's Motors Up to Motorola Validation
Navic Networks completed Motorola's Acadia Application Integration and Test validation process for its advanced advertising and interactive television solutions to run on the Motorola/TV Guide iGuide platform. In doing so, Navic has more than doubled its potential market by expanding it to include Motorola digital set-tops.
Navic's HyperCast Network connects local, disparate cable systems together and provides a central service platform for managing content across cable systems. The company's solutions compatible with Motorola include:
Register for Expo Now
SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo 2008 Web site is now live and registration for the event is available. Expo is set for June 24-27 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. It will feature 400-plus hands-on, technology-focused exhibits, 20-plus technical workshops, CEO/CTO panels, the Annual Awards Luncheon, the International Cable-Tec Games, and an array of networking opportunities for the expected 10,000-plus attendees. SCTE members who register for Expo now will save a total of $250 compared with the nonmember onsite registration rate.
Check out http://expo.scte.org for more info.
TM Forum Continues Push Into Cable
The TM Forum, the trade association focused on business processes, operations and systems for managing and monetizing online information, communications and entertainment services, announced that its Cable Interest Group (CIG) has organized an industry call on interactive and addressable advertising.
The CIG is a committee of global MSOs within the TM Forum that coordinate requirements for the management of new and existing services for cable companies and is based on the work of IPDR, now part of the TM Forum collaboration program. The TM Forum is promoting their push into the cable industry at a range of industry events including the IP Cable and the Interactive Advertising Shows in London and the 2008 Cable Congress Show in Madrid. At the latter, the Forum is initiating a European and U.S. cable industry session to standardize the capturing, distribution and management of data for use in cable advertising services. This meeting will take place in two parts in the "Technical Track" on April 25 at 12 and 2:15 p.m.
- The American Cable Association members - small and independent cable operators from around the U.S. - will be in Washington, D.C., April 7-9 for the 15th Annual Washington Summit. Get info at http://www.acasummit.org.
- Cisco made an investment as a strategic investor in GridNetwork's Series A funding previously announced by Panorama Capital in October. With this latest investment, the company has raised a total of $9.5 million in its Series A financing. GridNetworks streams TV and film content with HD clarity and high-fidelity sound to a computer or a TV screen via the Internet.
- IneoQuest Technologies announced the availability of its Cricket video network probe with support for European QAM standards.
Hermes Media + Research