CED articles from February 2004

CED archives from February 2004

Grand unification theory still not so grand.(in perspective)(Digital Deck's multi-room entertainment system)
February 1, 2004... I went to the Consumer Electronics Show searching for an answer to a problem. What I came away with was more questions. I was seeking a solution to a problem that's growing in stature every day: Sharing and shipping crisp-sounding music and...

SBC to serve up FTTP.(Upfront: latest news and insight)(fiber-to-the-premises)(SBC Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SBC Communications, following in the footsteps of Verizon, has announced preparations to move ahead with ambitious plans to roll out fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies and services. SBC signed on Alcatel as its primary FTTP supplier...

Cox launches VoIP in Roanoke.(Upfront: latest news and insight)(Voice over Internet Protocol )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Following some earlier trials, Cox Communications has rolled out telephony services commercially in Roanoke, Va., marking the MSO's first market to go commercial with an advanced IP-based voice platform. Cox already offers telephony in 11 other...

Sony, Gemstar sign IPG pact.(Upfront: latest news and insight)(interactive program guide)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Sony Corp. has inked a multi-year licensing deal with Gemstar-TV Guide International that will enable the CE giant to use Gemstar's interactive program guide (IPG) products in some digital products set for release in Japan. Sony, which...

AT&T, Qwest join VoIP race.(Upfront: latest news an insight)(Voice over Internet Protocol)(Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Matching recent moves by some of the nation's largest cable operators, Qwest Communications and AT&T Corp. unwrapped plans and deployments for the suddenly red-hot IP telephony sector. First off the blocks is Qwest, which launched a...

Adelphia Communications.(Upfront: latest news an insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Adelphia Communications cable modem customers will be able to access their e-mail and connect to the Web on the road via dial-up following a deal with RemotePipes Inc. "Our broadband Internet customers have asked for a dial-up Internet...

N2 Broadband nets $10m in 'C' round.(Upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Video-on-demand integration house and back office platform provider N2 Broadband has raised $10 million in a "C" round of funding led by Tudor Ventures and existing lead investor Highland Capital partners. N2 Broadband has raised $27 million to...

WildBlue gears up.(Upfront: latest news and insight)(WildBlue Communications)(Raven Manufacturing Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Re-energized broadband satellite service provider WildBlue Communications has signed on ViaSat to supply consumer premises equipment and gateway gear. The agreement is valued at more than $33 million, the companies said. The contract...

Wave Broadband has selected BigBand Networks' flagship Broadband Multimedia Service Router (BMR) and high-definition television application to support the rollout of HD services. (Upfront: latest news and insight.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Wave Broadband has selected BigBand Networks' flagship Broadband Multimedia Service Router (BMR) and high-definition television application to support the rollout of HD services. Wave Broadband serves about 50,000 customers in western...

Forecast: 24.7 m DVR homes by '07. (Upfront: latest news and insight.(digital video recording )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... After a sluggish start, digital video recording (DVR) technology is set to blast off, reaching 24.7 million U.S. homes by the end of 2007, predicts the Yankee Group. But it still has a way to go to get there. DVRs, the research firm...

Comcast gives Ucentric's music app a test drive.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Following up on some initial multiroom digital video recorder trials Comcast Cable has agreed to test out a new "whole home" music application from Ucentric Systems. Ucentric's software, in concert with a media center from Samsung...

TiVo slaps EchoStar with DVR suit.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... EchoStar beat TiVo in the race to reach 1 million DVR sub scribers, but TiVo beat the DBS provider in the courts, slapping EchoStar with a patent infringement suit last month. TiVo, in a suit filed in Texas, alleged that EchoStar has in...

CableLabs stamps Samsung TV for OpenCable.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... CableLabs has awarded OpenCable certification to Samsung Electronics for a set-top-free digital television. The Samsung model is capable of receiving high-definition television programming and other unidirectional digital programs,...

Wesel to head up Ellacoya Networks.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Gerald Wesel )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Ellacoya Networks has appointed Gerald Wesel as chairman of the board, where he will oversee the day-to-day operations for the Merrimack, N.H.-based IP management startup, The move follows the resignation of company CEO Ron Sege, who has...

Microtune chip plays a 1 GHz tune.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Taking aim at media gateways capable of shipping bandwidth-intensive video throughout the home, Microtune has unveiled the MT2121, a new silicon tuner that the company says is the first to reach into the 1 GHz domain. "We've been asked to...

Philips bows Plug & Play tuner.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Royal Philips Electronics has introduced a tuner designed to comply with Plug & Play, a cable-CE sponsored, FCC-approved accord for set-top-free digital televisions. Philips' tuner is an integrated "two-can" product comprised of a dual RF...

Cox spins multiple apps with Liberate software.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Signaling that it's back in the cable softy ale game Liberate Technologies announced it has won a subscription-based licensing deal with Cox Communications. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Liberate will supply the MSO...

Palo Alto picks Motorola. Quantum Bridge for fiber net.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) said it will deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network based on equipment from Motorola Broadband and Quantum Bridge Communications. If successful, the new network will replace the municipality's...

Time Warner Cable checks in at high-speed.(upfront: latest news and insight)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Time Warner Cable is targeting the hospitality sector with a new high speed data service for hotels and motels. The initiative, Road Runner Business Class Hospitality Solutions. will tap existing hotel wiring for broadband services...

HD options: HD content is rapidly growing, but there seems to be double vision regarding format.(high definition)
February 1, 2004... Will the real HD please stand up? While HD (high definition) content is blossoming on cable networks, it appears there is stone double vision among programmers when it comes to what format to choose. The debate has created two strident...

SCTE migrating toward an all digital world: SCTE's '04 Conference on Emerging Technologies explored the all-digital options and dissected the potential potholes ahead.(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)
February 1, 2004... The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers certainly picked an appropriate site for the 2004 Conference on Emerging Technologies. "Big D" usually stands for 100 percent Dallas, but, as conference-goers soon discovered, it also stands for...

Excellence born of necessity: faced with vendor uncertainty, Cox builds its own IP backbone.(Fiber Optic Technology)(internet protocol)
February 1, 2004... As 2001 came to a close, Cox Communications and other cable multiple system operators (MSOs) were in tough negotiations with Excite@Home regarding the continuance of its Internet services. The landscape in cable-delivered broadband services had...

Hooking up at CES: media centers and Plug & Play efforts boost cable's profile.(Advanced Networking Technology)(Consumer Electronics Show)
February 1, 2004... With more than 129,000 in attendance and north of 2,400 exhibitors, the 2004 iteration of the Consumer Electronics Show was the largest in the confab's history. The massive (and seemingly endless) halls were filled with enough HD displays,...

Tulsat is the exclusive distributor for most scientific-Atlanta legacy equipment.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... TULSAT has signed an agreement with Scientific-Atlanta to extend their market support for additional product lines. The agreement transfers the sales and support of Scientific-Atlanta's analog satellited receivers, modulators and stereo...

American Stock Exchange lists ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc. symbol changes from ADDM to AEY.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... NEW YORK, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- the American Stock Exchange[R] (Amex[R]) today listed the common stock of ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc. (Amex: AEY--News; ATG) under the ticker symbol AEY. ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc. and its...

Disney fueling the rise of datacasting: datacasting appears to be back on the map, thanks to new services like MovieBeam.(Business And News Perspective)
February 1, 2004... Nobody would accuse Mickey Mouse of being a propeller-head, but the familiar icon's creator, The Walt Disney Co., has revived a once-promising technology, datacasting, from the ashes of the dot-com crash. Disney chose datacasting as the...

Technology heroes.(Ciciora's corner)
February 1, 2004... We should all have heroes. The applicable definition of a hero is someone "admired for his achievements and noble qualities." Given our occupations, we should look to the telecommunications industry for such a person. My good friend Ted...

Getting 'Real' with cable: Real Networks' chief views Universal Plug & Play as a key driver.(Business And News Perspective)(Interview)
February 1, 2004... The concept of the media center was a hot topic last month at the super-sized Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Hardware vendors, TV manufacturers and software makers all lined up with the wares and applications that they believe will...

Three-piece F-connector.(new products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--Trompeter Electronics has introduced a three piece F-connector (PL130SC) for high-end consumer appliance use. It's suited for high-frequency applications such as HDTV, DTV and two-way high-speed Internet connections...

Rack-mount battery.(new products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... NEWTON, Mass.--BatteryCorp has introduced its new front terminal telecom battery, (BC-12V105FT), designed to meet reduced space requirements in certain telecommunications applications. The 12-volt front terminal battery is rated a 105AH at the...

Digital TV IF amp IC.(new products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... MILPITAS, Calif.--Developed specifically for IF amplification in VSB and QAM tuners, the new 3.3V ISG510067 from ISG Broadband combines two linear in put AGC amplifiers with two IF video amplifiers in one miniature package. Suited for use in...

HDTV processor.(high definition television)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... OLD BRIDGE, N.J.--Blonder Tongue Laboratories Inc. has released its new Digital High Definition Television Processor (DHDP) product series. The new series enables cable operators to deliver digital and high definition television (HDTV)...

My HD experience.(capital currents)(High definition television)
February 1, 2004... I bought an HDTV set. I really hadn't planned to do this for another year, but my 32-inch NTSC set started having intermittent problems, the kind that a technician was not likely to track down. After a few weeks of use, here are my personal...

Next-generation digital video network: intelligent IP infrastructure solutions for cable operators offering VoD services.(internet protocol)(Video On Demand)
February 1, 2004... Metadata Information for Video-on-Demand Content The metadata information provided is a subset of the descriptive data associated with title assets, which contain content for VoD. Metadata specifications allow content providers to provide...