CED articles from May 2005

CED archives from May 2005

Loading up on downloadable security.(in perspective)
May 1, 2005... The cable industry dodged a huge bullet in March when the Federal Communications Commission maintained a ban on cable set-tops with integrated security, but extended the deadline from July 2006 to, July 2007. But more important than the...

FCC extends set-top security deadline.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Federal Communications Commission)
May 1, 2005... The Federal Communications Commission recently maintained a ban on cable set-tops with integrated security, but extended the effective date by a year. Under the FCC's Second Report and Order, the ban, originally scheduled for July 2006,...

S-A bows network monitoring system.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Scientific-Atlanta has launched a Web-based platform designed to help cable operators keep tabs on the health of their HFC networks. The platform, dubbed Pointer, offers real-time network monitoring and status reports, able to identify...

Insight calls up voice vendors.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Insight Communications has added two key names to its VoIP vendor lineup: ARRIS and Cedar Point Communications. Insight has yet to reveal how quickly it will roll out VoIP, or which markets it will target first. The MSO presently offers...

Digeo picks up the phone.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Digeo Inc. has added a telephony application to its flagship Moxi Media Center software platform. Digeo has added the app, called Moxi Telephone, via technology partnerships with Nortel Networks, Cedar Point Communications and Net2Phone...

SeaChange bolsters VOD platform.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(video-on-demand)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... SeaChange International has launched a new "open" set of backoffice video-on-demand software and a hybrid server platform. On the software end, SeaChange has unveiled the "Axiom" video operations services software (VOSS) platform. Although...

Comcast, TiVo press play on DVR deal.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Following a long string of fits and starts, TiVo Inc. has finally lassoed its first big cable deal. Comcast Corp. and the digital video recording (DVR) pioneer have inked a non-exclusive, multi-year deal to make a customized version of the...

Narad nets new CEO.(Chief Executive Officer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... John Petrillo, the chairman of Narad Networks, has added chief executive officer to his title. Petrillo, who became Narad's chairman in January, replaces James Norrod, who was named CEO in June 2004. Nortod left the company to pursue other...

MyDTV changes name, strategy.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(MeeVee)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Television search and personalization software firm MyDTV Inc. has changed its name to MeeVee. In concert, the company will spend less time and effort on direct cable relationships and instead turn most of its attention toward the consumer...

C-COR joins the bandwidth expansion game.(C-COR Electronics Inc. unveils new line of products that enables cable operators to expand spectrum.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... C-COR Inc. has unveiled a line of products that enable cable operators to expand their available spectrum to 1 GHz. MSOs are enlisting a range of tools and techniques to help them deal with the bandwidth pressures caused by advanced...

OpenTV to integrate Gemstar IPG.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... OpenTV Corp. has struck a deal to integrate Gemstar-TV Guide International's new i-Guide IPG with OpenTV's Core middleware. When the integration is completed, Gemstar will market i-Guide worldwide to operators that use Core-enabled set-top...

Net2Phone scores NCTC carriage.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(National Cable Television Cooperative)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Net2Phone Inc.'s hunting license with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) has yielded a couple of deployments for the VoIP service outsourcer. Net2Phone has scored deployments with Communications Services and the City of...

Panasonic signs two-way cable agreement.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Panasonic has inked a deal to incorporate the CableLabs-specified OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) into its line of cable-ready digital TVs, set-tops and other two-way cable devices. Panasonic marks the second consumer electronics...

O'Brien to get to it at Gotuit.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Daniel O'Brien appointed at Gotuit Media Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Cable and satellite vet Daniel O'Brien has been named chairman and CEO of Gotuit Media Corp., a provider of video-on-demand services and software. O'Brien most recently served as CEO of O'Brien to Brief Original Broadcasts get to it at...

P&T to resell Coaxsys gear.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Power and Telephone Supply Company)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Power & Telephone Supply Company has signed on as the first distribution partner for Coaxsys Inc., a provider of home networking technology that uses Legacy home coax wires. Under the deal, P&T will market Coaxsys' TVnet gear to telco...

HSN, GoldPocket click on interactivity.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Home Shopping Network Inc. and GoldPocket Interactive Inc. develop internet television service)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... HSN has seen the future of home shopping, and it appears that interactive television (iTV) will play a big role in it. HSN has paired up with GoldPocket Interactive to build a 24/7 iTV service that runs on a wide range of cable and DBS...

Vidiom formalizes big OCAP deal.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT; OCAP Development LLC)(Vidiom Systems Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... It's been a long time in coming, but Vidiom Systems Corp. has cemented a licensing deal with OCAP Development LLC, a joint venture of Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable. The agreement gives Vidiom the rights to distribute the OCAP...

Viseon to offer videophone fare.(up front: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(ViseonMedia)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Viseon Inc. has formed a new media division that will ensure that users of its videophones have more to took at than just talking heads. The subsidiary, dubbed ViseonMedia, will seek out "sponsored, TV-quality content," including...

The third screen: why wireless means war.(memory lane)
May 1, 2005... In addition to its usual collection of literary fiction, lifestyle features and advertisements from the likes of Wheaties breakfast cereal, the issue of the Saturday Evening Post magazine dated July 28, 1945, featured an article titled "Phone...

Seeing is communicating: cable operators delve into video e-mail, telephony.(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... In the world of cable's ever-evolving broadband communications services, the most appropriate slogan may soon be, "Can you see me now?" In a bid to separate themselves from other broadband competitors, cable operators are adding a medium they...

SCOTTY beams up cable know-how.(SCOTTY Group of the Americas appoints Bill Riker and Rick Jubeck.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... It appears that WorldGate, Motorola and Viseon will have to cross swords with at least one more competitor when it comes to driving videophones into the cable sector. SCOTTY Group of the Americas has tapped two came vets to help the...

Cable's San Francisco meet: wireless voice, new IPGs and the all-digital migration are helping the industry connect to convergence.
May 1, 2005... By CED Staff San Francisco's most famous landmark is the Golden Gate Bridge, and the proved a fitting backdrop for a 2005 National Show that bridged cable into a larger technological world, from SIP's evolving play in voice and multimedia...

On-demand's new pitch: new CableLabs specs aim to simplify the content game.(Networking: ADVANCED NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY)(Cable Television Laboratories Inc.)
May 1, 2005... Providers and purveyors of on-demand content are continually looking to improve their ability to maximize the use and profitability of their assets. The upcoming release of CableLabs Asset Delivery Interface (ADI) 2.0 specifications is designed...

Thinking outside the (set-top) box: if they take a new path to video, telcos could dial-up big problems for cable.(Broadband: BUSINESS AND NEWS PERSPECTIVE)
May 1, 2005... Telephone companies such as Verizon and SBC Communications are deploying fiber deep into neighborhoods in order to expand their service capabilities and compete against cable. If they think out of the "box"--something uncommon for companies...

A world of ones.(In the loop)
May 1, 2005... Some of us will remember (those of us who are younger may have heard this through our parents or grandparents) when many phone calls went through a live operator and were placed "person-to-person" to ensure that we got directly to the right...

Take your TV with you; can 'place-shifting' drive the upstream and premium broadband services?(Broadband: BUSINESS AND NEWS PERSPECTIVE)(Sling Media)(Interview)
May 1, 2005... Thank baseball for the respiration behind Sling Media and the concept of "place-shifting"--the distribution of video from the primary television to any broadband-connected device. For Blake Krikorian, the CEO of Sling Media, the idea was...

Premise amplifier system.(new products: PRODUCT REVIEWS)(Extreme Broadband Engineering)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Extreme Broadband Engineering has released its new Infinity Premise amplifier/splitter system. The integrated family of components is designed to eliminate the use of jumper cables between the amplifier and traditional...

Cable/DSL router.(new products: PRODUCT REVIEWS)(SMC Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... IRVINE, Calif. -- SMC Networks has unveiled the newest in its Barricade family of networking products for the home and small office. The Barricade Cable/DSL Router (SMCBR14UP) offers broadband connectivity, a four-port 10/100 switch, both USB...

Optical Time Domain Reflectometer.(TEST EQUIPMENT)(Corning Cable Systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... HICKORY, N.C. -- Corning Cable Systems has introduced the OptiVisor 400 Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR), which provides full OTDR testing in a rugged, portable unit, according to the company. The OTDR provides testing flexibility with...

Must-carry loose ends.(law does not require cable operators to carry all the programs in a broadcaster's multi-program multiplex.)
May 1, 2005... You probably noticed that the FCC, a few months ago, made a final decision in the digital must carry proceeding. The FCC decided that the law does not require cable operators to carry both a broadcaster's analog and digital programs, but only...