Product News 9-2-2010

Concurrent Preps for Multi-Screen Video at IBC

ConcurrentAt IBC 2010, Concurrent (www.ccur.com) will unveil a video ecosystem designed to connect media creation, publishing, and delivery service companies with consumers using a unified video delivery and data collection platform that can tap into any screen. The solution is designed to deliver TV-quality video to any device (including tablet computers, smart phones, and TV sets) and enable key media related metrics to be captured from each screen at a census level.

The company’s Video to TV, Video to PC, and Video to Mobile software modules operate independently or as a single solution and have been designed to support a new generation of revenue generating video applications, such as web and mobile TV, network DVR, 3D VOD and interactive TV from a common platform. The unified video delivery solution is designed to reduce the operational complexity associated with launching multi-screen services and provide a flexible and reliable foundation for delivering commercial video and personal content to any device, over any network.

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ActiveVideo to Showcase Two-Way VOD, Interactivity at IBC

ActiveVideoThe delivery of compelling two-way services that can transform legacy one-way cable networks will headline the ActiveVideo Networks (www.activevideo.com) demonstration at IBC.

The company plans to show how its CloudTV platform can use processing within the network to enable cable operators to offer differentiating on-demand and interactive services, without incurring the cost and service disruption of customer equipment and network upgrades. The demonstration will include the ability to:

  • Use communication from customers’ existing iPhones, other smartphones and web-connected devices to the CloudTV platform to enable real-time interactive and on-demand services over one-way cable plant
  • Provide a uniform experience across any combination of one-way and two-way plant and set-tops, CI+ televisions and web-connected devices
  • Utilize ActiveVideo’s iPhone Remote Control App to enable gesture-based interactivity, improved keyboarding and navigation, improved search and discovery, and the ability to upload photos and intuitively control displays on the TV

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Pixelmetrix to Demo Monitoring Solutions at IBC

PixelmetrixPixelmetrix (www.pixelmetrix.com) will be at IBC in Amsterdam to demo its TV monitoring solutions. Featuring new and enhanced applications, they are designed to help operators optimize their operations while reducing operating costs. Highlighted products will include:

  • Automated Channel Package & Parental Control Audits featuring the Electronic Couch Potato (ECP) with new applications for viewer experience monitoring
  • TS Monitoring featuring the DVStation-Mini² TSP Lite for terrestrial and cable networks
  • Contribution Monitoring featuring the DVStation-Remote with TSP120, ASLF090 andDVProbe-S2 providing TS analysis with H.264 video stream support
  • Terrestrial Network Monitoring featuring the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T with RF measurements and TS analysis
  • Time-shifting with Logo Insertion featuring the DVShift
  • IP Headend Monitoring featuring the DVStation-IP³ and IPGen
  • Transport Stream Recording and Playout featuring the DVStor²
  • End-to-End IPTV Quality of Service Monitoring featuring the EndGame DVAgent

ARRIS EMTA EuroDOCSIS 3.0 Certified

ARRISARRIS‘ (www.arrisi.com) Touchstone TM902 EMTA has been awarded EuroDOCSIS 3.0 and EuroPacketCable 1.5 certification by Cable Europe Labs.

The Touchstone TM902 is a wideband voice and data modem customer premises device with two ports for primary line voice and a high speed data port, designed to deliver data throughput speeds of up to 400 Mbps to the end user, through DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding technology. It comes in three models: the TM902A for North America and the TM902B and TM902S for Europe. All have internal power supplies, eight downstream by four upstream silicon technology and offer the low power consumption. The TM902S comes with an on/off switch to further comply with European power consumption requirements.

Harmonic Intros High-Density Edge QAM

HarmonicHarmonic’s (www.harmonicinc.com) NSG HectoQAM (NSG 9000-40G) is a universal edge QAM solution designed to deliver up to 648 QAMs per two-rack unit chassis. It also incorporates the company’s new EQAM Virtualization software technology and frequency agility for flexible placement of QAMs across the spectrum.

The NSG 9000-40G supports VOD, broadcast, SDV, M-CMTS, DOCSIS 3.0, and cable IPTV services, and supports up to 36 QAMs per port. Customer shipments are scheduled to begin this month, and the product will be on display at Harmonic’s stand at IBC.

The company’s new EQAM Virtualization software technology is designed to allow a single device to be operated as a number of virtual systems. The NSG 9000-40G’s 10-Gbps interfaces serve up to 40 Gbps input total, and can also function as 1 Gbps links. The new NSG 9000-40G mainboard and blades are used with the existing NSG 9000 chassis. Blades are hot-swappable.

Zappware to Highlight ITV at IBC

At IBC, Zappware (www.zappware.com) will demonstrate the latest enhancements to its Flux end-to-end interactive TV solution for digital TV operators. The Flux platform is a modular suite of interactive services including EPGs, VOD, and PVR applications designed to offer the operator full customization and configurability, enabling enhanced marketing opportunities and increased subscriber satisfaction.

Release 2.5 features a new design for the ZapBanner, an on-screen visual feedback device that provides information about the currently displayed program or media item. The new design adds convenience by providing a shorter click-path to additional program information. Additional features include a new option menu that provides more direct navigation routes to specific functions based on context, and a new media player function that enables viewers to watch content stored on USB flash drives and/or home media servers.

Other Zappware demos will include the Flux Lite thin-client application of the Flux platform and Matrix, the company’s modular suite of interactive TV solutions for operators that features a streamlined, graphically rich user interface.

CableTEC

Clearleap, RCDb Turn Blu-ray Player into Cable VOD Box

ClearleapClearleap (www.clearleap.com), a web based TV technology platform, and Related Content Database (www.rcdb.net) have announced a joint solution designed to let pay TV operators deliver their full VOD libraries to any subscriber with an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. The technology offering leverages Clearleap’s cloud based content management and delivery platform coupled with RCDb’s Blu-ray disc software, enterprise server and data services.

It leverages the standard in-home Internet connection and does not require a new set-top box. To launch the on-demand application directly from a cable operator’s servers, consumers simply insert the cable operator’s Blu-ray disc into a BD-Live player and press start. The Blu-ray disc and service are powered by the RCDb software, and the content is then streamed by Clearleap’s TV technology platform, operated on behalf of the cable operator, to the consumer’s home.

Bridge Tech Upgrades CPE Probe

BrigeTechBridge Technologies (www.bridgetech.tv) has enhanced its microVB probe, including the addition of remote analysis capabilities. Sitting at the end of the delivery chain, the microVB remotely delivers real-time data about performance at the viewer’s set-top box, with enhanced capabilities now including traffic analysis.

The probe is small enough to be delivered to the customer by mail and features simple, plug-and-play installation and provides in-depth packet analysis for OTT services. Upon installation between the set-top box and TV set, the microVB automatically locates the MDC controller server on the operator’s network and begins sending data, enabling deep packet inspection without requiring a technician to visit the customer’s home to install the device or diagnose problems. Data from the microVB is received through the MDC server and presented in visual displays via a standard web browser.

UEI to Demo Remotes for Connected TV and 3D at IBC

Universal ElectronicsUniversal Electronics (www.uei.com) will demonstrate its Dolphin point-and-click, universal remote controls at IBC. They’re intended for subscription broadcast operators looking to provide subscribers with advanced, web-connected content options and a 3D viewing experience.

Equipped with advanced motion-detection technology, the ergonomic Dolphin controller is designed for fast, intuitive navigation through multiple menus, channels, or content selections by translating the user’s natural hand movements into on-screen cursor movements. The controller allows for the simple acts of selecting programs and perusing menus in a traditional manner, but also enables advanced functions such as point-and-click selections of multiple items on a single screen and browsing graphical content lists.

TelcoTV

BLANKOM Intros Digital Headend System

The Smart Business Line from BLANKOM (www.blankom.de) is a small headend designed to facilitate cable operator efforts to promote digital services cost efficiently, independent of size or customer density.

The system consists of QPSK-QAM transmodulators and the power supply and features high density and energy efficiency. The units are equipped to process SD and HD services as well as all MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. The system does not require additional software (only an Internet browser) and has an autotuning function, and all transponder settings are done automatically.

The system is modular and scalable, with the basic system requiring six rack units. All output channels are frequency independently configurable (47–862 MHz), and the units allow modulation up to 256-QAM. All QAM modulators are directly FPGA controlled and stabilized. All level settings can be made electronically and SNMP monitored. All

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BelAir Wins “Best New Product Idea” at CableLabs Confab

Jones NCTI

In the Innovation Showcase at this week’s CableLabs (www.cablelabs.com) Summer Conference in Keystone, CO, BelAir Networks‘ (www.belairnetworks.com) BelAir100SP Strand Picocell was voted the best new product idea likely to succeed.

“What we’ve introduced is the ability to leverage the cable network in a way to connect the DOCSIS infrastructure that’s widely deployed pretty much everywhere, and connect up licensed band and unlicensed band picocells in the streets,” said Dave Park, BelAir VP of Product Marketing. “It opens up whole new business models for MSOs and mobile operators to work together.”

The recognition is based on an informal poll of attendees at the conference, and the selection of a wireless product raised a few eyebrows.

Vecima

“Something about the Showcase is that, like BelAir, they’re bringing technology to the cable industry that people don’t always necessarily associate with the cable industry,” said Dr. Paul F. Liao, president and CEO of CableLabs. “All of these present tremendous opportunities for the cable operators.”

BelAir’s (www.belairnetworks.com) BelAir100SP Strand Picocell is a compact wireless base station designed to leverage available broadband infrastructure to deliver mobile broadband Internet via both licensed and unlicensed wireless spectrum.

The BelAir100SP is designed to be mounted on existing cable infrastructure, with both power and backhaul provided by the HFC plant. Available in a range of mounting options, it can be deployed from cable plant installed on poles, in cabinets and pedestals, and underground. Its modular design currently supports a range of licensed 3G radios, with a migration to LTE, along with dual 802.11n Wi-Fi radios. It also includes a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, plant power supply and power protection/splitter.

Vecima

A dozen companies participated in this year’s Innovation Showcase. Besides BelAir, they included:

Aside from the Innovation Showcase, some other vendors running demos at the Summer Conference included:

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CableLabs Publishes 3D Encoding Spec

CableLabs (www.cablelabs.com) has published a new specification as a guide for producers, programmers and aggregators of stereoscopic 3D programming. The new specification, called Content Encoding Profiles 3.0 Specification (OC-SP-CEP3.0-I01-100827), can be found on the CableLabs web site under OpenCable Specifications. The new spec details exact requirements for formatting or “panelizing” 3D content into a frame-compatible format for use by cable TV systems.

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Infinera, XO Complete 1,348 km Field Trial

Infinera (www.infinera.com) has completed a successful field trial of 100 Gigabit per second (100G) coherent transmission over a 1,348 kilometer route on the XO Communications nationwide network. The trial used Infinera’s new 500G photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which each integrate five 100G channels.

The field trial involved Infinera’s 500G PICs transmitting and receiving a 100G signal on a 1,348 km production route between Denver and Dallas on the XO optical fiber network. The route is built with Infinera’s 100G-ready ILS WDM line system, which is designed to provide scalable fiber capacity up to 8 Terabits per second. During the trial, the ILS system was carrying 10G and 100G channels simultaneously.

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Tvinci Powers Novebox OTT Service for MSN

Novebox (http://latino.msn.novebox.com/) has selected the Tvinci (www.tvinci.com) video platform to create a subscription/pay-on-demand service for Spanish language MSN portals. The Novebox service will be rolled out progressively across Latin America and the Hispanic market in the United States over the next 5 months. Tvinci’s MediaHub and MediaStore have been deployed by Novebox to manage video assets, business rules for subscriptions and ads, user experience and video players.

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Concurrent Names VPs of Engineering, Web and Mobile Video

Huang

Concurrent (www.ccur.com) has appointed Andy Huang as vice president of engineering and Jim Denenny as vice president and general manager of web and mobile video solutions.

Huang brings to Concurrent more than two decades of experience in the global video market. In his new role, he will focus on addressing the challenges and complexities content providers, service providers and advertising stakeholders face as they begin to launch next generation multi-screen services.

Prior to Concurrent, Huang served as director of engineering for IP video at Cisco. He also held a number of leadership roles at Scientific-Atlanta.

Jim Denenny

Denenny

Denenny, in his role as VP/GM of web and mobile video, will help lead the company as it further expands its presence amongst content providers, Internet and wireless service providers. Prior to Concurrent, Denenny served as VP/GM at ANT Software. He also spent 10 years at RealNetworks in several senior management positions.

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Leviton Names IT Boss for Marketing and Sales

Carella

Leviton (www.leviton.com) has appointed Chris Carrella to the position of director of technology for distribution marketing and sales. He will additionally focus on streamlining process efficiencies, reducing administrative overhead and delivering solutions that support the company’s “go green” mandate through its sales channels.

In 20+ years at Leviton, Carrella has held various positions where he led project teams implementing new software solutions. Before joining Leviton, he held a variety of positions in IT with Cablevision, Publishers Clearing House and Chase Auto Finance.

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Putting a Contract Out on Contractors

Tim Hermes, BGR CEO

Tim Hermes, BGR CEO

I’ve been hearing for years about “churn,” the dreaded term for customer rollover or abandonment due to lack of service quality – either picture quality, internet-access availability, or CSR/installer/technician house call. I’ve had issues with all of the above, and usually they get resolved quite nicely.

However, when my number one, me-love-you-long-time service provider sends a contractor instead of a payrolled CSR to my house, the service is usually less than spectacular. I’m really not sure why, unless it comes down to training. Since I have gone to triple play, I generally have about one issue a year that is taken care of quickly. However on the occasion that I have needed a tech to come to my home, the contractor experience was uh, difficult.

First of all, they all seemed to be named “Scooter.” Second, the lack of uniform and preponderance of tattoos bugs me. And finally, they never seem to have what they need as far as supplies. It’s always one or two trips to the “office” to get what they need. When we had our issue getting our TiVo hooked up to our STB, it was a three-hour job that left mud on the carpet, marks on the wall and a scratch on our home entertainment center. Thank heavens he didn’t knock over the plasma.

Just sayin’.

My point? Man, there are great places for contractors to get trained on broadband installation – fairly inexpensively too. SCTE and Jones/NCTI for example. I’m sure there’s more. There ARE good contractors out there too. Need to say that to be fair. I have had some positive experiences, but the bad outweigh the good in my experience.

A little polish, a little more education, and a much better experience for the customer when the operator is forced to use contractors could be a key in reducing churn. Churn bad. Renewable revenue good. Investment in tech training good too.

Just sayin’.

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SCTE Calls for Papers for Canadian Summit

The SCTE (www.scte.org) is seeking proposals for technical sessions to be conducted during the SCTE Canadian Summit 2011, which is set for March 8-9 in Toronto, Ontario. The deadline for proposals is Oct. 8.

SCTE desires that all sessions be interactive where possible and include case studies as application examples. The recommended areas of focus are IP Video Migration and Architecture, Business Services, Residential Broadband and Networking Update, and Status of High-Resolution Video.

Interested individuals can submit their proposals to Glenda Calcaterra at gcalcaterra@scte.org. The SCTE Canadian Summit Program Committee, chaired by Chris MacFarlane, will announce selected presentations by Nov. 16.

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Draka Fiber Completes Independent Lab Testing

Draka Communications Americas‘ (www.draka.com/communications) newest ultra bend insensitive fiber has completed independent lab testing. Branded as Draka BendBright-Elite, the new fiber is designed to tolerate bends as small as 5 mm while achieving attenuation values less than 0.1dB. It complies with ITU G.657 A1, A2, B2, and B3. Draka completed the test program in August.

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Clearwire Adds Three 4G Markets

Clearwire (www.clearwire.com) has launched CLEAR 4G mobile broadband service in Boston; Providence, RI; and Daytona Beach, FL. With today’s launches, the company’s 4G network now serves 52 markets and covers 60 million people.

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ADC Chosen for North Dakota FTTP Network

Reservation Telephone Cooperative, a provider of broadband services to rural communities in central North Dakota, is using ADC’s (www.adc.com) fiber connectivity and management solutions to build its FTTP network. The project is funded in part by a $21.9 million broadband stimulus award.

RTC serves 19 communities, via 20 exchanges and nearly 9,000 access lines. The FTTP project, which was launched in 2007 and is expected to be completed in about 10 years, is expected to bring broadband services to homes, businesses, schools and libraries located on and near the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

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Cablemás Picks Conax, Evolution Digital

Cablemás (www.cablemas.com), Mexico’s second-largest cable-TV operator, is going digital with a Conax (www.conax.com) content security platform and Evolution Digital (www.evolutionbb.com) set-tops. The content security platform is intended to provide higher quality digital TV service and a range of TV package options, and also to strengthen the operator’s triple play offering. Evolution Digital is supplying 200,000 SD and HD set-tops.

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Optimum Lightpath Wins Frost & Sullivan Healthcare Award

Optimum Lightpath (www.optimumlightpath.com) has received the Vertical Market Penetration Leadership of the Year award from industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan. The award is presented each year to the company that has best demonstrated excellence in capturing healthcare sector market share. Key success highlights that solidified Optimum Lightpath as this year’s winner include its 70 percent hospital penetration within its footprint in the NY metro area and a partnership with GetWellNetwork (www.getwellnetwork.com) to offer the Interactive Patient Care application.

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Best Buy Picks Widevine for DRM, Adaptive Streaming

Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) has chosen Widevine (www.widevine.com) to be a preferred provider of adaptive streaming, virtual DVD-like controls and digital rights management (DRM) on Insignia (www.insigniaproducts.com) connected devices. Widevine’s video optimization and DRM technologies are intended to allow content owners and service providers to deliver content directly to Insignia devices in an over-the-top or TV Everywhere environment.

Insignia devices that include Widevine’s software platform are expected to start shipping in Q3 2010. In addition, CinemaNow, Best Buy’s new digital video service, utilizes Widevine technology to deliver video directly to Internet-connectable devices from Insignia and other brands.

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IBBS Garners Spot on Inc. 5000 List

Integrated Broadband Services (www.ibbs.com), a provider of voice and data services for broadband providers, has been included in Inc. magazine’s fourth annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The Inc. 5000 list (www.inc.com/5000) represents a comprehensive look at America’s entrepreneurs. Inc. 500|5000 companies are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2006 to 2009. IBBS ranks 2,451 on the list for a 99 percent revenue growth during the past three years.

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Pixelmetrix Teams with Rep Channel Management

Pixelmetrix (www.pixelmetrix.com) has entered into a strategic partnership with Rep Channel Management (www.repchannelmanagement.com) to build up and strengthen its sales network in North America. Rep Channel Management specializes in building sales channels for its clients and the outsourcing of sales channel management.

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Ohio Telco Opts for RGB Gateway

Horizon Telcom (www.horizontel.com), a telecommunications provider serving rural southern Ohio for the past 115 years, is using RGB Networks‘ (www.rgbnetworks.com) Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG) to increase the number of HDTV channels that it offers its IPTV subscribers. Horizon has deployed the VMG in its Chillicothe, OH, headquarters, which serves all of its service areas, including 25,000 subscribers in 13 Southern Ohio counties.

The fact that the majority of the new HD programming available to Horizon is delivered in MPEG-2 caused an issue for the operator, whose IPTV service is based on MPEG-4/H.264. The situation created the need for a transcoding solution to convert the incoming MPEG-2 streams to MPEG-4/H.264.

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IBC Shortlists Front Porch, BCE Nominations

Front Porch Digital (www.fpdigital.com) and Broadcast Centre Europe have announced that their nomination of the European Parliament’s Centralized Audiovisual Migration and Management System has been shortlisted for the IBC Innovation Awards in the content management category.

The European Parliament’s audiovisual unit provides broadcasting on an internal cable TV network, transmission to Europe by Satellite (EBS), the news exchange networks, and to selected TV channels. It also supplies video streaming to the Web, publication on FTP servers, and oversees a media archive kept for the legal and historical record and for the use of parliamentarians, journalists, and scholars.

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Harmonic Integrates Cinnafilm Image Processing

Harmonic (www.harmonicinc.com) and Cinnafilm (www.cinnafilm.com), a developer of advanced graphics processing unit (GPU)-based film and video post production technology, have teamed up to integrate Cinnafilm’s Dark Energy image processing tools with Harmonic’s Rhozet universal media transcoding solutions. The integrated solution is designed to allow post-production studios, media companies, broadcasters and service providers to produce superior quality video for delivery to TV sets, PCs and mobile devices, while saving bandwidth.

The integrated Dark Energy Convert, Optimize and Resize plug-ins are powered by Cinnafilm’s Pixel Strings motion estimation engine, which uses GPU parallel processing. The Dark Energy plug-ins are integrated with the full Rhozet product family.

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Tim’s Top 10 List, nah, Make it 12

Tim Hermes, BGR CEO

Tim Hermes, BGR CEO

Why does Letterman have all the fun? It’s August, it’s slow, and the fish ain’t biting.

Tim’s Top 10 List, nah, Make it 12

  1. Multi-Room DVR. The Great Equalizer needs more attention – and action.
  2. More Attention to Cable-Tec EXPO. Product budgets have been set with most MSOs and indies. Go see what to spend it on in New Orleans October 20-22.
  3. IPV6 – Bone-up people. It’s real and it’s here. Mostly.
  4. BGR’s Diamond Technology Reviews. The results are in. The envelopes are sealed. Hold your breath vendors.
  5. 3DTV – Who is going to supply the goofy glasses?
  6. CommScope – The Carolina hurricane of broadband products has completely re-positioned itself into a multi-discipline telecom equipment juggernaut in six months – all the way down to international trade show presence. Carl Meyerhoefer, we salute you.
  7. Don Draper (Mad Men.) We all see it. You’re headed for a fall. Vietnam is coming, Dylan’s singing in the Village. "Turn, Turn, Turn" is number one and Harrison’s playing a sitar. C’mon buddy, pull something awesome out of that dome of yours and get back on track. And lighten up on the sauce, bro. You’re gettin’ sloppy.
  8. Broadband Stimulus project. FInally…SDN breaks ground this week.
  9. Rumors of a name change (and much more) at BGR? Hmm? What? No hablo ingles’, gringo.
  10. "Mobile Backhaul" or "Cellular Backhaul" – Competing terms for the same thing. And the jury says: Mobile.
  11. The Rolling Stone cover with the characters of "True Blood." Oh my.

    …and lest we forget…

  12. Prodigal word-sorceress Laura Hamilton returns from hallowed halls of academia as our Director of Content.

…and it was good.

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