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.

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.

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.

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.

At 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.

ActiveVideo to Showcase Two-Way VOD, Interactivity at IBC

The 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

Pixelmetrix to Demo Monitoring Solutions at IBC

Pixelmetrix (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

ARRIS‘ (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

Harmonic’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.

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

Clearleap (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

Bridge 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 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.

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

Tim Hermes, BGR CEO

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’.

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.