April 22, 2014

IPv6 Transition Is Slow, But Growing

According to a study released by Incognito Software, most wired and wireless network operators have IPv6 transition plans underway, but just a small percentage of them are IPv6-ready. Incognito polled 51 cable, wireless and wireline operators from around the globe for its “IPv6 Readiness” survey, finding that about three quarters of the group are planning or actively transitioning to IPv6 as the pool of IPv4 addresses continues to run dry. But only 14% considered themselves IPv6-ready, while roughly 35% were in the planning stage, and 10% had not even started their transitions, according to the survey. More on the report

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April 21, 2014

CableLabs To Aid SCTE In New Corporate Alliance Program

CableLabs, along with alliance members, will help to craft education and training programs highly tailored for employee functions and the emerging new technologies that they’re developing and deploying. For instance, the organization intends to help train workers for rollouts of such new cable technologies as DOCSIS 3.1, wireless, and IP video. More on the new program at Light Reading.

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April 17, 2014

Arris to Demo DOCSIS 3.1 CMTS at Cable Show

Arris said it will use this year’s Cable Show in Los Angeles to demonstrate the DOCSIS 3.1 and Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) chops of the E6000, a chassis that is starting off as a high-density cable modem termination system (CMTS). Arris said it will show the E6000, which is in the process of becoming a full-fledged integrated CCAP, supporting DOCSIS data traffic as well as QAM-based video traffic off of the same F-connector. More on the demo from Jeff Baumgartner at Multichannel News.

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April 16, 2014

CableLabs Receives DLNA Award

CableLabs was honored with an Outstanding Contribution Award from DLNA, thanks to its work on the CVP-2 guidelines.  The CVP-2 guidelines enable service providers, worldwide, to offer their interactive program guide, linear programming as well as on demand services to DLNA devices. Ryan Chiang, Senior Standardization Lead at CableLabs, had this to say: “CableLabs, working closely with DLNA Members from the service provider and consumer electronics communities, is proud to have contributed to the development of the DLNA CVP-2 Guidelines published earlier this year. The Guidelines enable delivery of premium cable content to a wide variety of consumer devices, such

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April 15, 2014

Wireless Auction Rules Becoming Clearer

One of the approaches the FCC is taking to increase the amount of available wireless spectrum is to hold a one-time-only auction where companies and organizations will be incentivized to sell off TV spectrum they aren't using or don't need anymore. An auction of this size and nature comes with a lot of complexion, and Tom Wheeler and the FCC are working to make all parties happy. Recently the FCC has floated a plan that would reserve up to a third of licenses sold for smaller wireless companies. This would help to ensure that wireless giants like Verizon don't snatch

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April 14, 2014

Turner President Leaves to Run NBA Team

Steve Koonin, the man behind TNT's branding as a place for drama and TBS as a place for comedy, has exited as president of Turner Entertainment Networks to become CEO of the Atlanta Hawks. This is the fourth high-level executive to exit Turner in the last six months, but it's far too early to tell if the movement will mean any major changes for any of Turner's properties. More on the change from Broadcasting & Cable.

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April 11, 2014

DOCSIS 3.1 Puts Cable Ahead of Upstream Curve

While upstream hasn't been the hot topic it was a few years ago when P2P sites were gobbling up bandwith, there will come a time in the near future when it's just as – if not more – important. With DOCSIS 3.1, cable operators will be ahead of the game. DOCSIS 3.1 includes advanced modulation and agile channel bonding capabilities that increase upstream capacity without expanding the return path bandwidth. Dan Rice, Vice President of Network Technology for CableLabs, points out that DOCSIS 3.1 is backward-compatible with previous iterations of the spec. “Operators ought to understand that they don’t have

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April 10, 2014

Report: Digital Has Major Impact On Viewing

According to a research report released by Google, digital activity has a direct and meaningful correlation to TV viewership. The report says that 90% of TV viewers also visit Google and YouTube, and their actions on those websites are strong indicators of a show's popularity. The biggest digital activity growth seems to be coming from mobile, where users are searching for ancillary content such as cast lists and schedules. "Digital platforms are changing the way today’s viewer experiences television,” the report says. MSOs have long been aware of and interested in how digital activity affects viewership, and this report could

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April 9, 2014

NAB Show 2014: 4K Everywhere

The 2014 convention put on by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is highlighting what many industry insiders have been predicting for some time: 4K video is on its way. According to Light Reading, vendor after vendor is showing off their 4K capable technology, including demos of the first live delivery of full-frame-rate 4K. It likely won't be long until consumers begin seeing 4K capable TVs on the store shelves. But what is 4K? Is it the same as Ultra-HD? What about 8K? Well, CableLabs' own Daryl Malas explains it all.

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