Wow! Found this on the GI site. Looks like a major competitive edge for GI and SEAC
General Instrument Introduces Revolutionary New Video-On-Demand (VOD) Architecture, Driving Down Cost &
Complexity and Accelerating VOD Deployments
PR Newswire, Monday, June 14, 1999 at 12:29
New Architecture Reduces Cable Headend Complexity, Saves Space & Equipment,
And Delivers VOD at a Much Lower Cost Per Subscriber; Endorsed by Major VOD
Solution Providers, Operators, and Content Providers
CHICAGO, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- General Instrument Corporation
(NYSE:GIC) has introduced a new Video-On-Demand (VOD) architecture,
integrating new systems and services designed to incorporate the use of pre-
encrypted content for storage on multiple vendor file servers. The solution
is beneficial to cable operators, because it eliminates significant cost and
rack space by removing encryption hardware from the cable system. With the GI
solution, content is secured at point of digital encoding, providing secure
delivery to cable headend file servers from content origination.
As encryption hardware and wide-band interfaces are removed from the
Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) network, VOD vendors have the option of integrating
upconversion and digital modulation directly into the file servers. By
placing the encryption process ahead of the content storage, GI removes
barriers to cost and size reduction efforts that are being aggressively
pursued by VOD and file server vendors.
GI's VOD pre-encryption system was developed to support multiple vendor
systems, including trick file processing, content preparation, and storage.
It also complements multi-point distribution services such as satellite and
lease line content delivery.
"This method of secure content distribution will be beneficial to all
parties. VOD vendors can reduce the cost and complexity of their systems,
strengthening their business case and enabling a more rapid rollout of their
services," said Kevin Keefe, Director of Product Management for GI's Digital
Network Systems business unit. "Operators benefit with a greater choice of
systems to deploy, and they can further identify which solution is truly more
cost-effective."
"DIVA has been working for months to incorporate GI's new VOD security
solution in our product offering," says Ray McDevitt, Executive Vice President
of Business Development and Product Management at DIVA. "We are pleased to
have the opportunity to work closely with GI, the leader in video and MPEG
security technology, on the application tailored to VOD."
"nCUBE believes General Instrument has developed an outstanding and
economical approach to VOD encryption," said Dan Sheeran, nCUBE's Senior Vice
President of Product Management. "By combining it with nCUBE's direct QAM
output video servers, cable systems can realize tremendous savings in capital
and rack space by avoiding the use of external QAM modulators."
"With their VOD pre-encryption solution, GI offers significant benefits to
everyone with an interest in VOD," said Yvette Gordon, Director of Interactive
Technologies at SeaChange International. "The solution is very comprehensive
and addresses all aspects of the VOD model, including content preparation,
distribution, and customer delivery. The security and scalability of the GI
solution are perfectly matched for our VOD application."
The pre-encryption is a combination of DigiCipher(R) II encryption and
access control methods. Content is encrypted as a multi-program transport
stream with GI's new VML 2000 encryption product. The VML 2000 supports
configuration, identification, and recording of encryption sessions. Content
is stored at the client site by the VOD vendor, who is then free to choose the
optimum transmission solution for the operator's network. In addition, GI
provides services that guarantee the content security on a renewable basis.
General Instrument is a leading worldwide provider of integrated and
interactive broadband access solutions, teaming with its business partners to
lead the convergence of the Internet, telecommunications, and video
entertainment industries. |
