Hello Dennis,
Welcome to the discussion of the iconoclasts, as in "those who attack settled beliefs or institutions," for what they perceive to be good reasons.
I'm not proposing to offer a definitive solution here for digitizing the MSOs distribution systems. Instead, I (along with Dave H., thus far) have been commenting on the lack of any evidence of movement, much less progress, in the direction of digitizing the cable operators' last miles.
While the rest of the world is going digital... make that, has already gone digital... Cable TV's last mile remains analog. You can't do much with analog, as I know that you already know, and its underlying infrastructure is prone to too many inherent constraints and performance anomalies to allow it to scale to where it should.. where demand will dictate that it should go.
I was referring to replacing analog FDM and VSB signals entirely, using, instead, a digital stream which would include either MPEG or some other form of video/multi-media coding scheme.
Of course, this model would encompass other services allowing for true broadband in this case, both ways --i.e., downstream AND upstream-- capabilities for traditional residential services as well as Internet access, etc.
This has already proved itself to be a commercially viable approach. The problem is not predominantly a technical one in nature, as much as it is one of entrenchment and inertia by an industry that is doing a very good job of protecting itself from self-cannibalization, at the expense of depriving their paying subscribers the benefits of improved services.
There are already set top box designs that accept digital signals such as vdsl and ATM from field pedestals, which could be leveraged through retrofitting or, in fact, left the way they are, to accept an ATM or a GbE/10GbE link, instead.
Is there work to be done in order to get this model up and running? Yes, there is lots of work to be sure, not only in the field portion of the architecture but in the head ends, as well. My point is that I don't see anyone moving to capitalize on this opportunity, yet.
I've heard the old standby argument many times in the past used to justify the continued use of analog: Because TV's still use analog NTAC/PAL inputs. Fine. But STBs already do the necessary d-->a conversions which are still needed to feed the appliance (TV Set), as has already been demonstrated in the past when ATM schemes have been used through the use of several vendors' wares (GI's Next Level devices come to mind).
Yes, there's lots of work to be done in this space. And again, I don't have the answers for how to get it done. But it sure would be refreshing to see someone tackling it for a change, in addition to a handful of well-meaning but undercapitalized Internet gurus in Canada whose vision tells them that video and other services can be sent over fiber to the home in digital formats.
Black Coax carrying radio frequency signals into the living room has served the public well over the past forty to fifty years. It's now time for a change and to stop throwing good money after bad, for a growing number of good reasons. Comments and Corrections welcome.
Regards, Frank Coluccio |
