Hi Mike, re: "Would the plant then be capable of delivering VOD to all 100% of their subs, simultaneously? "
I guess I'm not making this point very well, and I sure wish I could provide a picture (where's that electronic whiteboard when you need it!), but there's no way to know without having all the architecture and node/hub breakdowns.
We can only do hypotheticals, and there are many possible hypotheticals. What we can say, if we assume a few things, is: with 200 MHz of spectrum dedicated to VoD you have 33 channels. 33 channels times 12 programs per channel gives about 400 programs. Call this 400 subscribers. If there is a secondary hub that servers 10 nodes with 400 subs per node, there are potentially 4000 simultaneous users. So in that sense, it won't fulfill 100% of users simultaneously VoD'ing. But it is 10%, which is far higher than their 1.75% (I think that was the number) from your earlier post.[But remember I have no idea whether these numbers are accurate for the system deployed in your area]
You can get to 100%, but it requires architecture changes and much new equipment through and through, as we have discussed in the past. There are several ways to do this too. The "best" way is the one that gets the most reuse out of their existing equipment/infrastructure, but this best way isn't necessarily the best way for all MSO's cable properties. It many not even be the best way for all the properties of 1 MSO within a given city, since they are often combinations of several smaller acquired cable systems with many differences.
Any way you slice it, the systems will be trending towards dedicated connections or virtual channels per sub. More infrastructure and equipment expense that they can't afford, on top of all the ever-increasing debt they already have. But you already know I'm not a big fan of MSO's as investments so end of rant.
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issue 2:
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re: "But if it's a quality issue then I would say the VOD video matches DVD quality. Both push the analog sets to the max. So the difference is indiscernable. As a matter of fact, for some reason I'm not quite sure of, I think the VOD is better quality than the DVDs I've seen playing in Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. I've studied the quality quite closely as I'm close to buying a new TV set and I'm leaning towards digital."
VoD quality *could* match DVD quality as far as video goes (and will exceed it with HDTV--but HD-DVD is being worked on), but a DVD can be poorly remastered just like an audio CD of an older recording. A poorly adjusted TV will also limit the apparent quality, and factory-adjusted TV's are not optimized for DVD viewing. The video connection matters too (i.e. component vs. composite), and to some extent so do the cables (but not to the point that the $100 cables are worth the money).
If MSO's are really packing 16 programs per 6 MHz channel, I'd bet that a well-mastered DVD on a properly adjusted TV looks noticebaly superior to such diluted VoD programs, when viewed on the same TV. If your VoD streams you are getting right now are closer to 3.5 Mbps average then they will probably look pretty similar (via the same video connection type), but cramming 16 programs into a channel gives about 2.5 Mbps average. 3.5 is 40% greater information content and I tend to think that would be noticeable, but probably approaching the limit of discernability on the standard TV.
And again, there is the audio issue, which is a big part of why people love DVD's apparently. VoD could provide this level of audio too, but I don't believe it is any more than standard 2 channel audio right now, correct? Too bad there are so many loudspeaker manufacturers since that might be a good investment area<gg>.
re: "I can play a DVD title in a typical analog set, and then pop the same DVD into a digital TV set. There is no noticable difference in quality."
I think this is again a matter of the particular equipment and the adjustments. It's really hard to do this test fairly. You definitely have to use similar screen sizes and adjust the sets beforehand, based on test patterns from the same source. It's also really hard to judge this in a run-of-the mill electronics store where the TV's aren't adjusted properly, and where the sales people were selling refrigerators last week. You might consider going to a high-end video-audio store before you buy. Try one of the newer progressive scan DVD players into a digital set with a known high quality DVD. Then try it with the analog set and middle-of-the-road DVD player. If this doesn't look visibly better, something is misadjusted. You can also see the difference between using the composite video out of the DVD player vs. using the component video out of the same DVD player, into the same TV, with the same (good quality) DVD. |
