News is strange, often off target; also, what NASDAQ likes

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We got a press release last night about splice-on connectors. Not entirely sure that whose are, but the sub-head in the release made us feel a little better:

Assures performance levels are met when factory termination of a fiber isn’t possible

Now, I’m pretty sure that in no way are our readers gonna be involved in any fiber activity and so we are actually wondering why we got this, but then again, so many companies just do that. Fire off a release to a mass list and hope it spreads, like a virus. We digress.

So apparently, a company called Clearfield Connection who says they are a specialist in fiber connectivity and management solutions for Fiber to the Premise (FTTp) deployments, announced the addition of CraftSmart Splice-on Connectors (SOC) to their product line portfolio. Excited? Want to read on?

Ok.. according to the release the CraftSmart SOC joins the newly introduced (cause its not enough it was introduced, it also has to be “newly introduced”) CraftSmart product line, a full line of above- and below-grade field enclosures that provide full optimization of fiber deployment when used alongside Clearfield’s FieldSmart platform of inside plant fiber panels, outside plant cabinets and wall boxes.

And their COO a Mr. Johnny Hill (does that name sound oddly suspicious?) says that their clients throughout the broadband marketplace depend upon us to assure performance and protection throughout their passive infrastructure and then some other stuff you find in all product quotes about how thrilled, excited and proud they are. Good, we are proud of you too.

We also got a lot of product details from them like field restoration of a broken fiber or if the customer wants to cut the fiber on his own to his own length, the point is what for? What does it enable? What does it cure? Does this help customers get internet or TV all the time? I get the X and they Y but where is the story?

Oh and for fun, there is an “informational” video presentation, we just had to put in here. But when you click to it, you get not one, but seven videos to choose fun. Go crazy.

PS they are a public company traded on NASDAQ: CLFD, so clearly their business model works and their tagline is kinda nifty, “solving the fiber puzzle” which could mean so many things.

Tags: Clearfield Connection, Fiber, random, SOC, splice-on connectors, Tattletech

A pimped out ANGA Cable 2010

I don’t know why, but we are looking forward to ANGA Cable in a week. On the heels of IPTV WF in London and then right in between IBC, we see this as the last big push companies will have before they pull out all the stops for IBC in September in Amsterdam.

This year MTV Networks and Discovery Networks are sponsors of ANGA – which means that the focus on content just got even more intense. Naturally this brings us straight to conditional access where there is a quirky panel comprised of Nagravision, Kabel Deustchland and oddly ActiveVideo Newtorks. Seems like they missed NDS and Viaccess. The show is fully booked this year with a strong focus on the Connected Home.

Despite being heavily weighted with German cable companies, if the discussions are half as interesting and lively as they were at IPTV World Forum, we are in for a good few days. — JLH

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Tags: Conditional access, IBC, IPTV, IPTV World Forum, Nagravision, Viaccess

SCTE 2009, Cablevision, SeaChange, Green Pavilion & Network DVR

In June this year, Cablevision prevailed in a three-year legal with CNN and other major studios. The Supreme Court decided not to review the case and Cablevision’s remote-storage DVR was deemed not in violation of copyrights. Since the ruling was made, technology vendors and operators have been working hard to deploy a network DVR system.

The Cablevision technology is based on storing content on the network service instead of in the home, so if 1000 people want to record NBC’s The Office, those will each be stored at the network facility to set aside sufficient dedicated server space to make individual copies of shows. The studios thought that this remote storage violate copyright limitations. But since the Supreme Court disagreed, the door has been opened for Network DVRs. And we don’t mind, anything to make it easier for us to watch out favorite shows at home, especially without having to delete older ones or record over other episodes, makes us happy!

SeaChange has jumped on the Network DVR train and is highlighting the RS-DVR system at SCTE in response to the demand for time-shifted TV (Yes! We demand it!). SeaChange is allowing operators to deliver DVR functionality without deploying expensive DVR set top boxes that incorporate hard drives. It also provides the household with a multi-room DVR without the need for in-home wiring, saving tons of money compared to traditional set top DVR rollouts. The company says that their RS-DVR is ready for operators to use today.

SeaChange is also sponsoring the Green Pavilion at SCTE Expo, along with nine other companies at SCTE who are getting green. SCTE is shining the spotlight on promoting energy efficient technologies with eh the Green Pavilion, featuring pods with energy management solutions from qualified exhibitors that will improve corporate bottom line and preserve energy resources. It’s about time a trade show makes an efforts to be a little greener. In order to be part of the Green Pavilion, a company has to focus on at least one of three specific areas: powering improvements for facilities and plant, fleet enhancements involving smart routing, and operational upgrades and improvements.

There are a number of things that SCTE has done to make this pavilion “greener” including, creating the booths with recycled and recyclable materials, low energy LED lights to light the pavilion, carpet made with 70% recycled material, 82% reduction in booth shipping weight, and less promotional handouts. Cheers to that SCTE! We hope this becomes a trend with other trade show events, and the trade show waste starts to lessen in the future.  — AC (photos to come)

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Tags: Cable, Cablevision, CNN, Network DVR, SCTE Expo, SeaChange

At SCTE, Harmonic touts TV Everywhere

At SCTE Cable-Tec 2009 we don’t really get to see sexy tech stuff since its all sort of block and tackle technology, but thank goodness for Harmonic who is showcasing its technology and how it enables TV Everywhere. Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT) will feature its unique and comprehensive portfolio of solutions that enable cable operators to deliver an expanding range of advanced video services. At SCTE, you can see demos of Harmonic’s MediaPrism™ suite of tools for converged video delivery to any device, the Electra® 8000 encoder’s superior quality 4:1 HD or 18:1 SD MPEG-2
compression, ACE™ any-to-any high quality transcoding technology, fiber-deep HFC access
solutions and integrated audio level adjustment. Harmonic will also feature a live technology demonstration of its exciting HectoQAM™ edge processing technology currently in development, feeding video streams directly to Harmonic’s SUPRALink™ 1550 nm DWDM transport system for ultra-efficient delivery across the HFC network.  – AC

Tags: Cable television, Harmonic Inc, MPEG-2, SCTE

Upcoming events: SCTE Cable-Tec & TelcoTV

Tattletech will be attending and bringing you the hottest and latest news from these upcoming shows:

* SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, Denver, CO October 28-30
* TelcoTV, Orlando, FL November 10-12

If you wish to meet us  at these events please let us know!

HD makes its rounds in October

AsiaMedia Journal reported this week that HBO Asia went HD. This makes HBO Asia the first regional movie channel to broadcast in HD. On Thursday, October 1, HBO will be available in HD to subscribers in Singapore and the Philippines, and in Hong Kong from 6 October and plans to roll out more countries before the year ends.

And via BroadbandTV, UPC Romania will officially launch its HD cable product also starting on October 1. To make it work, they called out the expensive big guns  — Cisco, Thomson and Pace to deliver the first five channels including Pro TV HD, TVR HD, Eurosport HD, History HD and Fashion TV. History and Fashion, together at last… in HD.

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Tags: HBO Asia

50 most promising deals in Cable

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Exciting right? Well it can be if written by CED Magazine - they have compiled the 50 most important trends, technologies and people of 2008 –with some extra sassy commentary, which we love. Read it and remember, its still Cable.  #2 and #6 points address Advertising which we just also talked about in the Tattletech Hot Seat with Active Video Network’s Michael Taylor and #19 points out that Active Video is onto something with their talent from TWC, therefore we can safely say that Tattletech was onto something when we did the interview. And of course, no list would be complete with a mention of the FCC boy wonder, Kevin Martin at #32, but we agree with CED when we say, he’s almost gone, so there is a light. – JLH

Tags: CED Magazine, FCC, Kevin Martin, Tattletech Hot Seat, US Cable industry

Tattletech Hot Seat – Michael Taylor, Active Video Networks

We virtually headed out to San Francisco and had the opportunity to speak with Michael Taylor, Senior VP  Business Development of Active Video Networks about the industry’s hot topic- Advertising. Active Video Networks is an interactive content platform for TV and delivers a personalized mix of Web content and broadcast TV.

Tattletech: The success of online advertising is spawning new ways to reach people, from ads on cell phones to in-store signs that can change instantly. But the reality is still a little bit like science fiction – from your Cable perspective, how do you see this new age of advertising finding a place in cable and in your company’s platform offering?

Michael Taylor: One of the most significant obstacles to the mass adoption of targeted, interactive advertising has been the device fragmentation that forces advertisers to create, sell, place and measure ads across multiple delivery systems.  What’s needed is the ability to rapidly and inexpensively develop ads and campaigns, and to be able to change tactics quickly based on product availability or consumer response.  Through its traditional dominance in the residential market and its new ventures into the mobile and business services sector, cable is uniquely positioned to be a strong player.  What’s needed to complete the picture for the industry is a network-based processing architecture like ActiveVideo  that enables a create once, deploy everywhere ubiquity.

Tattletech: We hear a lot of talk from Internet companies that want to take their content to TV, how realistic is it to think that Cable can make this work for their subscribers?

Michael Taylor: The reality is that subscribers who want Internet video are going to find it, so it is important for two reasons that cable makes it work: so that it can retain its value as the dominant video provider, and so the industry can maintain its historic generation of advertising revenues.  The migration of Web content is happening, both via third-party CE devices and via platforms like ActiveVideo that infuse television with Web content and interactivity.  We’re working with a number of partners – including Reuters, AccuWeather and others — who are building a television presence using their existing Web content.  In every case, they’re interested in bringing online video directly to the television, which remains the preferred vehicle for video consumption.  The value they see in ActiveVideo is that content can be generated and distributed to the TV in real time, without the cost and complexity of additional CE devices.  It’s a very compelling proposition.

Tattletech: Subscription v. free advertising v. pay-for-play model – who wins in a grudge match?

Michael Taylor: It doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition.  There’s room for all three.  Consumers generally express a preference for free or low-cost ad-supported video, so that will probably be most dominant in the long run.  There’s still content out there, though, that is best presented ad-free.  And there are subscribers who frankly would pay more for an uncluttered screen.  The beauty is that Web-infused TV can address those needs on an individual basis, allowing viewers who prefer a “clean screen” to pay more for that privilege.

Frankly, I think we need to approach the next generation of television with the expectation that the accepted equations will change.  With channel surfing, the increase in ad skipping and competition from other media sources in general, advertisers need to find ways to reach their audiences.  This can include everything from ad telescoping that takes a viewer all the way through the purchase funnel, to more extreme scenarios such as a return to the early days of TV, when sponsors were responsible for creating and producing shows. I’m not sure where it all leads, but it’s going to be exciting getting there.

Tattletech: As Google continues to draw dollars away from TV, some of the biggest US cable companies are banding together to create a company that lets national advertisers buy customized ads across their network – -innovation or defense?

Michael Taylor: I’d prefer to think of it as “evolution.”  Cable ad sales groups have long approached their craft from a national point of view.  Targeted, customized ads are simply going to be another item in their inventory.  From our point of view, having those groups on the leading edge of targeted rollouts will accelerate the creation of a ubiquitous market for ad targeting.

Tattletech: Superman or Aquaman -  who watches cable v. satellite v. Internet TV?

Michael Taylor: Are you kidding? They’re too busy saving the world…

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Tags: AccuWeather, Active Video Networks, Advertising, Cable, Michael Taylor, Reuters