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Originally Posted by Ignition
I know nothing of this from the inside point of view however re-read the article
To me this implies most of the processing being done at the headend and the set-tops being little more than terminals connected to a mainframe for example. The headend will do the processing and fire the result as an mpeg 2 stream to the set-top in question, depending on the application as data for a little additional processing or even as a complete video stream of the result of processing.
Liberate is a middle-ware, not an OS, it supplies the bridging between customer interaction and the set-top, it's probably more comparible to DirectX on a PC's graphics sub-system, it supplies an API and an interface to hardware rather than being the be and end all of it. Programmable DSPs deal with the DOCSIS/EuroDOCSIS decoding and the MPEG stream decoding.
Re: Escapee - obviously you'd be happier with higher bills for custs than vendor financed deals (if these actually exist for the VOD project, I know little of it). ntl is a business like any other and will take the freebies wherever they can get them. This isn't being sneaky, it's good business and all companies do it.
This seems to be an extension of VOD, interactive applications on demand but far beyond those that Sky could provide, using both the greater downstream bandwidth on cable and more relevantly the return path.
BTW all digital TV is beamed down via broadband network, this is more a case of controlling what you watch and what you play! more than previously possible.
If all of this comes together it'll make Sky and Sky+ look pretty lame by comparison. I really hope it does, Sky needs the competition. *dislikes Murdoch  * |
I'm not trying to pick holes in the idea even if that's how it looks.
I am well aware that upgrading todays hardware processing usually involves some new software to enable new functions that were often thought of but not implemented in early design stages. Much of the QPSK equipment I currently work on uses the trusty Motorola 56303 dsp, so I do have abit of knowledge in that area.
It just seems strange to me looking at it form your view of how it will work as well, ntl have a broadband CATV Broadcast HFC network where they are going to implement VOD, this will presumably be MPEG streams transported via QAM to the customers set-top box. That makes sense to me.
ntl are now considering this internet product that will send presumably a compressed MPEG stream down a QAM Downstream for your own Cable Modem (?) to process into usb/ethernet and then be processed by your own PC so you can view it.
Are they going to launch this on the very same Broadband cable modem platform that customers are always complaining about congestion.
I remember the Yes TV/Elmsdale media trial involving MPEG streams transported via QAM to a cable modem, which outputed 10baseT ethernet to a set-top box based on the Acorn Atom, that had a scart output to feed a TV monitor. now that system used very large ncube servers and took up lots of floorspace, theres no other way to store the media!
That system was rejected because there was not enough return path (US) frequency allocations available (Yes thats the main reason why the trial stopped, the allocation may be 5-65 MHZ but theres large portions of the bandwidth unusable due to ingress and cpd)The system took up lots of floor space and rack space for the number of customers it served.
I just wonder how this system can be any different from the Yes TV product that was viewed as a white elephant, I know technology has moved on a bit but the big difference is someone else is paying I guess.