• SCTE names standing committee chairs
By CED staff
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers has announced the chairs of the standing committees of the SCTE’s board of directors during the 2009-2010 term.
The standing committees and their newly named chairs are:
- Engineering Committee: Jerry Parkins, Comcast
- Finance Committee: Bob Macioch, BSI
- Membership Committee: Frank Eichenlaub, Cisco
- Operations Committee: Bob Legg, Suddenlink Communications
- Planning Committee: Dermot O’Carroll, Rogers
- Professional Development Committee: Rick Sullivan, Times Fiber Amphenol
Parkins succeeds Charlie Kennamer of Comcast as chair of the SCTE Engineering Committee, which oversees the ANSI-accredited SCTE Standards Program. Parkins, an SCTE member since 2000, is director of technology and standards with Comcast. Kennamer remains a member of the SCTE Engineering Committee.
Meanwhile, Macioch succeeds Greg Allshouse of Comcast as chair of the SCTE Finance Committee.
• Report: Americans consume 34 gigs per day
By Mike Robuck
A report by the University of California at San Diego found that last year, Americans consumed an average of 34 gigabytes of content in a single day.
According to a blog from The New York Times, the report – which is titled “How Much Information?” – said that, collectively, Americans consumed 3.6 zettabytes of information last year. A zettabyte is almost equal to 1 billion trillion bytes, which is roughly the equivalent to the capacity found in 5.1 million computer hard drives.
All of that information is reaching homes via the usual suspects, including TV, radio, Internet, video games and text messages. Not surprisingly, TV accounts for 45 percent of the consumption, while computers were second at 27 percent. According to the report, consumers watch an average of 4.5 hours a day of TV-related content and two hours a day on computers.
• NM AG asks for Qwest rates to be held steady
By The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – New Mexico Attorney General Gary King has asked state regulators to hold the line on rate increases sought by Qwest Communications. King claims Qwest’s proposed rate increases hit those least able to afford them.
He also says if the Public Regulation Commission does not order additional investment in high-speed Internet, rural New Mexicans will be faced with decreasing possibilities of getting access to this technology.
The attorney general’s request was made to the PRC on Tuesday. The PRC is considering competing proposals for how best to regulate the utility.
King’s office says Qwest is seeking a 22 percent rate increase and to avoid any investment obligations that would result in increased availability of high-speed Internet in its rural service areas.
• ViewCast upgrades Niagara streaming media software
By Mike Robuck
ViewCast today announced new enhancements to its Niagara SCX streaming media management software.
The new Niagara SCX 6.1 version includes support for live encoding in H.264 via the Adobe Flash platform, profile grouping, Multiple Stream Redundancy (MSR) and Automatic Stream Reconnect (ASR). The software will be available on ViewCast’s Niagara Pro, Niagara Pro II, Niagara GoStream Surf and Niagara 7500 streaming media systems, and it’s also available as an upgrade for existing owners of ViewCast streaming appliances.
“The Adobe Flash platform is transforming the streaming media technology landscape by expanding the breadth and flexibility of content delivery capabilities for the digital media marketplace,” said ViewCast President and CEO Dave Stoner. “By enabling our Niagara SCX software to stream H.264 through Adobe Flash servers, we’re equipping Niagara customers with full support for the next generation of video delivery that will help them achieve the highest-quality, real-time, high-definition streaming available.”
