• TWC selects Synchronoss’ ConvergenceNow platform
By Traci Patterson
Time Warner Cable has selected Synchronoss Technologies’ ConvergenceNow platform to enable the activation, provisioning and lifecycle management of the MSO’s triple-play offering for online transactions.
The ConvergenceNow platform enables an environment with a single point of access to control the activation and provisioning of the customer experience for numerous agnostic communication and entertainment services. It accelerates the order-to-cash process while optimizing the online customer experience and orchestrating the customer’s ability to self-care themselves over the Web, the company said.
Service providers that realize the importance of optimizing the digital customer experience will ultimately dominate the fastest-growing channel in the communications arena, according to Nancee Ruzicka, a senior research analyst with Stratecast.
• AT&T’s U-verse services expand in Wisc.
By Traci Patterson
Northeast Wisconsin-area residents now have access to AT&T’s U-verse TV and U-verse high-speed Internet services. The telco will begin installing services for new customers on Monday.
Customers can currently order AT&T U-verse services in parts of more than a dozen local communities, including Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay and Oshkosh. AT&T said that it will make U-verse services available to more homes throughout the area on an ongoing basis. The service is also available in parts of the Milwaukee and Racine metro areas.
AT&T U-verse brings TV, broadband and AT&T wireless services together on one bill. In some parts of the country, AT&T also offers U-verse Voice. AT&T U-verse services are delivered over the telco’s IP network.
• Harris Corp. showcasing products for cable ops at Expo
By Traci Patterson
Harris Corp. is demonstrating a range of products that enable cable operators to enhance operational workflows and improve revenue at the Cable-Tec Expo this week in Philadelphia.
Demonstrations include the DDM-840 frequency agile digital demodulator/decoder, which offers 8-VSB, 64 QAM or 256 QAM demodulation to DVB-ASI transport stream and decoding to multiple video and audio signals, as well as a selection of Videotek solutions, including the TVM-950 multiformat signal analyzer, the AVM-717 multiformat video and audio monitoring system, and the Videotek Star series of handheld test instruments.
Other demonstrations include the NetVX MPEG-2 and H.264 video encoding platform, a solution for content backhaul and distribution, and Harris Digital Signage solutions, which enable cable operators to establish out-of-home networks that repurpose content and offer opportunities to insert ad content.
• Pixelmetrix showing off test, measurement, monitoring tools at Expo
By Traci Patterson
Pixelmetrix is exhibiting its latest line of test, measurement and monitoring solutions for cable, satellite, terrestrial and IPTV operators at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia this week.
The company’s tools optimize service delivery for the operators. Showcase line-ups include the DVStation-210, the DVStation-IP³, the DVStorIP-Gen, the VISUALmpeg video quality analyzer and the new DVStation-Mini.
“Efficient test, measurement and monitoring solutions are increasingly important as cable and satellite operators struggle with managing their complex network,” said Danny Wilson, president and CEO of Pixelmetrix. “Cable operators are rushing to implement switched digital video in response to the aggressive investments by IPTV operators. Much pressure is felt by all as they strive to maintain their competitive edge to provide quality and reliable services. Our suite of test, measurement and monitoring tools, as well as IPTV QoS and QoE offerings, are constantly enhanced to help operators achieve end-to-end visibility of their network operations.”
• Peak8 upgrades Supportal customer experience solution
By Traci Patterson
Peak8 Solutions has unveiled the newest version of Supportal, the company’s Customer Experience Management Solutions Suite for service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and systems integrators.
Supportal version 2.5 has enhanced capabilities and personalization – including extended business intelligence and analytics capabilities – that improve the customer service and support experience for both consumers and call center agents.
“Service providers and consumer electronics manufacturers are looking to implement enhanced customer support capabilities that extend beyond simply preventing a problem in the here and now (the so-called “one-off” fixes),” said Kurt Scherf, senior analyst of Parks Associates. “Many have become focused on the use of advanced diagnostic and reporting capabilities within the home to create a more holistic customer support scenario that can focus both on the troubleshooting aspect common today, as well as the value-added services features that will define the relationship in the near future – the enhanced customer experience.”
• Lindsay launches digital video headend combiner/splitter
By CED staff
Lindsay Broadband Inc. has unveiled its LBHCS-44 Headend Combiner/Splitter, a single rack unit and flexible system that consolidates any combination of four narrowcast edge QAMs, such as switched digital video (SDV) or video-on-demand (VOD), onto a common line and then splits them for delivery of up to four remote nodes.
The unit “utilizes extremely low loss components to maximize throughput of the digital video signals,” said Dave Atman, president of Lindsay Broadband.
Available in 5-200 MHz and 500-1000 MHz frequency modules, the LBHCS-44 can load up to four modules per rack unit. Each removable module has four input and four output ports on the back panel, with a front panel test point to monitor the output levels.
• Bookham’s low-ripple filter in volume production
By Traci Patterson
Bookham’s low-ripple filter for analog transmission in the cable TV and FTTx markets, which was launched in February, is now customer qualified and in volume production, the company said. The filter enables cable equipment manufacturers to increase capacity in the network by using Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology.
The filter boasts very low ripple slope, a ripple of <0.01dB and chromatic dispersion of ?+/-15ps/nm, and is designed for use in the O-Band, C-Band and L-Band.
“Our ripple values demonstrated with this filter are as much as twenty times better than the industry norm,” said Anthony Abdilla, product line manager for Bookham. “Bandwidth expansion over analog transmission requires the flattest, highest performance ripple filters to ensure low interference and high CSO (Composite Second Order) values, and with the product successfully qualified and into full-volume production we are ideally suited to meet the needs of the major cable operators and service providers.”
• OpenTV launches new Foxtel iQ2 HD PVR
By Traci Patterson
OpenTV Corp. has announced the commercial launch of the new Foxtel iQ2 high-definition (HD) personal video recorder (PVR), a quad-tuner set-top box that nearly doubles the recordable capacity of the current Foxtel iQ and provides an HD platform with integrated PVR services.
Foxtel customers will be able to use the PVR functionality for both standard-definition (SD) and HD services, all on one box. This ability is made possible by OpenTV’s Core2 middleware with integrated PVR support, which provides the interfaces necessary for HD multi-tuner set-top devices that support advanced services, such as multiple simultaneous recordings in both SD and HD while pausing live TV.
Foxtel is an Australian pay-TV provider that is connected to more than 1.5 million homes on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution.
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• Aurora wins huge Vidéotron contract
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• Sigma Systems gets Suddenlink follow-on
• JDSU intros new PathTrak monitoring systems
• Concurrent’s MHBOSS can now support 1M subs per system
• SCI Broadband completes triple play with Momentum solution
• RFMD intros new product offerings for cable TV market
• Mintek enhances WinTrack systems
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