Bandwidth Management
Bandwidth Optimization
There are several steps that operators can take – we call
them the “EASYs” – that will have little or no impact on their
cable plant or on the set-tops already deployed.
Move Channels to Digital
If you do the math, the majority of cable viewers are still
watching the analog tier. While many premium channels have moved
to the digital tier, there are other channels that are prime
candidates for a move to digital. The quandary is how to
determine which channels would be the easiest or most
advantageous to move, create the least disruption for analog
customers, yet streamline your programming lineup to fit
emerging needs for your network and emerging trends in
viewership.
The Scientific Atlanta Advantage: A detailed analysis of
viewer habits (something you can accomplish with Scientific
Atlanta’s Retriever™ Telemetry Diagnostics and Viewership
Management solution) can help you choose the most logical analog
channels for relocation onto the digital tier. Operators can
typically “recover” the bandwidth for two or three channels
using this Scientific Atlanta solution, and CAPEX is virtually
nothing to do this.
Move from 64 QAM to 256 QAM
Operators can pack more channels into existing bandwidth by the
efficiency delivered by 256 QAMs. Each channel uses about 3.75
Mbps so you get seven channels out of a 64 QAM and ten from a
256 QAM. An important consideration is the ability of deployed
set-tops to receive 256 QAM signals.
The Scientific Atlanta Advantage: While some older models of
other vendors’ set-tops can only receive 64 QAM signals, all
Scientific Atlanta® Explorer® set-tops can receive either 64 or
256 QAM channels.
Dual Pass Encoding/Closed Loop Encoding
Dual pass encoding enables you to include more than ten channels
in the 38.8 Mbps a 256 QAM delivers. Using dual pass encoding
with closed loop statistical multiplexing, the encoder does a
first pass at encoding the signal, then it looks ahead and
predicts what the bit rate requirements of the content will be
based on simple, slow static images or complex, fast-moving
images and encodes it a second time. Determining the
requirements of the content (rather than assigning it a constant
bit rate), enables you to often drop channels to 3 Mbps without
jeopardizing the video quality.
The Scientific Atlanta Advantage: Link several encoders together
that are destined to deliver content to a 256 QAM, add a
Scientific Atlanta Regulus™ Statistical Multiplex Controller to
monitor and coordinate what each encoder is doing and you have
closed loop statistical multiplexing that provides the
opportunity to send 12-16 channels from a multiplexer to the 256
QAM, optimizing the QAM’s contribution. Tansrating
After the digital stream has been encoded, an alternative
process known as transrating or transcoding can be performed at
the multiplexer to reduce the bandwidth requirement of a group
channels, allowing us to move even more channels out to the QAM.
The Scientific Atlanta Advantage:
We deliver transrating technology using our TRANSIS™
RateCompressor technology and a D9600™ Re-multiplexer and
Processor. In addition to this solution, Scientific Atlanta has
announced unprecedented MPEG processing capability in a new
compact 2RU multiplexer that can simultaneously process up to
20x the number of SD or HD MPEG of traditional multiplexers.
Switched Digital Video
For decades, analog programming was delivered en masse to
consumers with cable’s bandwidth filled with programs, some
popular and watched by millions, some not as popular and rarely
seen. As we migrated to both analog and digital on the cable
plant, then added VOD, data, HD programming and now voice
service, bandwidth became more packed than ever before. Now,
consumers are calling for more HD programming and more on-demand
options, and bandwidth is maxed out. Switched Digital Video (SDV)
to the rescue!
With SDV, virtually every channel becomes an on-demand
program since it is quickly delivered to the consumer as it is
selected in the home, rather than having every channel clogging
the broadband pipe, most of which are never selected for
viewing. This frees large amounts of bandwidth for the
aforementioned HD and on-demand services.
Providing SDV capability, like nearly every facet of video
delivery, is a complex process on a complex network. Our decades
of video delivery experience make Scientific Atlanta a
compelling choice for adding you in the launch of SDV.
The Scientific Atlanta Advantage: Scientific Atlanta’s latest
advancements with switched digital video is an evolutionary step
toward next generation architecture. Scientific Atlanta's SDV
system gives cable operators the flexibility of an open,
Internet protocol-based (IP-based) SDV system; gigabit
quadrature amplitude modulation (GQAM) sharing between multiple
services and advanced bulk encryption support.
Designed to operate over existing HFC infrastructures,
Scientific Atlanta's open architecture SDV opens new doors for
cable operators by enabling the delivery of switched video
services on the existing installed base of tens of millions MPEG
set-tops that cannot decode a DOCSIS or Internet protocol (IP)
stream. This gives operators a significant scale advantage in
the introduction of new video services. The new IP-based SDV
fundamentally changes the model for bandwidth consumption from a
linear model based on the program offering to one based on
program viewership, reclaiming some of the bandwidth required
for simulcast and advanced interactive services. The latest
innovations in our open SDV system are designed to help cable
operators remain competitive in the market. With our IP-based
solution, our customers can leverage the existing MPEG set-top
infrastructure, take advantage of open, standard interfaces
throughout the network elements, experience significant benefits
through QAM sharing, and take an important step in the evolution
toward an IP-based, next generation architecture.
Transparent to
consumers, SDV enables operators to offer an extensive lineup of
niche content ranging from local and other premium sports
packages to ethnic programming, leveraging the "long tail"
phenomenon in an effort to improve customer satisfaction, reduce
churn and generate new revenue streams from premium tiers. Key
differentiators of Scientific Atlanta's SDV system solution are
its bulk encryption capability, the ability to share QAM
bandwidth on a per-stream basis between SDV and VOD services
within a single RF QAM carrier, and the generation of detailed
viewership data. QAM sharing reduces overall QAM capacity and RF
bandwidth requirements and simplifies capacity planning, thereby
adding bandwidth savings and decreasing both capital and
operational expense. With detailed viewership data available,
cable operators have unprecedented, direct access to consumer
viewing choices, while maintaining the privacy of individual
customers. The data can then be used to improve program
offerings, maximize the return on investment for each program
offered and drive targeted ad revenue growth.
Download “Bandwidth Management” pdf
here
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