Cable Cards and Switched Digital Video (SDV)

[Skaggs]

I found this post on the TiVo website:

Information about CableCARDs and Switched Digital Technology
25-11-42 Search Reference Number


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Certain cable operators are using switched digital technology to add new niche channels or eliminate duplicate feeds of premium channels.

Currently, switched digital channels are unavailable to TiVo DVRs that use CableCARDs. However, the cable industry is working with TiVo and others to develop a technical fix so that TiVo devices will be able to access these switched digital channels.

Great progress has been made and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) revealed the solution in a filing with the FCC. The agreed-upon solution is a small external adapter, called a tuning resolver, which will attach to the back of the CableCARD device and enable two-way communication with the cable headend so that switched digital channels can be received by TiVo products.

We expect the adapter to be available to consumers before switched digital becomes widely deployed.

For the full text of the FCC filing on August 24, 2007, please click this link. (The information about the proposed tuning resolver solution, including TiVo’s involvement in this solution, is on page 33 of the filing.)

[Skaggs]

Excerpt from the FCC filing:

II. SWITCHED DIGITAL VIDEO MODIFICATIONS
Switched Digital Video ( SDV ) is a highly efficient bandwidth management technology employed by cable operators to transmit digital channels to customers on an as-needed basis. AT&T s U-Verse video service utilizes SDV to deliver all of its channels throughout its entire footprint. Cable systems traditionally transmitted all channels simultaneously to all customers, requiring the use of bandwidth for all channels even if few or no customers were watching a particular channel. By contrast, when a digital customer tunes to an SDV channel, the channel is only sent to those customers that wish to view it. As a result, when an SDV channel is not being viewed, bandwidth is available for other services.

SDV preserves bandwidth so that it can be used for deployment of innovative new services. The recovered bandwidth can be used to deliver more High Definition, Standard Definition and on-demand channels. Indeed, the recovered bandwidth is essential for cable operators to deal with the digital broadcast transition. The bandwidth can also be used to deliver faster "bonded" channels with dramatically improved wideband Internet speeds of 100 Mbps; digital voice service; and more interactive two-way services. SDV promotes broadband deployment and adoption and causes less disruption for consumers because SDV, like on-demand service, uses intelligent network management techniques to expand digital capacity without tearing up the streets to install additional fiber.

It is in everyone s interest for cable operators to use their networks more efficiently, and SDV technology allows the cable operators to do so. Unfortunately, as designed, one-way UDCPs are not capable of accessing SDV channels: SDV channels require two-way device functionality. In order to address this issue, the cable industry has worked with CE companies such as TiVo to arrive at a solution that can provide two-way SDV channels to one-way digital cable products through an external device attachment to the UDCP.

Under this approach arrived at through private discussions outside of regulatory compulsion - a small Tuning Resolver adapter could be made available to the UDCP consumer. With only firmware modifications to new UDCP products, and a USB 2.0 connection, properly equipped UDCPs could receive programming offered on SDV channels. Many currently deployed UDCPs, including TiVo DVRs, have one or more USB 2.0 connectors and might even be upgradeable with firmware for SDV.