Search:  

 
 
   News
newer
story category Comcast Expands Switched Digital Video Trials
Now tinkering with the technology in Minneapolis and St. Paul
10:29AM Thursday Jul 03 2008 by Karl Bode
tags: business · bandwidth · cable · networking · Comcast
It appears that Comcast is expanding their tests of switched digital video (SDV) in two additional markets -- Minneapolis and St. Paul. SDV frees up bandwidth on cable systems by holding unwatched channels at the edge router, instead of transmitting all channels, regardless of whether they're in use, to your set-top box. Comcast is already using Cisco for a SDV trial in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and has tagged Motorola for a trial in the Denver area. In February, Comcast execs claimed they'd introduce SDV in about 15 percent of their markets by the end of 2008.

Related:
  1. Comcast Installs DOCSIS 3.0 In Two New Markets
  2. What's Behind Comcast's Sudden Love of P2P
  3. Comcast Begins Testing 'Protocol Agnostic' Network Management
  4. Comcast Confirms New Throttling Tests We Reported Yesterday
  5. Comcast To Deploy Femtocells
  6. Comcast, Cox, Trot Out Their Worst 'Bandwidth Hogs'
  7. Beating Comcast's Sandvine On Linux With Iptables
  8. Comcast Pays Florida $150K For Misleading Consumers
Forums » Comcast Expands Switched Digital Video Trials
view: topics flat text 
Post a:

Paulg
Formerly Arctic Wolf
Premium
join:2004-03-15
Hubbell, MI
clubs:

tuning times?

How does the time the channel takes to tune compare to a non-SDV environment?
--
I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:

Re: tuning times?

The last test results I saw was this

In a 30 second period the tester was able to tune to 25 channels in a non SDV enviroment

In a 30 second period the tester was able to tune to 24 Channels in an SDV Enviroment.

I am sure people will moan about that.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

Re: Remind me to NEVER work for you!

What about SDV vs Analog?

FLengineer
Premium
join:2007-06-26

Re: Remind me to NEVER work for you!

Analog tuning time will depend on the device that is actually being tuned. TV's are NOT created equal.
neufuse

join:2006-12-06
Indiana, PA
·Comcast
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: tuning times?

must be some fast tuners there... because on digital alone with no SDV our SA8300HD boxes can take up to 2 seconds to turn a channel.... I can't imagin a SDV video with a reolving channel carosuel would be faster here... one of the techs that as out a couple weeks ago told me "it could take up to 5 seconds on SA systems to tune a SDV channel"
andyross

join:2003-05-04
Schaumburg, IL

Re: tuning times?

DVR's often add an additional lag due to buffering.
xenophon

join:2007-09-17
My TWC SDV switches channels at the same speed as non-SDV. Don't notice any difference.

cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1

join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:

Re: tuning times?

Here's a video of the channel up button lagging horribly on my DVR.

Click to download

cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1

join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless

Wow even 24 channels in an SDV environment within 30 seconds would be a godsend here. I'm lucky if I can get through 8 channels on the DVR within 30 seconds before it freezes up and stops accepting a channel change command.

Motorola DCT-6412 running I-Guide sucks. The performance is so shitty you can't even channel surf in the conventional way. You have to point and select stuff out of the guide. No linear Ch Up/Down for me.

RARPSL

join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

said by hobgoblin See Profile :

The last test results I saw was this

In a 30 second period the tester was able to tune to 25 channels in a non SDV enviroment

In a 30 second period the tester was able to tune to 24 Channels in an SDV Enviroment.

I am sure people will moan about that.

Hob
Which 24 channels? If all/most of them were ones that were ALREADY being feed to that node, all you are actually measuring is the time that is needed to do the handshake that says "Add me to your feed list of channels you ALREADY are feeding". The only way that measurement is valid is if all (or at least most) of the requested channels are NOT currently available on the node.
Corydon
Cultivant son jardin
Premium
join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO
clubs:
·Comcast

I'm in Denver, and I honestly have no clue whether I'm part of this trial or not. I suspect that I am.

Actually, that brings up a point...anyone know how to find out if you are part of an SDV trial or not? Would they tell you if the end result is supposed to be invisible?

I've noticed zero change in how my TV performs.
--
"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too."

cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1

join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:

Re: tuning times?

There should be something in the diagnostics menu. For Motorola power off and quickly push OK/Select. Check if there are any SDV code modules or special diagnostics that would lead you to think SDV is installed.
xenophon

join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..


edit:
July 3rd, @11:57AM

TimeWarnerCable already doing SDV

TWC has SDV already rolling out. It's in Kansas City, Austin, San Diego and other markets. Not trials, in production and more cities rolling out.

TWC now has about 50 HD channels in Kansas City, about 1/4 or so are SDV. They are moving a bunch of SD channels to SDV next month and will be rolling out even more HD (both SDV and non-SDV).

SDV has its quality issues for fast motion content but it has its place in order to allow 500+ HD channels. Hopefully MPEG4 will help that issue.

FLengineer
Premium
join:2007-06-26

Re: TimeWarnerCable already doing SDV

Grats....
Mgsports

join:2004-11-11
Olathe, KS
Yes TWCKC keeps adding SDV Channels so Comcast Olathe/MO should do it at the same time as Twin Cities/St. Paul does it because we know it works in the KC area.
wombatclov

join:2002-10-16
Easthampton, MA

Bring it on

If it provides more bandwidth for the internet and better video services, I am willing to wait for the channels to come up. Of course I am wishing I lived in a Comcast area, as we all know Charter will never get this far....
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Two additional?

St.Paul/Minneapolis is, um, 1 market.. not two. But, I guess if it makes it sound better.. so be it.

jslik
That just happened
Premium
join:2006-03-17
clubs:

Re: Two additional?

said by fiberguy See Profile :

St.Paul/Minneapolis is, um, 1 market.. not two. But, I guess if it makes it sound better.. so be it.
Sorta like that line from "The Blues Brothers"...

"Oh, we play both kinds of music here....Country AND Western!"
--
If they told you wolverines would make good house pets, would you believe them?
-"Planes, Trains & Automobiles"

fireman

@comcast.net
nope.
Twin CIties is TWO markets for Comcast.

Old Comcast based on St. Paul.
(which I happen to be in, even though I live in Maple Grove)

New Comast which is the Old Time/Warner.

So Comcast considers it TWO markets
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Two additional?

No.. I'm sorry to disagree with you on this. The system has been integrated and is ONE system. It's all based out of 10 River Park Plaza and the main head-end is in Roseville. The systems have been integrated and operate as one.

To take your logic in play, then the MN/STP systems are actually 16 markets if you take into account how many systems have been stitched together including King, Paragon, Rogers, and on and on.

On this one, you will lose. Trust me. This is a system I'm very familiar with.

codee
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

said by fiberguy See Profile :

St.Paul/Minneapolis is, um, 1 market.. not two. But, I guess if it makes it sound better.. so be it.
Er...Kinda 1, Kinda 2...There is still 2 separate prins, different quota buckets, different frequencies for HSI, and if a tech crosses prins they still have to get eq issued from a different warehouse into their buffer.

The biggest differentiators is that St. Paul uses MOTO equipment and Minneapolis uses SA equipment - they each have different ondemand systems, and will require different implementations of SDV.

I'd say its considered 1 market on the surface but underneath the technical aspect is still 2 very separate entities and will be for the foreseeable future...
ak3883

join:2005-08-20
Bensalem, PA

Comcast way behind TWC in SDV

Comcast is way behind in SDV, as mentioned TWC is rolling it out in many markets.

It's online in upstate NY, my parents used to have a pathetic 15 HD channels or so until earlier this year, now they are up to 33-35 I think. TWC has been adding channels left and right and has finally brought the area up to speed at least close to the rest of their areas.

A house I visited last weekend up near Albany had 45 HD channels, NOT counting the premium HD alternate channels(Starz kids HD, HBO2 HD, etc). Only including the 4 main premium HD movie channels in the 45. Channels didn't take any longer to come up on the SA3250HD box.
tr1pp1n87

join:2008-06-02
Jacksonville, FL

Re: Comcast way behind TWC in SDV

well i guess comcast can stay lagging behind twc and when they catch back up to them... all of the comcast users can laugh at the twc 5-40GB caps... atleast comcast is looking for alternatives to adding bandwidth caps and their proposed cap although lame (250GB) is far more reasonable then TWC...

Scree
In the pipe 5 by 5

join:2001-04-24
Mount Laurel, NJ

gee

So is this why a few days ago I kept getting "this channel is currently unavailble, please try again later" every other time I'd switch to certain channels?!!!

CarterStClai
X-Out The W

join:2002-04-17
Sugar Land, TX

QAM tuners

Will this render existing PC cards with QAM tuners useless, or is it transparent?
travelguy

join:1999-09-03
Albuquerque, NM

Re: QAM tuners

said by CarterStClai See Profile :

Will this render existing PC cards with QAM tuners useless, or is it transparent?
It's hard to see how a tuner card would work in a SDV system. The physical channel assignments are dynamic, depending on what logical channel you want to tune and what physical channel the system decides to use.

CarterStClai
X-Out The W

join:2002-04-17
Sugar Land, TX

Re: QAM tuners

Which then renders the FCC ruling that local channels must be carried unencrypted useless since the existing tuners in televisions will not be able to access the content.
travelguy

join:1999-09-03
Albuquerque, NM

Re: QAM tuners

said by CarterStClai See Profile :

Which then renders the FCC ruling that local channels must be carried unencrypted useless since the existing tuners in televisions will not be able to access the content.
There's no rule that says the cable company has to do every channel dynamically. I suspect that locals will also be the more watched channels anyway, so every node would likely be sending them out all the time anyway.
Forums » Comcast Expands Switched Digital Video Trials


Tuesday, 07-Oct 12:41:54 Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Hosting by www.nac.net - DSL,Hosting & Co-lo | feedback | contact
over 9 years online! © 1999-2008 dslreports.com.republican-creole