From the Wire, 12/20

SCTE: New AVC Standard The SCTE Engineering Committee recently approved new technical standard SCTE 128 2007, AVC Video Systems and Transport Constraints for Cable Television. The standard, which was developed by the SCTE Digital Video Subcommittee, defines the video coding and transport constraints on joint document "ITU-T Recommendation H.264 ISO/IEC 14496-10 Advanced Video Codec" for applications in cable system carriage of broadcast and linear programming. The new standard describes the transmission of AVC-coded digital video in MPEG transport streams. The SCTE says AVC is a more efficient coding scheme than the currently used MPEG-2 standard and uses less bandwidth, resulting in greater network capacity. RGB Offers Privacy Mode Encryption RGB Networks is offering privacy mode encryption licensing and technology for VOD applications. RGB says the encryption enables cable operators to encrypt their VOD programs so that they can only be viewed by authorized subscribers. RGB will enable this capability on two of its products: the Universal Scalable Modulator (USM) and Dynamic Bandwidth Manager (DBM). RGB will apply privacy mode encryption to the VOD programs as they are processed. The company’s USM is a high density universal QAM modulator. The RGB DBM is a VOD bandwidth optimization platform designed to reduce VOD bandwidth requirements, which, RGB says, will enable cable operators to deliver more standard and high definition VOD programs without the need for increased bandwidth. Moto Deploys in Korea Motorola has announced that Korean cable operators C&M and CJ CableNet have selected Motorola CMTSs and cable modems for delivery of 100 Mbps high-speed broadband services to their subscribers. Both operators will deploy the Motorola BSR 64000 CMTS platform and Motorola SURFboard cable modems with channel-bonding technology. The Motorola agreements with C&M and CJ CableNet extend their current DOCSIS 2.0 deployments and DOCSIS 3.0 trials into a commercially deployed DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS and cable modem solution supporting DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding. Deployments are expected to occur prior to the end of 2007. Pace to Acquire Philips Assets Pace Micro Technology has agreed to acquire the set-top box and connectivity solutions business of Royal Philips Electronics. Approximately 335 predominantly French-based employees work for that combined business of Philips in designing and supplying digital TV products for the satellite, cable, terrestrial and IPTV markets. Based on 2006 performance, the combined company would have pro-forma revenues of more than $1 billion, with production of 8.5 million set-top boxes annually, said Pace CEO Neil Gaydon, in a statement. The proposed transaction is valued at E95 million (about $136 million).