SCTE Notebook

The cable industry will ultimately win the content delivery race, said Robert Metcalfe, general partner of Polaris Venture Partners, at SCTE’s Emerging Technologies (ET) conference in Houston on Wed. Metcalfe, who is credited with creating Ethernet technology, said switched Ethernet will eventually dominate content delivery. "It is not DOCSIS versus Ethernet," Metcalfe said. "DOCSIS is Ethernet… HFC Ethernet… You move towards switching when you need more guarantees of bandwidth." — Panelists also said cable needs to provide time and location-shifted content across TVs, PCs, phones and other devices. "Customers want to use their media in ways we never imagined," said Mitchell Weintraub, senior director, new media at Comcast Media Center. He said cable is "uniquely positioned" to become a media management agent. Cable may want to jump quickly because Sling Media’s products, including Slingbox, are getting even more popular. "We’re the ultimate… in device reality," said Dave Mathews, forward thinker at Sling Media. "Cable is our number one connection to the network." [Editor’s Note: To learn how the Slingbox works, check out our video segment at cable360.net — http://www.cable360.net/events/conventions/21542.html].