SCTE Notebook

CableServ revealed that one of the US’s largest MSOs selected it to upgrade 5 systems in the southeast to 625 MHz from 550. The MSO will use CableServ’s "Amplifier Upgrades" products and solutions for Magnavox, S-A [SFA] and GI amplifiers. — Arris’ [ARRS] VoIP-enabling "Touchstone 402B" E-MTA achieved Euro- DOCSIS 2.0 and Euro-PacketCable certification. — Motorola [MOT] demo-ed "MWT EA 200," a 10Gbps optical transport platform that delivers VOD and other Ethernet services over fiber. The upshot for engineers: Freed rack space and cost-effective scalability. — S-A [SFA] showed off new commercial services solutions, designed for small businesses with 20 or fewer employees. Also on tap: "Multi-Room DVR," which echoed distant neighbor Moto’s "Whole Home DVR." — Nagravision announced its 1st deployment Thurs, nailing down a commitment from Iowa Network Services, a conglomerate of 127 municipal phone and cable ops. Sister company Livewire will help Atlantic Digital Cable drive back DBS in Brunswick County, NC, with "Tsunami," a set-top software offering that supports parental controls and a 7-day program guide. Rollouts begin July ’04. — Pace showed off the "DC515" set-top, the 1st Moto-based DSG for the US market. — Panasonic touted the premiere end-to-end system for OCAP, a standard that eventually will support all of cable’s interactive services without the use of a set-top. — A vote to move Expo to another month (Nov-Dec perhaps?) came from those who felt the show lacked its usual gee-whiz factor this year. "It comes so close on the heels of NCTA, that we don’t have anything left in reserve," one exhibitor says. Nothing’s moving soon, though. Expo’s booked sites through ’06, SCTE chief John Clark says. — Heard on the Floor: "They’re showing me what it does, not how it works," an Expo attendee grumbles. "I’m an engineer. Out with it."