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IEEE votes 100G as the next Ethernet speed, scheduled for 2010
We're confident these off kilter batteries have been keeping the IEEE quite busy in recent months, but they've apparently made time to agree upon the next major Ethernet standard, and have raised the bar way above the rumored "40Gbps" level by dropping the hammer on 100G. If you're hoping to pick up some newfangled NIC and take advantage of these crazy new speeds anytime soon, fuhgetaboutit. The IEEE's High Speed Study Group (HSSG) has quite a bit of work to go, including the actual assembly of a new task force, which will "work to standardize 100G Ethernet over distances as far as six miles over single-mode fiber optic cabling and 328 feet over multimode fiber." John D'Ambrosia, chair of the IEEE HSSG, has admitted that the need for quicker (and larger) pipes is imminent, especially considering the growing trend in downloadable media and Web 2.0 applications, but anticipates the forming of 100G to "not be too great a challenge." While we're most definitely writing anything these folks say in regard to promptness off, we're admittedly glad the gurus behind the scenes feel this next step up should happen rather smoothly, but the IEEE still doesn't think a "finalized standard" will go live "until 2009 or 2010."[Via Shashdot]
U-verse HDTV rollout finally begins
Test users of AT&T's U-verse IPTV service in San Antonio with the Motorola VIP 1216 HD set top box finally got their first taste of HDTV yesterday. There are about 30 HD channels listed total although so far users report only being able to see a few of them. A wide rollout of the Motorola boxes should follow soon as well as the rest of the channels, however viewers will still be limited to viewing one HD channel at a time, per household. AT&T still anticipates offering a second HD stream over its FTTN service with future upgrades. They didn't make the October 25th release date anticipated but it's here and so far, users report excellent picture quality. Hopefully AT&T works out a second stream without going all HDLite on us.
Sasktel, Cogeco add HDTV channels for Canada
HDTV owners in Canada got a few more options recently as Sasktel and Cogeco have both announced addition to their HD lineups. Cogeco Quebec has added eleven new HD channels, eight of which are in French, the new channels are SRC (Montreal), CBC (Montreal), Canal Vie, HiSToRiA, Ztélé, Canal D, Séries +,VRAK.TV, CTV (Toronto), Global (Toronto) and HD Super Ecran. Meanwhile Sasktel has partnered with High Fidelity HDTV Inc. -- owned by Rainbow, basically Canadian Voom -- to add four new 24/7 HD channels to its services, Rush HD, Equator HD, Treasure HD and OasisHD. These four channels and Discovery HD are a part of the HD Adventure package that should run customers an additional $9.95 per month.Read - Cogeco Quebec adds more HD to its line-upRead - Four new HD channels launched on SaskTel Max
AT&T's earnings up, HDTV coming in November and web remote preview
AT&T released new details about its U-Verse fiber-based IPTV service in a report of quarterly earning today. It has signed up 3,000 of 30,000 homes so far with access to the service, and says it will launch in 15 new markets this year. Unfortunately for those hoping for a late-October HDTV addition, the company confirmed that will not happen in the San Antonio area until November. In other U-Verse news, a few subscribers stumbled onto a web page for the upcoming web-access feature that will allow users to schedule recording while away from home. They've got a few more pictures of the upcoming Motorola STB as well as the AT&T Yahoo Web Remote, but it probably doesn't make the wait for HD any easier.Read - AT&T earnings jump 74 pct. to $2.17BRead - A Preview of the U-verse Web Remote
AT&T defends HDTV via FTTN networks
AT&T is finally ready to add HD to its much-delayed Project Lightspeed (U-verse) but the project is still dogged by questions and controversy. Unlike Verizon's FiOS service which runs fiber directly to the house, AT&T is using old-school VDSL for the last mile to most of its customers' homes, and claim it will have the bandwidth to deliver high speed internet and up to two streams of HDTV. Unfortunately, some analysts disagree, seeing either a change in plans switching to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), or following DirecTV's lead and offering some sort of HDLite reduced-quality high definition. So far, AT&T is writing this off as just speculation, saying its current plan makes sense, and it is already testing HD to some customers in Houston. There's already some benefit over cable co's, with features like quad-tuner SD PVRs, but we're hoping that if things get tight they don't choose the cheap route and squeeze the HD figuring no one will notice.Read - AT&T and the Infamous Second HD StreamRead - AT&T: We're Sticking With FTTN
Microsoft partners with major players on IPTV Edition-powered SoC STBs
With Zune and Vista hogging all the headlines these days, you may have forgotten that Microsoft is also hard at work pushing its IPTV Edition software platform into living rooms around the world, so the software giant decided to take the Broadband World Forum Europe in Paris as occasion to remind us just how committed it is to TV over the internet. The major announcement to come out of the conference was the immediate availability of system-on-a-chip set-top boxes powered by Redmond from several of the major STB hardware manufacturers, including Cisco, Motorola, Philips, and Tatung. All of these boxes will provide the end-user with HD and DVR support and on-demand viewing as well as more advanced capabilities like multiroom streaming and home media networking. Most of the new offerings -- such as Tatung's STB2000 series, Philips' BT-bound hybrid IPTV-DTT STB, and Cisco's unnamed models -- use an SoC based on Sigma Designs' 8634 chipset, with Cisco also hitting up STMicroelectronics for its silicon. Moto, meanwhile, announced that AT&T would be be the first customer to take delivery on its new devices, which -- as we already knew -- will be heading into the homes of the few, the proud, the U-verse subscribers. So congrats, Microsoft, on another product category successfully infused with your special brand of software, but now that you've become a major player in this realm, remember to watch your back -- FairUse4IPTV could be right around the corner.
Craving HD IPTV? It could be closer than you think
The Telecommunications Industry Association and the Fiber to the Home Council have released the results of a study proclaiming that over a million customers now have fiber service, and can get HDTV over those links. The industry also passes over six million homes and businesses, which means that those potential customers could hook up if they wanted. The interesting part is that this is a 50 percent increase since only March when the fiber lines only passed four million, so they've been doing some serious digging to lay all that fiber (or at least from the street to the homes, the main trunks may have already been laid long before then)Nevertheless, all this rides on your local provider actually laying those lines and offering the service, here in the Fort Worth, Texas area I have SBC AT&T and they offer nothing but plain old medium-speed ADSL. Yet I have coworkers who live in areas serviced by Verizon and get speeds on their FIOS that make me want to cry (and move!) So, hopefully you're in a location where your local provider has laid down the lines and is just saving up the thousand bucks to offer you fiber, and not like me, stuck in an area where your provider apparently doesn't care about signing up new business.
FiOS math
How much do you think it cost Verizon to equip your house with their fiber-optic TV/Internet service, FiOS? According to Phil Harvey from Light Reading, close to grand per home when you figure that are planning on investing $18 billion to bring 18 million homes into the fold by 2010. That's an impressive amount of cash to drop down on one house but if you figure that most subscribers monthly bill will be around $100, they will make up the loss within a year. But the moral here is that while they can still make up the cost, this FiOS stuff is expensive and Verizon must be looking to the future when copper has maxed out their available bandwidth and fiber is the only way to go.
Verizon's FiOS TV's first anniversary
Verizon is celebrating the big ONE after their first year of FiOS TV service. The service launched last year on September 22nd and now provides more the 80 communities across seven states. This first year has allowed them to become the number one terrestrial provider of high-def stations at 16 with some areas reaching providing more then 25. Plus, they have naturally become number one in percentage of customers with digital service along with number one in total subscribers with DVRs. The whole system operates over fiber instead of the standard copper found in normal cable systems but the system has to be installed in your area before a person can subscribe and while Verizon is working on upgrading more and more communities, it takes time. Their first year went great so we don't see why the second wouldn't go just as good and reach even more potential subscribers.
U-verse getting high-def service within weeks?
U-verse users, meet HDTV. We just got word that AT&T's IPTV service is going to be blessed with numerous upgrades within the next few weeks that will include HDTV support, more channels, more VOD, games, personal photos and other unannounced features. This rollout seems to be within the same speculated time frame of October 25th to coincide with the launch of those brand spanking new Motorola DVR's; whenever it does happen, though, these features will be implemented during the slow viewing times between 11 PM and 5 AM with the hope of minimizing service interruption. On a similar note, AT&T is upgrading DVRs to prep for this rollout, with customers seeing all previously recorded programs erased and all scheduled recordings canceled after October 5th. But keep in mind this is for high-def along with more content, so hopefully the ends will justify the means -- you can deal with a few Adult Swim-free nights for the greater good, right?
Can cable keep up without big infrastructure expenditures?
The unsettling tension between cable, satellite, and now FTTH providers is growing ever tighter, and the delivery of HD channels, on-demand content, and internet services through aging coax pipelines is leaving little room for expansion. While some analysts are suggesting that cable companies should be prepared to spend big bucks in order to maintain their current service levels -- especially considering the seemingly imminent additions of HD content and higher-high-speed internet services -- they may not have to bust out that checkbook so soon. It's no secret that Verizon alone has spent $20 billion in fiber optic deployment in order to get FiOS services to various parts of the country, and cable providers can't exactly afford to sit around and get leapfrogged. Reportedly among the various suggestions (that don't involve just throwing down for a larger infrastructure) is one that focuses on changing the way channels are delivered entirely, requiring no expansion whatsoever. The (relatively) antiquated analog stations aren't doing cable companies any favors, and as they begin to (presumably) phase out in favor of the leaner, meaner digital flavor, the lines can start to breathe a bit easier. But probably more important than the switch to digital is, well, switched digital -- in a switched system, only the channel that's currently being viewed is sent out (much like current IPTV installments), thus freeing up loads of bandwidth. Apparently this efficient design allows for "hundreds of stations" to be available at any given time, while giving providers one less reason to crack open the piggy bank for fear of clogged pipes. It's fairly obvious that cable companies still have a firm, albeit loosening, grip on the television market, and until this newfangled FTTH thing can reach a few more folks (or Google breaks out a dark-fiber solution of its own), it's cable or bust for most of us.[Via Ars Technica]
AT&T's U-verse going HD October 25?
AT&T's fiber-based television service certainly has enough channels to launch HDTV, it seems that the concern right now is do they have the bandwidth? According to U-verse customers, they are being told to expect a new Motorola VIP 1216 HD set-top box on that date that will allow, at least to start, one h.264-encoded HD stream to the home. That means one high definition channel at a time for your house, no dual-tuners, or even dual-TVs, yet. We're sure that even one high-def channel is better than the currently zero available, but the possibility of family-wrecking battles over the remote is high: proceed with caution.[Via Broadband Reports]
AT&T's U-verse adds Showtime HD, The Movie Channel HD
AT&T's U-verse continues building steam towards its HD launch by adding the Showtime family of channels to the service. This includes both Showtime HD and The Movie Channel HD. Of course, HD over Project Lightspeed has been coming soon for quite a while now, but hopefully we are only a few months away. They've recently signed up channels like Starz HDTV, Wealth TV, Discovery HD, MTV Networks' MHD and others. That could be a very compelling package...whenever it's actually available.
AT&T's U-verse TV signs up Starz HDTV
AT&T's U-verse FTTN & FTTP service may not actually offer high definition yet, that hasn't stopped them from adding additional programming for HDTV owners. The Starz package, including Starz HDTV and video-on-demand is the latest station to sign up with the service, which we expect will roll out HD in September or so.
Verizon FiOS trying to change cable franchising in Pennsylvania
Currently in Pennsylvania, cable franchising involves negotiating a deal with each of the 2,565 municipalities individually. For Verizon, who has laid fiber in about 1,600 of these, getting deals done is a long, slow process making it nearly impossible to quickly move in on their cable competitors. Verizon hasn't actually started offering its FiOS TV service and the included two-dozen or so HDTV channels in Pennsylvania but when they do, they'd like to negotiate one deal for the whole state all at once. That's the idea of a bill submitted by State Senators Dominic Pileggi and Anthony Williams, proposing the creation of a single state-administered uniform agreement for anyone offering video services. The President of Verizon Pennsylvania stated their network could carry everything the cable companies have and up to 220 high definition channels at the same time, while cable in the area is limited to only twelve. Of course we're still -- anxiously -- waiting for there to be 220 HDTV channels but you get the point.Naturally, the resident cable companies sort of like the system the way it is, arguing that change will take power away from local communities, give Verizon an unfair advantage and don't see change as necessary. Any HD Beat Pennsylvania readers plan on stopping by Penn State's Delco campus August 8th and pleading for 220 HDTV channels giving the legislature a piece of their mind?
MIT researchers create photo-detecting fibers
Those cats at MIT have been at it again: when not fooling around in their dorm rooms or playing with robot snails, they're toiling away in the lab late at night developing technologies that could well become commonplace in our everyday lives. Their latest breakthrough is a sphere-shaped web of photo-detecting fibers that can measure the direction, intensity, and phase of light, something previously only possible with traditional lens-based optics. Unlike lenses, however, the fiber webs have an unlimited field of view, opening up a whole range of new possibilities like improved space telescopes or sensitive clothing to provide increased awareness to soldiers or the blind. Still in the research phase, this tech is likely a long ways from trickling down into the consumer space, although researchers do see the common man eventually using it to enhance interaction with computers and video games.[Via Digital Camera Info]
NYC under NuVisions WiFi skies
For those in NYC, get ready to cut loose -- literally. In a city that isn't typically exposed to rollouts of this magnitude, NuVisions is, well, envisioning an ever growing "cloud" of WiFi over the metro areas. Their plan to dominate the airwaves with internet access begins with hardwiring buildings throughout the city with gigabit Ethernet (presumably via fiber), which is then distributed to tenants via short range powerline networking. Then the real fun begins. With every building that is hardwired for internet access, they light another WiFi zone on location. NuVision's CEO refers to it as "a virtual fiber optic network in the air." Pretty bold statement, we'd say, but until WiMAX is no longer a semi-distant fantasy, there isn't anyone who's more ready to see it happen than us. Well, aside from those waiting anxiously for NuVision to invade Chicago and San Francisco, the firm's next two targets. Unlimited access requires residing in a pre-wired building and costs $24.95 per month, not too shabby at all.
FiOS: now available in parts of California
Verizon is adding new places to the list of FiOS customers so fast it is hardly news anymore. Unless of course they are adding it in your area, in which case, it could be the best news you heard all week. I'm glad to see them rolling out more areas and hope they keep up the good work. This week Murrieta and Beaumont area customers join the people from Texas, Florida, Virgina, Massachusetts, and New York in an exclusive club that is becoming less exclusive. Unfortunately this is only an additional 80,000 people which isn't a large percentage of all the people that live in California.
Live next to a power station? Gefen's all-fiber DVI and HDMI cables are for you
If you're concerned about the EMI (electromagnetic interference) monster behind your TV interfering with your pristine digital HDTV signal, or just like putting your TV 100 feet away from the source, Gefen has got the cable for you. Made out of all fiber, it is extremely resistant to degradation due to length and interference, and extends the cables well past other manufacturers limits. Wireless or wired, Gefen seems to have HDMI for every possible occasion.Of course, you're going to pay for the privilege, no price listed for HDMI but the DVI cables start at $400 and go up to the thousands depending on length.
