Last week Braden wrote that Cablevision is planning on rolling out network DVR functionality in April. This technology has got us excited because it shows that Cable is pushing itself to compete with Satellite, FiOS and U-Verse. One area that cable still falls a little short when compared to these other services is the number of HD channels they offer. A new technology called Switched Digital Video is being deployed that will allow cable companies to increase the number of HD channels they offer. But not every is happy about it.
[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/podcast/2010/03/hdtv_and_home_theater_podcast_podcast_415_switched_digital_video.php]Read Show Notes[/url]
HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #415: Switched Digital Video
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arad
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akirby
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This is interesting. It's a hybrid solution in between traditional cable and what Uverse does (not sure how FIOS works). With Uverse, you have a dedicated connection back to the VRAD (head end) and it multiplexes up to 4 channels on that connection to each house. With this technology it still uses a broadcast solution (similar to a Computer LAN) but it only broadcasts channels that are requested by at least one household and it doesn't require dedicated connections.
Pretty smart, but once again this will require a dedicated, proprietary tuner. I wish we could have interchangeable proprietary tuners that could be plugged into generic DVRs. There is no technical reason that the tuner needs to be tied to the DVR hardware or software. In fact Tivos had this capability with A/V inputs and RS-232 outputs for standard definition so you could use an external cable box or sat receiver. But HD has complicated that solution.
Pretty smart, but once again this will require a dedicated, proprietary tuner. I wish we could have interchangeable proprietary tuners that could be plugged into generic DVRs. There is no technical reason that the tuner needs to be tied to the DVR hardware or software. In fact Tivos had this capability with A/V inputs and RS-232 outputs for standard definition so you could use an external cable box or sat receiver. But HD has complicated that solution.