15 Feb
Cable networks have a long history in delivering broadcast channels to customers and in the past they were the main channel for delivering a wide range of content to the home. In the past years their share is undermined by IPTV technology and internet service providers. The main reason for this is the interactivity that can easily be added in the IPTV environment. Not to fall behind, the cable operators need to add interactivity alongside the digital signal to the customer.
The easiest way to achieve interactivity is to upgrade the IP bandwidth with DOCSIS 3.0 technology and provide the interactive content which means a huge investment in the network. The other way is to use the video headend reference architecture from Cable Labs which is described in the modular headend architecture specification and delivers IP MPEG packets over QAM channels.
The white paper contains description of the MHA architecture and its elements. The concept is described and explained in detail to show the feasibility of such solution.
