Fade to black: Video takes a back seat at Supercomm

After pushing their way into the spotlight for the last couple of years, video technologies appear to be an afterthought for many vendors at this year's Supercomm.

Perhaps it's simply a reflection of the waning telco interest in video, but many of the bigger vendors that were leading the charge into the market have turned their attentions to more traditional bets-specifically, high-speed Internet access and other data technologies. Several traditional video vendors are scaling back their efforts while others have canceled the trip to Atlanta altogether.

BroadBand Technologies Inc., one of the more recent flag bearers for switched digital video, is emblematic of the shift. The Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company last year made a strategic decision to refocus its efforts on the high-speed data market after several of its high-profile customers dropped their video market entry plans. Also crossing video off its list for this year is DSC Communications Corp., which will highlight its Litespan platform's ability to deliver data.

To be sure, some vendors will have video products and platforms on the show floor. However, they will be there with less hype than in years past. NextLevel Communications will be at the Georgia World Congress Center with its residential video system. The NLevel3 system, which is built around an in-home residential gateway that separates video, data and voice signals, will be on display, although not with same fanfare as last year when the company was still part of General Instrument.

"We've spent so much time just getting customers, we haven't been able to concentrate on the marketing side," says Tom Eames, co-president of NextLevel.

U S West is using the platform to deploy a very high bit-rate digital subscriber line (DSL) technology in the Phoenix area. In a separate configuration, the system could be used to deliver fiber to the curb.

Among the other video products on the show floor, attendees can expect to see some components from vendors looking to integrate their products into larger hybrid fiber/coax or more often fiber/copper platforms.

MPhase Technologies will introduce a rate-adaptive DSL solution that lets telcos deliver MPEG 2 digital video and high-speed data over copper loops of up to 12,000 feet. The Digital Video and Data System is designed for asymmetrical service with bandwidth of 7 Mb/s downstream and 1 Mb/s upstream. On the video portion of the platform, the system provides enough bandwidth for up to 256 channels of programming.

MPhase also will introduce an asynchronous transfer mode interface by the end of the year so the system can provide enough bandwidth for up to 256 channels of programming, says Tom Murphy, chief technology officer.

StarVision Multimedia, by contrast, will return to Supercomm with its ATM-based video conferencing system. Designed for applications that require high-quality video such as telemedicine and distance learning, the platform combines end-user software and network-based services.

"We typically use MPEG 2 video codecs and allow the carriers to centrally manage it as a service," says a StarVision spokeswoman.

SiCom also will be one of the few vendors introducing new video-related products as it unveils its BitFlow series of modem products. The line, which lets broadcasters deliver three or more digital video signals or one high-definition, TV-quality transmission through a single 36 MHz transponder, is tailored for wireless carriers

"Generally for wired applications you have lots of signal-to-noise, and frequently you have channel constraints," says Rene Savalle, director of commercial marketing for SiCom. "For wireless mediums, you find that you're constrained by available power and bandwidth. Modems, if they are going to work well, always have to be suited for the link pathology. This modem has robust forward error correction."