Cox Communications plans to use a BigBand Networks Broadband Multimedia-Service Router for the deployment of HDTV services in several markets this year.
Cox will use the router in deployments in Las Vegas and Phoenix. The cable MSO will use the BMR to expand HDTV programming capabilities and to address challenges in cost, resource and bandwidth allocation.
Cox said that it was searching for a new router that gives local systems the ability to manage bandwidth efficiently because HDTV's bandwidth requirements are much higher than SDTV. Cox cited the BMR's high port density, which enables a whole headend on one chassis, easy-to-use software and upgradability as factors in the purchase.
Other BMR features include:
* HDTV and SDTV feeds can be multiplexed within the same channels;
* The RateShaping bit rate adaptation that maintains video quality while enhancing channel capacity by up to 50 percent when carrying live HDTV programs;
* A NativeMedia architecture that combines HDTV content with associated Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) data over the same digital cable resources
Cox also said it had reached the 1,000-subscriber mark for its HDTV service in Las Vegas.
