Providing this freedom is simple in principle, but there is an awful lot of “stuff” that needs to be done by the “guy behind the curtain” to truly make it a reality. Traditional cable services were delivered over well-understood, well-tested, and well-controlled networks that delivered video in a single format: MPEG-2. And it was managed by a purpose-built control network. As soon as you start talking about other devices, all of a sudden you have a lot of complexities to worry about…screens of widely varying aspect ratios and physical dimensions, with different amounts of bandwidth available, and delivered using a whole host of different formats — from Windows Media to Apple QuickTime to Flash. How do you get content from one format to another? How do you ensure that the “metadata” (the descriptive information about what the content is, what actors are in it, how long it is, etc.) — is consistent and understandable by all these different devices? And yes, much as consumers would love to have nothing but free content, the content providers who build the content deserve to be paid for their efforts…and digital rights management that works between the devices is needed to make sure people only get what they pay for.

The conundrum is how to do all this when consumers — no matter what devices they use — really just want to turn on those viewing devices and watch some TV. Simplicity is key. Service providers have been very successful at integrating digital video recorder (DVR) technology into their set-top boxes — an approach that “just works” and has the same user interface they are accustomed to. “Do-it-yourself” types can still use a standalone device. Consumer choice is good, right?

Consumers will look at their home networks exactly the same way. Many consumers would be happy to pay a service provider to set up an entertainment system that “just works,” takes care of all the complexities, provides access using a consistent and simple user interface, and works together with the network delivering content to and from devices outside the home. Other “do-it-yourself” types will build and manage their home network, and figure out how to make it all work. Still others will be in between, leasing or purchasing some devices from their service provider and connecting up all the devices they bought at the local Best Buy. And guess what? No matter what these consumers decide, it all needs to work together. THAT, I think, is the real point.

Regards,
Dave Brown,
Cable Solutions Manager
davebr@cisco.com