NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: The Once and Future King: Multicast looks to (finally) be the future of television.
Interestingly (and perhaps not surprisingly) even seemingly straightforward technical issues such as SDV and related mechanisms trigger what amount to network neutrality (and "vendor neutrality") concerns -- and DRM controversies as well. See: Important Warning Regarding New HD TiVo and Cable System Incompatibilities http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000273.html Cable Industry Responds Regarding HD TiVo Incompatibilities http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000275.html The Coax Straightjacket: Stopping Cable Copy-Protection Abuse http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000310.html --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator - - - > nnsquad@ecgincc.com wrote: > > this article from cringley may explain some isps behavior: > > > > http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20071221_003697.html > > ... > > > Both Comcast and Verizon are rapidly rolling out IP multicast, as I am > > sure most big cable and telephone ISPs are. > > Switched digital video (SDV) appears to be a simpler way to solve the > cable spectrum crunch because it requires fewer changes to the cable > boxes. But really, it doesn't matter how digital cable works under the > hood - either IPTV w/ multicast or SDV will free up spectrum that > cablecos can use for Internet access. (Uh oh, did I just accidentally > mention the Isenberg Proposal?) > > http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=122733&; > http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=cdn&doc_id=135458 > http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=139512 > > Also, it's worth noting that ISPs run mutiple disjoint IP networks. For > example, AFAIK U-Verse has two different IP networks carried over two > ATM VCs: the Internet and the IPTV net. The IPTV net uses multicast, but > who cares since it's a closed network. Will ISPs enable multicast on the > *Internet*? And will customers be allowed to *create* groups or just > join existing ones? These are the interesting questions. > > But my favorite part (and the only part really relevant to this list) is: > > > Multicast also solves (from the cable company's perspective) the "problem" of P2P because they'll give multicast addresses to paid content and content from > movie studios and traditional TV networks that PAY for this privilege, saying that this is a preferred alternative to P2P, which will continue to be traffic > shaped. > > Yeah, just like people stopped downloading music and movies for free > when the iTunes store came out. > > For a more technical look at multicast in cable networks, check out this > article from 2005: > http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk828/technologies_case_study0900aecd802e2ce2.shtml > > To find out whether you can talk to the MBone: > http://www.multicasttech.com/mt/index2002.php3 > > Wes Felter - wesley@felter.org