Cable's technology gurus said a video-over-Docsis demo by Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq: HLIT)was the "best new idea most likely to succeed" at the CableLabs Summer Conference, an annual press-free confab taking place this week in Keystone, Colo.

Harmonic was the top vote-getter for the latest Innovation Showcase, which featured demos and presentations from a dozen other vendors. The first Showcase, held in March at the winter version of the conference, did not feature a "best new idea" category, but a user-generated-content specialist called Simple Star Inc. took the crown. (See Here She Is: Miss CableLabs!)

Harmonic's vote-driver demonstrated how high-def and standard-def MPEG-4 video streams could be delivered to a PC over Docsis at high quality. It featured the company's NSG 9000 Universal edge QAM, which, along with Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS), is said to have gotten the deployment green light from Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK). (See Comcast Taps Arris for Edge QAM Initiative and Universal Edge QAM Market Heats Up.)

Harmonic officials, speaking during a conference call on Monday (OK, so the event wasn’t' entirely press-free), said it streamed HD at 8 Mbit/s and SD at about 2 Mbit/s, using a pre-Docsis 3.0 configuration that bonded three downstream channels (the full spec calls for modems to bond a minimum of four downstreams and upstreams). Although a PC was the output device for the demo, MSOs are also looking at advanced set-tops that put Docsis-based video delivery into the mix.

Harmonic also showed off how the system could be used to help users navigate channels via personalized mosaics (e.g., video thumbnails). ICTV Inc. has demonstrated something similar at recent tradeshows. Comcast, meanwhile, is rapidly deploying a theme-based mosaic navigation application, but customers aren't able to personalize it yet. (See It... Lives! and Comcast Ramps Up 'Video Rich Navigation' .)

Although nearly 80 vendors are on the CableLabs exhibit floor this week, only the following (including Harmonic) were selected for the Innovation Showcase:

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News