Cablevision Mexico Gets Flash With VOD

Cablevision Mexico has become the first MSO to deploy the new line of video servers from SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC) that are based completely on Flash memory technology. (See SeaChange Deployed in Mexico.)

The move is significant because the Mexican MSO is one of the first cable operators to incorporate storage and streaming video technology based on Flash, rather than disk drives, into its commercial network. Cox Communications Inc. has also taken the plunge recently, deploying some Flash-based media servers from Concurrent Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: CCUR) as part of its new VOD rollout in Arizona. (See Cox Closes VOD Gap and Concurrent Bows Flash Gear.)

The theory is that deploying disk-free video-on-demand (VOD) systems at the edge of the network, where popular on-demand content is often replicated to ensure high quality delivery, will help reduce a cable operator's support and operational costs. (See A Flashy Approach to VOD.)

According to SeaChange, Cablevision Mexico -– the largest digital MSO in the country with more than 540,000 digital cable TV customers in Mexico City and the surrounding area -- began using its MediaServer Flash Memory Streamers in January to supplement its deployment of traditional disk-based servers as demand for VOD content continues to rise.

In a statement included in the vendor's press release, Cablevision Mexico CEO Jean Paul Broc noted that on-demand content was driving his company's "digital uptake at a remarkable clip... We identified flash memory as the very means to help us stay on target and on budget."

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading