Photos: NCTC Winter Educational Conference

In Las Vegas, cable's independent operators gathered to place bets on technologies and services that will help them stay competitive – and valuable – as the next M&A wave hits

By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading
March 01, 2013
URL: http://www.lightreading.com/tv/photos-nctc-winter-educational-conference/240149762

LAS VEGAS - NCTC Winter Educational Conference (WEC) -- Mobile World Congress wasn't the only event going on this week. Cable's Tier 2/3 crowd gathered here to discuss new technologies, fresh service options and how the ever-changing regulatory environment is affecting independent cable operators.

National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) President and CEO Rich Fickle sets the tone for the two-day event. Lunch was No. 2 on the agenda on this day. Hey, cable's a hungry bunch!

Remote control functionality is rapidly becoming an app inside tablets and smartphones, but the need for traditional gear lives on. Here's a look at Fusion, a new remote from Universal Electronics. It may look like an ordinary remote, but...

There's a QWERTY keyboard on the back, which will come in handy as TV continues to integrate with social media. This version of the remote uses IR data delivery, but Universal expects to add RF capabilities later this year. That will let the device communicate with the set-top or gateway even if it's tucked away, out-of-sight.

Cable's starting to gravitate toward technologies like EPON to serve businesses and, in some cases, residential environments.

Huawei's had a rough go in the U.S. of late, but Ron Pitcock was on hand to stoke the interest of indie MSOs.

Digital Freedom Technology CEO Bill Bauer showed off this tiny set-top, which has built-in Wi-Fi and HDMI and USB ports (with Ethernet on deck). The device, expected to cost about $75 in volume, is also being made to support the company's downloadable video security platform.

Or if digital terminal adapters are more to your liking, Evolution Digital had plenty of those, including models that can support a simple grid guide.

Roku offers lots of over-the-top video, but it's styling itself as a cable friend. Several independent cable operators offer Roku boxes as an incentive to get customers to upgrade to premium broadband tiers.

Comcast's HITS unit was here pitching a new, more efficient platform called Q2 that can pack more HD video into a smaller swath of bandwidth.

A hosted switched digital video (SDV) platform from Adara Technologies offers another way for operators to use their bandwidth more efficiently and free up capacity for other services.

The evolution of the video gateway (and Comcast's cloud-fed X1 platform) was the big topic at this panel, which featured (from left to right): Pace's Tom O'Laughlin; TiVo's David Sandford; Arris's Tom Williams; Comcast's Rachel Lee; and moderator Bob Ormberg of GCI.

Chet Kanojia of Aereo; Marwan Fawaz of Motorola Mobility; Needham & Co.'s Laura Martin; and Roku's Anthony Wood had a lively chat about how cable must evolve its video platform to deliver more personalized services to a wide range of screens.

We couldn't leave without taking a quick snap of the Motorola booth. Might be the last time we see the Moto banner fly at a cable event. Its acquisition by Arris is expected to close by April.