Sat TV hopes to ride PrediWave
'Brother' keeper says success was surprise
May 31, 2002
A system that's being used to deliver interactive educational programming via satellite to rural areas of China is coming to Hollywood, where it's intended to encourage a speedier rollout of video-on-demand.
PrediWave, a Fremont, Calif.-based company, says field trials in China show its Digital Broadcast Delivery System to be a cost-effective solution for delivering VOD by way of digital direct broadcast satellite networks to an unlimited number of customers simultaneously.
To do that, a large amount of bandwidth is required, though less bandwidth than typical systems that serve mass audiences. That's because the PrediWave system, as it would be adopted in Hollywood, would require a server port and an increment of bandwidth per movie as opposed to per customer, making it highly scalable.
The complicated algorithm technique, explains senior advisor of business development Tom Elliot, breaks digital content into a number of consecutive packets that are arranged for transmission in a way that allows any receiver to get the next packet before the current packets stored in the buffer are depleted.
All of the controls that allow a consumer to start, pause and rewind a movie ordered on-demand reside in a set-top box that also functions as a personal video recorder. Therefore, Elliot said, "It works fine in a one-way environment like satellite."
This bundle of technology means customers can experience VOD via satellite just as they can via cable, a goal several companies are striving for. Cable, of course, has taken the lead in VOD, whereas most analysts agree satellite is leading the charge in PVR. PrediWave's system, though, could be the VOD equalizer the satellite industry needs.
"In theory, if someone has technology that can expand satellite VOD from three movies to 100 overnight, that's real interesting," said Phillip Swann, president and publisher of TVPredictions.com, an online publication that analyzes the iTV space. "You'll see more companies like this popping up."
The PrediWave system consisting of head-end servers and individual set-top boxes can be expanded to allow for other iTV programming besides VOD and PVR. It can also be used for streaming media, games and high-speed Internet access.
Though PrediWave hopes to help get direct broadcast satellite deeper into the VOD game, it also intends on selling its wares to cable operators. Cablers, for example, might consider a hybrid VOD system that uses PrediWave technology for the more popular titles while leaving library titles to be serviced by whatever system individual companies might already have in place. Each PrediWave server transmits two movies to an unlimited audience.
PrediWave's cable technology already serves thousands of customers in China by way of trials with Beijing Cable Co. and Southeast Cable Network, the latter of which will deploy at least 200,000 PrediWave set-top boxes by the end of the year.
Discussions are progressing with domestic cable and DBS companies that could bring the PrediWave system to consumers by year's end, Elliot said, while declining to offer further details.
PrediWave, a Fremont, Calif.-based company, says field trials in China show its Digital Broadcast Delivery System to be a cost-effective solution for delivering VOD by way of digital direct broadcast satellite networks to an unlimited number of customers simultaneously.
To do that, a large amount of bandwidth is required, though less bandwidth than typical systems that serve mass audiences. That's because the PrediWave system, as it would be adopted in Hollywood, would require a server port and an increment of bandwidth per movie as opposed to per customer, making it highly scalable.
The complicated algorithm technique, explains senior advisor of business development Tom Elliot, breaks digital content into a number of consecutive packets that are arranged for transmission in a way that allows any receiver to get the next packet before the current packets stored in the buffer are depleted.
All of the controls that allow a consumer to start, pause and rewind a movie ordered on-demand reside in a set-top box that also functions as a personal video recorder. Therefore, Elliot said, "It works fine in a one-way environment like satellite."
This bundle of technology means customers can experience VOD via satellite just as they can via cable, a goal several companies are striving for. Cable, of course, has taken the lead in VOD, whereas most analysts agree satellite is leading the charge in PVR. PrediWave's system, though, could be the VOD equalizer the satellite industry needs.
"In theory, if someone has technology that can expand satellite VOD from three movies to 100 overnight, that's real interesting," said Phillip Swann, president and publisher of TVPredictions.com, an online publication that analyzes the iTV space. "You'll see more companies like this popping up."
The PrediWave system consisting of head-end servers and individual set-top boxes can be expanded to allow for other iTV programming besides VOD and PVR. It can also be used for streaming media, games and high-speed Internet access.
Though PrediWave hopes to help get direct broadcast satellite deeper into the VOD game, it also intends on selling its wares to cable operators. Cablers, for example, might consider a hybrid VOD system that uses PrediWave technology for the more popular titles while leaving library titles to be serviced by whatever system individual companies might already have in place. Each PrediWave server transmits two movies to an unlimited audience.
PrediWave's cable technology already serves thousands of customers in China by way of trials with Beijing Cable Co. and Southeast Cable Network, the latter of which will deploy at least 200,000 PrediWave set-top boxes by the end of the year.
Discussions are progressing with domestic cable and DBS companies that could bring the PrediWave system to consumers by year's end, Elliot said, while declining to offer further details.
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