LOUISVILLE, Colo. – CableLabs announced today that it has released a family of specifications that defines a common set of interfaces for converged video and broadband services in a modular cable network headend.
The Modular Headend Architecture (MHA) specifications include the existing DOCSIS Modular CMTS specifications as well as a series of new specifications that define interfaces for narrowcast MPEG digital video services such as video-on-demand (VOD) and switched-digital-video (SDV).
The new digital video specifications result from an effort involving headend equipment manufacturers and cable operators. The specifications provide “a point of harmonization” between the Time Warner Cable-led Interactive Services Architecture (ISA) and the Comcast-led Next Generation on Demand (NGOD) architecture, which are used throughout the industry, said the company’s press release.
Cable operators, organizations, and vendor companies contributing to these specifications include: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Cable Europe Labs, ETRI, ARRIS, BigBand Networks, Broadcom, Camiant, Cisco Systems, Harmonic, LiquidxStream Systems, Motorola, RGB Networks, and Vecima Networks.
