Video-on-Demand: Coming To
A MTU Home Theater Near You
Forget about going to the video store for the latest blockbuster film, a virtual video store may soon be as close as your own television set.
by Jim Thompson
[May 18, 2001]
Using a combination of DSL access, streaming video and set-top boxes, Copper Mountain Networks and InfoValue Computing have partnered to enable broadband service providers to bring video-on-demand and high speed ADSL services to Multi Tenant Unit (MTU) buildings.
"By bundling streaming video capabilities with high-speed Internet access, in-building broadband providers can offer a mix of services," said Bob Beliveau, product marketing manager at Copper Mountain Networks, Inc.
New niche
For customers, it's a convenient way of getting the latest films and special event programming along with high-speed Internet access. For programming providers, it offers a secure system for delivering their products to a new audience. For ISPs, it means a new niche market for services and an additional revenue stream.
On the hardware side, the system includes Copper Mountain's CopperEdge 200 and 150 DSL concentrators (DSLAMs) using a full-rate ADSL line card.
"We have a 200-Mbps full-duplex feed over an IP-based network going into the InfoValue server, so there is plenty of bandwidth," noted Beliveau. "Coming out of the DSLAM we have an interface going to the video server along with a number of other interfaces which allow you to connect to the Internet via a T-1 or OC-3. So the customer can surf the Internet while watching a movie, all over the same line."
The DSLAMs can distinguish between real-time video and "best-effort" Internet traffic and then forward it to and from the video server or the Internet as required. This eliminates the need for providers to install a separate router or switch to deal with the video stream.
Less cash upfront
Additionally, broadband Internet traffic can be run on a single permanent virtual circuit through the network backbone and into the point of presence (POP). The result is a significant decrease in the normal cost and the time needed for provisioning, as well as a reduction in the hardware requirement of the backbone.
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the MTU DSL business. The Copper Mountain hardware interoperates with InfoValue's QuickVideo streaming software and third-party ADSL customer premise equipment (CPE). A set-top box provides both video and Internet access to the customers.
The actual movies are stored on video servers, which are normally housed inside the building. Generally, you need approximately 8-Mb to store each second of DVD quality video or about half that—approximately 4.5-gigabytes for a two hour film—for "near broadcast" quality.
New films are added to the mix at regularly scheduled times over the Internet. MPEG-2 streaming video along with other video-coding technologies can be used to deliver pay-per-view VHS or DVD-quality video to customers.
"Our software loads onto off-the-shelf hardware to deliver video-on-demand or streaming video," said Thomas Eng, manager of business development at InfoValue. "Because you don't need a specially built super computer, maintenance is low and there's a larger selection of additional components, like encoders and decoders, available."
The InfoValue server software, which is supported by Windows NT, Windows 2000, Linux and HP-UX, provides significant system performance. In a benchmarking test, conducted by InfoValue, they delivered 950-Mbps of simultaneous video from a single Intel server.
Edge effect
InfoValue also offers the capability of content distribution. "A user can pull content from edge networks," noted Eng. "If someone requests a video that is not stored locally or is not on an available edge network, the network server can pull it from a central repository or a peer network. It's then delivered to the local area network and streamed when it's available."
The result is a much larger title list available to the customer and a greater potential revenue stream for the provider.
"The solution allows an ISP to leverage the copper wire infrastructure in a hotel, apartment building or even a cruise ship to provide video and Internet access at a relatively low cost," said Eng.
"Consumer interest in video-on-demand is high, and the MDU market is ripe for broadband service deployment," said Erik Keith at Current Analysis. "The Copper Mountain/InfoValue solution for video-on-demand over MTUs installed copper phone lines enables providers to quickly deploy this highly appealing service and bundle it with high-speed Internet access to offer a very compelling value proposition for prospective subscribers."
The system is tentatively scheduled to be tested in a real-world environment this summer in the Washington, D.C. area.
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