|
While new Video on Demand service providers are banging their drums loudly to attract customers, it is the relatively tried and true brands that are landing the VOD rollout deals.
That's because a big selling point for network operators is proof of performance, as opposed to fancy promises.
Such was the case with Enron Broadband Services, the broadband network subsidiary of energy utility Enron Corp. After announcing a deal earlier this year with video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. to create a video on demand service aimed at the Digital Subscriber Line market, Enron found no shortage of potential VOD providers angling to land the contract, according to April Hodgson, Enron's vice president of media services.
But not all players were the same. Experience and scalability were two critical factors, and Enron eventually chose long-time player nCUBE Corp.
The fact nCUBE was involved in nearly 80 percent of the VOD trials to date was a compelling lure, Hodgson says. Then there was the ability of nCUBE servers to dish out 335 simultaneous streams each at 1.5 megabits per second per stream.
"We've obviously got to have the ability to scale with this network, and that's one thing nCUBE excelled at compared to other providers," she says.
Creating a DSL-based product also culled the herd of potential providers. Enron opted for DSL in part because of the guaranteed bandwidth and the future reach the technology will have using twisted-copper, but that meant many cable-centric vendors were out.
"It comes back to the idea of level of quality we wanted to deliver," Hodgson says. "Not everyone can provide the level we need."
Similarly, AT&T Broadband turned to longtime player Diva Corp. to power its VOD service rollout in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. That continues the relationship forged between Diva and cabler MediaOne Group Inc., which AT&T Broadband acquired.
And Cox Communication Inc. chose Concurrent Computer Corp. for its first commercial VOD rollout in San Diego because of what engineers saw in its VOD deployment for Oceanic Cable, Time Warner Cable's Hawaii system.
"Other guys simply weren't at that level," says John Hildebrand, Cox's vie president of multimedia technology. "That takes a lot of risk out of it-that you can see it up and running and in deployment today."
He points out another factor is size. With space in cable headends at a premium, only premium services will find a home. A supercomputer VOD system able to serve up thousands of streams may not land the contract if its server is the size of a VW bus. Hildebrand said that was a prime factor in choosing Concurrent's server system, which is about 18 inches tall and can be stacked in a standard 7-foot rack when more server capacity is needed.
With the VOD market poised to take off after several fits and starts, is it likely startups just entering with no proof of deployment will have an easy sell among major MSOs?
Given the investment and effort needed to create a VOD system, "not from guys like me," Hildebrand asserts.
|
