Posted: 28th Sep, 2004 By: MarkJ
UK ISP and Video-on-Demand (TV) provider HomeChoice (Video Networks) has today spoken of its future plans, which among other things, includes a move to faster ADSL2+ broadband technology:
Homechoice is also almost ready to step up its codec to H.264 MPEG 4, from MPEG 2. When we first started in this business it took about 6.5 Mbps to give a picture of a particular picture quality. Currently we are getting that same quality with under 2 Mbps, because the codecs have improved.
We expect the same thing to happen with H.264. Initially it wont give us too much improvement, but it will gradually get better and cut the bandwidth required for the service, he says. Both the use of ADSL2+ and H.264 will mean that Homechoice can extend its reach. ADSL2+ uses a 2.2 megahertz signal which attenuates faster than the 1.1 megahertz ADSL signal, but carries far more data.
The net result is that Homechoice will be able to service people up to 4 kilometers from a public switch at its current speeds, and if it can use less bandwidth it can go even further afield, or more likely offer two tuner services (one to view and one to record) over the same capacity and offer DVR services in its CPE.The Register's article is both lengthy and detailed; we'd strongly recommend that HC customers give it a good scan through.
Bulldog is also another provider looking to introduce ADSL2+ technology on its unbundled (LLU) lines, although details remain speculative.