SCTE Standards

Jerry Parkins

Comcast Communications

SCTE Engineering Committee

About

SCTE Standards

Helping define Cable for over 15 years!

• Engineering Committee manages Standards Activities• Comprised of 12 appointed members representing Cable

Companies, Vendors, and Content Providers• SCTE Standards Staff of 3

• Steve Oksala, Tom Russell, and Rebecca Quartapella• Facilitate Standards efforts and compliance, with the daunting challenge of

keeping the members all on task

– First initiated in 1980’s, and was accredited by ANSI (American

National Standards Institute) in 1995 gaining International Recognition

Standards Community

165 Companies and Organizations

• Membership is separate from individual SCTE membership• Members reflect a wide array of interests

• From the expected: Time Warner, Arris & Motorola• To the less obvious: Sony, Google & RealD

• It’s these member companies that do the work• Initiating the effort, and dedicating experts to create it

• Either a new standard or recommended practice• Updating older standards to reflect modern use

• Over 230 Standards exist, and are Internationally recognized via ANSI

Continuing to Grow

Constantly growing and responding to new technology & innovation

With over 100 Active Projects, the key is to divide and conquer

Importance of Industry Standards

Standards assure predictable results & save cost

• Interoperability makes new services possible • SCTE 130, Digital Program Insertion - Advertising Systems Interfaces

• SCTE ??, 3DTV Standards are still in progress

• Commoditization of equipment specs lowers costs • SCTE 02, Specification for "F" Port, Female, Outdoor

• Regulatory Influence• SCTE 40, Digital Cable Network Interface Standard (FCC Regs 47)

• SCTE 77, Specification for Underground Enclosure Integrity (state regulation)

• Provide critical information to Cable employees• TS 29, Broadband Compliance Guidelines for the NEC

• TS 30, Recommended Practices for Measurements on Cable Telecommunications Systems

How it works Step-by-Step

1. Any of the Member Companies creates a “PAR” for work

2. The Engineering Committee will:1. Review the scope of the work and verify it’s an industry need

2. Once voted upon, the EC will assign the work to one of six subcommittees, or form an ad-hoc group

3. A chairman is named to manage the drafting group’s progressMember companies that have a vested interest in the effort will commit to

supporting the work and join the group

4. Once the drafting group has come to agreement on the draft Standard, it is voted upon by all member companies

5. Votes are tallied, and comments are resolved

6. Final version is sent back to the EC for final approval

Industry PartnersClose links with NCTA and CableLabs provides

SCTE Standards with comprehensive Industry expertise

Active in half of all SCTE Standards activities, and many Standards started as a CableLabs spec.

Active in SCTE Standards, and provides guidance on Regulatory impacts to technology

How your Chapter can help

SCTE Standards • Driven by the membership for the benefit of the Industry

Your Company is probably already a member of SCTE Standards If not, please consider joining

Do you, or someone in your Chapter, have an idea for a Recommended Practice that would help you do your job better, as well as support the industry as a whole?

The Engineering Committee is always open to new ideas for Standards & RPs that benefit the industry

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- Thank You -

Questions?