CATV Hardware Trends

The cable television industry is presently in a state of considerable flux concernlng appropriate technology for implementing subscriber control. The issue of subscriber friendliness has received considerable attention recently as a result of the popularity of VCRs and second TV sets. In the past the CATV and TV receiver industries have been only marginally compatible. This report is an attempt to record what the CATV intustry is doing today and what it may do tomorrow, which could affect the TV, VCR and other equipment owned by the subscriber. We'll summarize the technologies we see as important, indicating how they affect the TIV, VCR and other consumer equipment comnected to the cable.