Rapid prototyping of a CATV network termination for ATM-based video-on-demand services

Present-day technical and commercial factors are raising substantial interest in the utilisation of CATV networks for access to broadband interactive services. A system prototype providing entirely ATM-based video-on-demand services is presented for an existing CATV network, using 64-QAM modulated and DVB-formatted ATM data in downstream and burst-mode FSK-modulated ATM data in upstream. At the network termination side, both the front-end modem and the ATM processing board units are hardware/software co-design examples. The FoRTRESS development and control system, which is also introduced, provides a means of real time embedded control. Plug-on FoRTRESS microprocessor units, that are programmed in Forth, control the modem and the ATM processing FPGAs.