The Spring Technical Forum Technical Proceedings are like the treasure map everybody’s after in any self-respecting pirate movie: full of reference value, and very possibly the key to a major discovery. This is the published resource, after all, that offered some of the first glimpses of game-changing cable technologies including satellite delivery of video signals and HFC architecture, well before they became everyday features of the modern cable industry.
Similarly, last year’s Proceedings delivered fresh insights about current (and soon-to-be) technology and engineering initiatives including cloud-stored media access over cable networks and Social TV – areas that are now attracting keen interest from developers, technology vendors and investors.
So what’s in store for the 2012 edition of the Proceedings? We’re not entirely sure yet – the deadline for submissions extends until Jan. 6, 2012 – but a fair guess suggests we’ll see breakthrough thinking around emerging-tech subjects including cable Wi-Fi networks, Ethernet over cable, encoding/transcoding, IP video (and lots of it), plus an interesting new focus around energy management of home devices. A recent NCTA press release around the Spring Technical Forum offers a more exhaustive list, including:
- Wide-area Distribution Technologies
- Mobile Video/Applications
- Optical and RF Engineering
- IP Transport/IPv6
- BSS/OSS/ISP Operations
- New Encoding Protocols
- Engineering Economics
- IP Video
- Energy Management
- Cloud Processing
- Ethernet over Cable and other Business Services
- Advanced Advertising/Interactive Services
- Wireless Services
- Enhanced Navigation/Search/Discovery/Share
- Social TV
- Network Safety and Security
- Cable Application Frameworks
Of course, it’s also possible the Proceedings peer-review team, led by GCI Cable’s Chief Technology Officer and Forum Selection Committee Chairman Dan Pike, will uncover something entirely original from the abstract submissions that nobody even contemplated. That’s the beauty and the appeal of the Spring Technical Forum Proceedings, which are the successor to the NCTA Technical Papers. For more than 50 years, they’ve been presenting leading ideas in cable science and technology, in many cases, well before their time. Here’s looking forward to a few more surprises in store for 2012. And if you happen to have a great idea for a breakthrough presentation, here’s the place to tell the world (or at least the review committee) about it. Remember, abstracts are due by Jan. 6. Good luck!