Saturday, January 31, 2009

WHAT IS THE HEAD END






Hi All,
There has been several mentions of the term "Head-End" in the BLOG.
What exactly does this term mean and how is it related to our CV Cable service.
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Simple really,
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above you will see two pictures; the one on the upper right is a typical array of Satellite Antennae which are pointed at various satellites in orbit over the Equator.
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These parabolic dishes are typically up to 7 meters in diameter but in special applications can be 30 meters in diameter (97.5 feet).
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The Satellites receive uplinked TV and Data transmissions from various Content providers and Internet Service Providers (ISP) and then downlink (transpond) these signals to the Antennae.
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From the Antennae the signals are sent over Fiber Optic or Coaxial cable to the equipment pictured at the upper left.
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This equipment consists of Receivers, Demodulators, Decoders, Demultiplexers, Routers...Etc. which are responsible for putting the signals on various Fiber Optic and Coaxial lines to our TV screens and Computers and Telephones if you subscribe to Internet Telephony.
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Taken together, these Antennae and Equipments constitute the Head-End.
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Dave Israel
Cable Chair

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