Tiered Services Delivery and Control

The means to deliver, control and protect tiered services will be discussed in this paper. As the premium TV component of cable programming continues to grow, it will increase in value. The entertainment fare of today will be supplemented by other cable services. All of these services must be not only protected from theft, but also be directed to specific subscribers. This paper surveys the delivery and control systems commonly used in cable systems today. The paper moves from the simple protective schemes of the past through more stringent security, into addressability. These items are surveyed from the marketing point of view. It is the intent of this paper to indicate those characteristics of cable system control and delivery which provide opportunities for future engineering development.