IN BRIEF
Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/25/2002
Charter and HDTV
Charter Communications is going high-def. The MSO says it will roll out HDTV to subscribers in seven regions in the second and third quarters of 2002.
They are: Alhambra/Pasadena and Glendale/Burbank, both California; University Park, Texas; South Miami; and Birmingham, Ala.—all in the second quarter.
Kalamazoo, Mich., and Charter's home base, St. Louis, will get the HDTV upgrade in the third quarter.
Charter says it plans to add more markets by the end of the year.
Teranex cuts noise
Teranex will introduce a new noise-reduction system called StarFilm at NAB.
It can be used to remove grain, dirt concealment and noise for both SD and HD material.
It can be used for either NTSC or PAL material and even film-based material in the same system, sharing the same user interface and control system.
Pricing is not yet available on the software-based application.
Siebel intros emedia 7
Customer-relations management (CRM) is an issue for cable operators and satellite providers, but many have relied on homegrown computer systems to help answer customer billing questions and other service issues.
CRM software provider Siebel introduced eMedia 7 last week, a system designed for media marketing, sales and service.
New functionality will allow phone reps to handle more complex orders for services and will also be useful for networks looking to have closer ties to affiliates and cable operators.
Pricing on the system varies depending on the modules selected and the size of the system.
