By John D. Schilling, General Instrument Corporation
The possibilities with baseband CATV terminals are significant, but implementation must be tempered with caution. While the advantages are certainly attractive, implementation is not problem free and before one considers the advantages it is wise to reflect on the fundamental purpose, define the criteria for that purpose and insure that the purpose is met.
The fundamental purpose is acceptable television entertainment. Criteria is that a baseband terminal shall not create an subscriber detectable degradation when compared to a traditional RF terminal.
The above definition may appear vague. The intent is not to demonstrate that a baseband terminal does not create additional degradation. But, the additional degradation is controllable within acceptable limits and is transparent to the subscriber.