The ultimate goal of many cable systems operators is the migration to an IP end-to-end delivery model. However, there are many constraints at the HFC level such as existing analog channel assignments, must-carry regulation, legacy set-top box investment, and interface standardization. Nevertheless, the internal structure of cable systems is evolving rapidly towards a converged IP backbone that carries all content distribution and signaling. Therefore what is needed is an intelligent edge device that can perform format conversion, protocol translation, and content localization so that the IP backbone can be implemented today, with the ultimate goal of extending IP carriage all the way to the home.