C-COR is introducing what it claimed is the industry’s first three-input radio-frequency amplifier, to be announced Tuesday at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers’ Conference on Emerging Technologies in Houston.
Called the GAMP3, the device is a 1-gigahertz forward-path RF amplifier with one broadcast and two narrowcast ports. That lets an operator save space and cut cabling complexity by combining broadcast with targeted services like video-on-demand or switched-digital video into one amplifier, said Bill Dawson, vice president of access strategy at C-COR.
“This is the trend of the future -- to have different narrowcast services with different service groups,” he added.
The GAMP3 is a module that sits within C-COR’s Converged Headend Platform Max 5000 transmitter platform. Up to 10 GAMP3 devices can fit into one two-rack-unit-high Max 5000 chassis, which means that as many as 200 of the amplifiers could fit into a standard data-center rack. The CHP management software is used to monitor and control the GAMP3 module.
C-COR said the GAMP3 is currently shipping; pricing information was not available. Dawson said a large operator has deployed GAMP3s, but he declined to name it.
The GAMP3 replaces an older model, the GAMP (Gigahertz Amplifier), which has one broadcast and one narrowcast input.
