Cable committee discusses plans to add video on-demand, TV Everywhere
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 7 p.m. — Video on demand (VOD) and TV Everywhere are technologies the Bardstown Cable TV system plans to begin building in the near future.
Jeff Miller, left, discusses the repairs for the city’s digger truck after its replacement had been cut from the 2014-15 city budget. The truck repairs were less expensive than first believed, he told the committee.
The Bardstown City Council’s Electric and Cable committee met Tuesday afternoon to discuss laying out the plan to get the project started.
Video on Demand will allow cable subscribers to access the latest movie releases once they have left the theaters and before they arrive at rental stores and kiosks. TV Everywhere will give cable subscribers the freedom to stream their favorite TV programming to their computer, tablet, phone or other device.
The committee looked at Time Warner Cable interface and the variety of programming that TV Everywhere can offer.
Councilman Roland Williams asked how the new offerings would affect cable TV rates.
“It’s an offering that we’re building into the system,” Jeff Mills, city electrical engineer told Williams. There will be no specific additional charges for subscribers, though those who use video on demand and TV Everywhere may incur additional charges depending on what they wish to view, Mills explained.
Mills explained that some networks prohibit cable companies from charging extra for access to their streaming content for services like TV Everywhere.
For individuals who subscribe to premium channels like HBO, they already pay for access to services like HBO Go, the company’s streaming content service. “They expect the smaller cable operators to offer these services,” Public Works Director Larry Hamilton told the committee.
Nahom Ayele, systems engineer Nahom Ayele told the committee in addition to the provider’s lineup of on-demand content, it would be possible to have video on demand for locally produced content, like video of the annual Christmas parade or local sporting events.
The committee agreed to present the full council with a list of projects in the order they need to be completed.
DEMAREE DRIVE/GUTHRIE DRIVE UTILITY UPDATE. Mills told the committee that bids will be opened Wednesday afternoon for the excavation work for a project to move overhead utilities underground in the Demaree Drive and Guthrie Drive neighborhood.
Funding for the project includes $380,000 from FEMA and $40,000 in state money, with the city required to match a percentage. The project will proceed in two phases. The first part is the excavation work, which is complicated by the fact that the digging must work around existing buildings. The second part is the actual relocation of the electrical lines. Mills told the committee he expected much of the electrical work will be performed by city crews.
REMOTE METER READING. The city electric utility’s plans to automate electrical meter reading will soon be put out for bid, according to Chief Financial Officer Mike Abell. Money for the project was included in the 2014-15 approved recently by the city council.
The technology allows remote meter reading using the city’s cable internet infrastructure. A network of data collectors will collect the meter signals and route them to city hall.
The technology will also allow for remote turn-on and shut-off of electric services, Abell explained. These features are aimed at rental properties where utility changes are frequent, and the remote capabilities will eliminate sending utility representatives out to cut power off or on.
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