Over the past decade, PECA has been designing and constructing Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) Transmission Medium and Impairment Simulation (TMIS) test systems. PECA's TMIS Systems have been used to test and evaluate digital television and high speed data equipment's susceptibility to impairments, distortions and characteristics that are typical to HFC transmission systems.

PECA's 30 years of cable television experience provides a strong base of valuable knowledge to be applied to PECA's TMIS designs. This experience combined with Agilent Channel Partner relationship makes PECA an ideal source for test and simulation platforms.

PECA's Transmission Medium Impairment Simulators are used to exercise and test innovative digital devices used to provide data and entertainment over Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC), wireless, and terrestrial digital broadcast systems. Types of equipment, which may be exercised using PECA's test platforms, include cable modems, digital television set top boxes, and HDTV consumer electronics. PECA's TMIS are used to test these innovative new devices to optimize product designs so the resultant products are reliable and robust as possible within the HFC transmission environment. Particular attention is given to facilitating the tests called for by open standards. PECA systems have been used extensively for testing equipment designed for the MCNS DOCSIS cable modem standard, and PECA test platforms are used in relation to the US advanced television terrestrial broadcast standards. PECA constructed the test platform for the CableLabs portion of tests during the evaluation of terrestrial broadcast High Definition Television (HDTV) systems.

PECA's TMIS systems have been designed to simulate a typical two-way Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) cable system. Incorporated within the TMIS are the means to introduce calibrated levels of impairments and distortion products present and produced in a typical HFC cable system. PECA's TMIS are designed to introduce multiple signal impairments and distortions.

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PECA's TMIS can be configured to contain RF signal sources such as IF Upconverters and modulators, IF impairment signal sources, measurement instrumentation, HFC distribution equipment and level control and routing hardware. RF Signal sources and measurement instrumentation are specific instruments from Agilent (HP) NoiseCom, Tektronix, etc. HFC distribution equipment has been GI/Jerold, but can be specified by the user. Level Control and Routing hardware is designed and manufactured by PECA.