ITU-T J.481 PDF

Cable television provides a set of multichannel video programmes that can be perceived with equivalent quality as the video channels being broadcast over the air. The signals have been in an RF format for a long time, using hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) or fibre optic cables; but, with the introduction of IP technology, some cable operators have started to carry them in an IP format as well. This migration to IP will continue in the future, but the quality and user experience of cable television should not change.

To continue the operation of cable television in mixed RF and IP environments in the future, this Recommendation defines the requirements and system architecture of cable television secondary distribution networks which carry high quality video signals in both RF and IP formats.