Cablecasting is a form of television broadcasting that uses a cable to transmit signals to paying subscribers. It differs from broadcasting and webcasting, and is used by digital cable companies like Comcast. Cablecasting can also be used in education, such as at Rutgers University.
The word cablecasting was created in 1973 by combining the word cable, referring to the coaxial cable used for broadcasting, and a shortened form of the word broadcasting. Refers to a cable television broadcast. Cable broadcasting involves television reception that is picked up by a main antenna by stations near or far and then transmitted only to paying subscribers, via a cable.
Cablecasting is distinct from broadcasting and webcasting. The broadcast is a wireless broadcast and may involve satellites. Webcasting is broadcasting over a computer network. Cablecasting, by contrast, is broadcasting over the wire, the cable. While access to broadcast television is determined by the ability to pick up the signal with an antenna, access to cable television is dependent on subscribing to a cable company and paying a monthly fee. Cablecasting can also be tied into Internet cable service offered by a company that acts as an ISP or Internet Service Provider, with one cable doing double duty. In this case, it is likely that you have a digital cable box for television and a modem for high-speed Internet transmission.
Cablecasting is the medium used by digital cable companies such as Comcast to deliver live programs to their customers. Such services usually come in several tiers, including a basic option with fewer channels and more comprehensive options with more channels. Even so-called premium channels, such as HBO, Starz, Cinemax, The Movie Channel and Showtime, are available at an additional cost. It’s also typical to find special sports packages, often with a combination of basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey programs, and entertainment. Other extra features typically include a DVR and “on demand” programming, with some type of fee involved.
Colleges and universities also use cable, not as a means of entertainment, but as a learning tool. At Rutgers University, for example, RU-TV is available for faculty to broadcast authorized material over cable for student viewing. This includes materials from Rutgers Libraries’ media collections and rights to other materials requested by instructors and for which the libraries may secure cable rights. Some materials for which cable rights cannot be secured may be shown face-to-face in the classroom.
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