head end

A head-end station forms the central point in a broadband transmission system, CATV network or other cable distribution network. It is the head-end station.

In broadband networks for in-house communications, the head-end station transforms the forward signals in terms of frequency into the frequency range for the reverse direction - and vice versa. The primary functionality of a head-end station is provided by the so-called translators. They perform the necessary conversion of the signals from the transmit (backward) to the receive (forward) frequency. In addition, the translators can have remodulator properties. In this case, the signals are demodulated, regenerated and modulated onto the new carrier. This procedure suppresses interference to the signals from the return channel and prevents them from reaching the forward channel. The separation between forward and reverse direction is done in the head-end station by means of filtering techniques.

In cable distribution networks, the head-end station handles the distribution and control of the service offering by feeding the injected television and radio progams, video and online services, and all interactive distribution services into the connected distribution network. The headend receives its signals from the satellite receiving facilities, video servers, public telecommunications networks, city networks or local networks, demodulates and encodes them and feeds them into the connected cable distribution network in the form of digital video broadcast, as interactive distribution services or with transport protocol support.