The pedestal is a small enclosure where coax lines from multiple houses come together and are fed from a single line from the cable company. They usually don't have powered electronics in them but could. That would be a node, a powered piece of equipment that converts the cable company's fiber optics to coax. You'd only have a pedestal if your service is underground. If it's aerial, you'll just be fed off the nearest pole.

Usually they are about two feet tall, green plastic boxes on the ground by the road somewhere. There's usually one every 3-5 houses. Here are some photos: https://www.google.com/search?q=cabl...w=1439&bih=858