Cisco’s Videoscape TV platform has been selected by NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, to provide multi-screen delivery services for the streaming of live and cloud-enabled on-demand content for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, February 6-23. Videoscape will support transcoding and content management using Cisco hardware and cloud-based software solutions. This marks the eighth time NBC has collaborated with Cisco on Olympics coverage. Continue reading NBC Joins Forces with Cisco for Winter Olympics Streaming

Thought leaders are looking beyond smartphones in anticipation of smart cities and smart nations. The Internet of Things — or what Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers refers to as the Internet of Everything (IoE) — presents a $19 trillion revenue opportunity. “Think of the change the Internet brought into our lives, and imagine that 5- to 10-fold over the next decade,” Chambers shared in a Tuesday keynote address at the Venetian during CES. Continue reading Cisco CEO John Chambers Heralds Trillion Dollar IoE Boom

Cisco forecasts that by 2016 all forms of video (TV, VoD, Internet, and P2P) will account for some 86 percent of global consumer traffic. So how are they addressing such a future? At CES, the company presented its vision for the “Future of Television” by showcasing its newest version of Cisco Videoscape Unity, a hardware/software platform for video service providers (and we have video). Continue reading CES 2013: Cisco Intros New Take on Videoscape Unity (VIDEO)

The two-day OTTcon (Over-the-Top TV and Video) conference took place the first week of March in San Jose, CA. In his opening keynote entitled “What Will Television Look Like in 20 Years?”, Scott Puopolo (VP Global Service Provider Practice for Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group) offered his company’s predictions on the immersive and collaborative future of TV.

Cisco interviewed 50 television experts with a focus on technology, consumer behavior, and business models to analyze the medium’s direction. Puopolo’s blog on the Cisco site offers an insightful overview of the results, including an interesting video and the implications for Cisco Videoscape. Highlights include:

Sensory Technology: “Sensory technology will enable new creative tools for producers and new experiences for consumers. So we’ll not only see Rachael Ray’s brownies — we’ll smell them, and eventually taste them, too.”

Multipurpose Screens: “Instead of buying TV sets per se, viewers will buy multipurpose screens. A screen in a bedroom could display your favorite painting or change into a teleconference monitor when you’re not watching TV.”

Interactive Collaboration: “Viewers will break the confines of the TV episode and interact with their favorite characters in everyday life. They could, for instance, collaborate with other fans to help key characters solve a crime or mystery.”

Gestural Interfaces: “Consumers will use words, gestures, and devices such as smartphones and iPads to control their TVs. You might raise the volume or choose a different show with a simple flick of your wrist.”