Cisco's 'Videoscape' Aims to Transform TV Experience

Cisco’s John Chamber outlined a new “Videoscape” portfolio of five major product families aimed at “transforming the TV experience.” The goal is to work with Service Providers to allow any device over any network to access any content to which they are entitled. Cisco Videoscape would enable service providers to monetize activities outside their own network or traditional device footprints.

In the living room,”Videoscape” provides an integrated architecture that pulls together Cisco a set-top box, residential media gateway and Umi telepresence system. Premium content and open web content are delivered through a service provider customized interface. Videoscape software clients, which can run on Apple and Android device, enable the same premium and Internet content on mobile devices. On the service provider side, a Videoscape Media Suite delivers content management capabilities for publishing across multiple screens. A Cisco Conductor for Videoscape orchestrates various services and subscriber-management functions across the cloud, the network and client devices.

Chambers also noted that for full-effect, Videoscape must be delivered with a network architecture capable of supporting the services.

A key facet of Videoscape is about delivering a consistent interface across multiple devices, while providing a universal guide and search capabilities across all content sources. This requires building capabilities into the service provider’s video back-office using APIs extending across content management systems and virtualized storage. The capabilities would be social network-aware and open to advertising opportunities.

Telstra is a lead customer.
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