Cisco Videoscape, Another Name For Media Shifting

  • Posted on: 25 April 2011
  • By: Patrick Oliphant

The time has come when you and I will be able to watch the same television program across all three screens (Television, Mobile and PC) without any break in transmission.  All thanks to Videoscape and its ability to utilize the cloud, the network and our everyday IP-based (internet protocol) devices to deliver new video experiences over the internet to anywhere we are able to access it.

videoscape-tv

At the moment we have to tape a live program, listen to it on the radio or try and catch some of it at another location if we have to leave our home, but all this is about to change as the Cisco Videoscape media and communications platform allows us to shift what we a watching to different screens/devices.

Cisco predicted that by 2014 more than 90 percent of residential internet traffic will be video. This is in addition to the growth in social and collaborative web traffic.  Therefore, Cisco has developed the Videoscape solutions for service providers to help them bring together digital TV, and online content with social media and communications applications to create a new immersive home and mobile entertainment experience.

According to Cisco, service providers using the Videoscape platform to deliver services to their customer will provide easier access to digital content from multiple sources to multiple devices;  There will be more content/entertainment coming through one screen whether at home or on the go, as content is delivered from more sources, including DVR, Web, On-demand TV and broadcast channels; More social and interactive features that integrate popular social networking websites along with video conferencing to allow us to show, share and communicate with friends and family through our TV.

videoscape-laptop

Cisco Videoscape is what we called a media shifting platform, a platform which allows you to start watching something on your home television, say a live sports event and allows you to transfer the viewing of this live event to your laptop or mobile if you need to move away from your television.

Media shifting solutions has been around for sometime, an example is the partnership announced by Virgin Media of the UK and SeaChange. When Microsoft launched Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0 last year they said that delivering the same content to all three screen was the core of the Mediaroom 2.0 upgrade. So does this mean Cisco has nothing new to offer us as consumer and service providers? According Cisco they do have new things to offer and one of them is the simplicity that Videoscape offers the consumer.

The creation of the Videoscape platform is part of Cisco’s video strategy to make the next generation of television simpler for us and transform the market opportunity for service providers.  The platform is combination all our in home communication and entertainment needs into one seamless suite that comprises of: Videoscape Media Suite, Videoscape Software clients, Videoscape IP Set-top box, Videoscape Media Gateway and Cisco Conductor for Videoscape.

Clients Solutions

Unlike other media shifting platform the Videoscape is an end-to-end solution that has Cisco hardware and software for most of the delivery platform and forms part of Cisco’s Medianet architecture. To deliver the Videoscape vision Cisco will have its devices in our homes, the cloud and managing the network.

videoscape-mobile

For the home Cisco plans to delivery Videoscape using three components: the Cisco Videoscape Media Gateway, a device that integrates routing capabilities, voice, online video, DTT (digital terrestrial television), high speed data and mobility; Cisco Videoscape Set-Top Box, these devices features the latest in DVR recordings, online entertainment, on-demand TV, integrated premium programming and DTT and Cisco Videoscape Software Client, the software client will reside on a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles to allow access to the Videoscape platform.

All three components will work together to bring the “Cisco Videoscape cloud into the home, delivering internet and web application as part of a “lean back” TV experience”. The media gateway will act as the gate keeper for all traffic coming in and going out of the home. Cisco plans to use the Cisco TES 301 IP Managed Services Gateway and the Cisco DRG 7000 Series Videoscape Media Gateway devices for this service. The Videoscape set-top box will act to unify our video experience; powered by Videoscape cloud we will be able to all major avenue of content delivery.  The Videoscape software client will be avail able for all major mobile device platform such as Android, iPhone, and iPad.

The Cloud/Data Centre Solutions

Developed on the Cisco Nexus Family switches and Cisco unified computing system, the Videoscape cloud components: Videoscape Media Suite, Cisco Conductor for Videoscape and Cisco Videoscape Migration Portfolio will serve to create a backend that will help to deliver the enhance experience to us the user.

The Cisco Videoscape Media Suite is an intelligent cloud engine and carrier-grade software platform that sits at the core of the Cisco Videoscape solution.  It provides full lifecycle content management to deliver media and communications experiences. Service Providers can efficiently publish, manage and monetize many types of content. Media Suite works with Cisco Conductor orchestrates to deliver that content across almost any screen: TV, PC, tablet, or mobile device.©

souce: cisco

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