What do smart phones, tablet computers, PCs, washers, dryers, TVs, content providers, medical devices and even athletic shoes have in common?

Yes, they will all be taking part in the excitement generated during CES 2011, happening this week in Las Vegas.  But what’s more, the most common denominator among the major breakthroughs and hot products is they all need to be connected to be truly useful.

And not just connected, but easy to use and seamlessly integrated with other aspects of our life.  These expectations are part of our DNA with more and more converting to a connected life.  Increasingly, our connected life involves increasing use of video to communicate, connect and engage with our family and friends.

Cisco has long been involved in the video space and announced Cisco Videoscape at a pre-CES conference yesterday.  Cisco Videoscape brings entertainment together from infinite sources of content from pay TV, online and on-demand and combines it with the social media, communications, and mobility to create a truly immersive TV experience. Read More »

Tags: CES, consumer electronics show, Service Provider, tv, videoscape

Observing this incredibly diverse CES crowd in Las Vegas, there is one demographic  notably absent – the obsolete TV set.  As I pondered a few weeks ago, when our industry strives to invent the future of entertainment, we can’t selfishly focus on our own needs as viewers.  We must consider the devices in this ecosystem and remember that TVs are people too, afterall.

With Videoscape, CES is now an event filled with possibility, not only for the Gentry appliances, but for now older TV sets and other devices as well.  We now have the ability to view all devices with mutual respect, where TV’s will be judged by their character and how they work with the network and its clouds and not by their bunny ears or how they on their own can only deliver a small subset of content. Read More »

Tags: CES, Service Provider, tv, videoscape

Today is an exciting day for us at Cisco with the launch of Videoscape.

As our Chairman and CEO, John Chambers, announced in a press conference this afternoon, Cisco Videoscape is both an experience and a solution, purpose-built for delivering and reinventing the next generation of TV experience. Together we will bring , entertainment, social media and communications and mobility together to transform how users engage with video and how providers can prosper.

Right now the consumer video experience is fragmented requiring consumers to go to multiple sources for their content. They are going to their cable or IPTV subscriptions for some content. Or, looking to their DVR and on-demand content for others. At times, they stream online content or do applications from their PC. Even still they must find additional boxes to stream their PC experience to their TV and to others that help sling content from one place to another. And, the list goes on. Some homes are so complex that it seems users need to have CCIE just to hook it all up and make it work; but all of that still doesn’t address the experience where users are having to navigate all of these different silos and devices just to watch what they want to watch or do what they want to do (and, we haven’t even spoken of quality yet). Challenges also exist for service providers as they now must now handle the ever increasing load of traffic while simultaneously losing some traction with the portion of their audience that is considering trimming of the cord. Both dynamics can have a negative effect on their business.

Today’s announcement intends to change all of this for consumers and providers alike. With Videoscape, SPs can do for TV experience (and other screens) what the mobile internet did for the phone.

Let’s look at what Videoscape delivers to the consumer, service provider and media company. Read More »

Tags: clients, cloud, ip, ip video, john chambers, launch, network, Service Provider, video solution, videoscape

As I mentioned in an earlier post on the recent market study of U.S. pay-TV subscriber needs and wants, the segmentation of the video marketplace potentially  brings both new challenges and opportunities for incumbent service providers.

That said, the debate around what to do about the unprecedented growth of the Netflix phenomenon now seems to be a moot point – as incumbent pay-TV service providers openly acknowledge its disruptive impact on the traditional video entertainment industry. And, now they’re proceeding with their plans to execute their long-awaited counter strategy.

Clearly, 2011 could prove to be a pivotal year for testing new business cases, as the marketplace becomes more fluid and is subject to further significant changes that are on the near horizon.

While it’s perfectly understandable that incumbent pay-TV service providers might prefer to bundle a Netflix-like, on-demand IP video service offering with their standard digital cable tier subscriptions, let’s remember that this is but one potential scenario.

Revisiting the results of the Cisco market study, it’s interesting that note that – by far – “the most likely motivation to pay for an online video package…” is a low price point. Call this the “value-based” market segment, if you will – it likely includes some current subscribers and previously lost customers. To win-back these prior subscribers, such as those that are looking at more of an iTunes or Hulu approach to catch up on their TV, an unbundled IP VOD offering by the provider could be very attractive.

Read More »

Tags: ip, ip video, Market Fragmentation, Pay-TV Market, Service Provider, video, Video On Demand, VOD

When you think of the  broadcast video entertainment arena, it seems to have been centered upon the notion that there’s a huge undifferentiated mass-market of consumers who — by and large — all want the same thing.

Incumbent pay-TV service offerings have tended to follow this belief, by delivering a small set of standardized service packages. And for the longest time there’s been no compelling need for traditional service providers to more closely scrutinize the market segmentation variables.

Now though, we’re clearly seeing a shift in the marketplace, that reflects an acknowledgement of the growing market fragmentation. In an on-demand, personalized world  some service providers are already voicing their intent to offer more flexibility in their pay-TV service options and associated pricing.

Granted, a small subset of U.S. pay-TV subscribers have, for a number of different reasons, decided not to wait for their incumbent service provider to introduce more granular or flexible service packages. These people are among the early-adopter cord-cutters that have been equally vocal about their preference for alternative value-based offerings.

We’ve been intrigued by these recent developments, and so we commissioned a market study to learn more about the potential for increased diversity of U.S. pay-TV customer needs and wants. The following are some highlights of what we were able to uncover. Read More »

Tags: Broadcast TV, ip, ip video, Pay TV, Service Provider, video