By Joe Chow, Vice President and General Manager, Connected Devices Business Unit

Following Cisco’s 2Q FY ’13 earnings call last week, we received questions about our commitment to certain elements of our set-top box business. Comments were made that Cisco is walking away from low-margin deals. I would like to clear up any confusion surrounding those comments here.

Cisco remains committed to providing world-class managed customer premise equipment (CPE), which includes digital set-tops, intelligent media gateways and other devices. CPE is an integral part of Cisco’s end-to-end Videoscape TV services delivery platform. For emerging markets, CPE enables Cisco to offer a complete end-to-end solution for new customers as they launch and grow their digital platforms. For customers with more advanced video platforms and in more advanced video markets, CPE provides a key strategic advantage and opportunity for Cisco. Read More »

Tags: Service Provider, set top box, television, tv, video, videoscape

By Leszek Izdebski, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG)

The past few years have brought sweeping transformation to television—a trend that will only accelerate in the coming decade. Following up on a 2011 study on the future of television, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) recently examined the ways disruptive technology and user behavior trends are impacting TV advertising. We identified four major trends that will transform advertising and the viewer experience.

1. Channels Will Go Away

While we do not believe that all future distribution will be through on-demand unicast technologies, consumers will not think about “channels” as the means of accessing programming. Adoption of video on demand, Intelligent Programming Guides and personal video recorders (PVRs) is shifting viewing from linear broadcasts on a TV screen to a multiscreen, multi-device, multi-modal, on-my-schedule, user-controlled experience. Brands and networks will no longer be able to ensure that ads placed in specific episodes will have sufficient audience reach. This behavioral shift will force advertisers to focus on new forms of addressable advertising: Read More »

Tags: 3D printers, ad buying, advertising, branded entertainment, channels, Cisco, haptics, IBSG, interactive, marketing, multiscreen, on-demand, Personalization, product placement, Service Provider, targeted, television, user involvement, video

The future of television may well include holographic, multisensory experiences worthy of science fiction. But many other visionary predictions are closer to the horizon, if not already upon us. These are creating exciting opportunities, while forcing all players in the television value chain to adapt quickly.

Recently, I met via Cisco^® TelePresence^® with more than 50 journalists from 11 countries—all in Central and Eastern Europe—to discuss the future of television and its impact on these mostly emerging markets. I participated with two of my colleagues: Kate Griffin, from the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) service provider practice; and Guillaume de Saint Marc, from Cisco’s service provider video technology group (SPVTG). The roundtable took place over two days and used a Cisco IBSG study, “The Future of Television: Sweeping Change at Breakneck Speed,” as a springboard for discussions that were lively and free-spirited. Read More »

Tags: advertising, Central Europe, Cisco, cloud, Eastern Europe, Emerging Markets, Fresco, future, IBSG, immersive, interactive, multiscreen, personalized, Service Provider, targeted, television, video, videoscape unity

I am just back from attending the 2013 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas where I was meeting with customers and visiting the massive show floor. CES is an intriguing blend of extremes and contrasts: biggest and the smallest; connected and unconnected; wired and wireless; high tech – low tech.  As personal and business technologies converge through the “consumerization of technology,” CES provides an exciting window into the current and future world of technology.

The following are my personal observations and extrapolations from the show based on my conversations with customers, colleagues and walking the floor.

1.  New Next Generation TV Again – You could be mistaken for thinking that CES is really the TV show.  Televisions are everywhere and every company seems to produce one.  Manufacturers are still selling 3D television, but it has taken a back seat to the next big thing -- bigger and thinner new OLED sets and specular ultra-high definition screens.
2. Connected Home – CE companies continue to try to connect all of our home devices.  But now appliances are getting in on the act.  There were lots of examples of connected refrigerators and washing machines.  Now you can even control how your clothes are washed from the comfort of your couch with your smartphone or even on your TV.
3. Content Sharing and Mirroring – At last, Read More »

Tags: CES, Cisco, consumer electronics, devices, digital, future, IBSG, mobile, Service Provider, television

Today at CES in Las Vegas, Cox Communications took the wraps off of a slate of expansions to second screen TV today, during a private press reception at the Wynn Hotel. Working with Cisco, Cox evolved their video services platform to deliver more personalized video experiences, offering their customers more of what they enjoy.

While Cox customers have been able to watch 90 channels of live, linear TV on an iPad for more than a year now, this new app – powered by Cisco’s Videoscape Unity software and technology – expands the service to iPhones and iPods, adding significant improvements in navigation.

This builds on Cox’s “Trio Program Guide,” which Read More »

Tags: cable operator, cable provider, Cisco, cox communications, mobile app, Service Provider, television, tv, video, videoscape, videoscape unity