Cisco to touch set-top box CES show cloud DVR features

Cisco adds new features to the video software platform offered by TV service providers. Cisco's new features unveiled at CES allow cable operators and other TV service providers to provide digital video video (DVR) via cloud services.

The new DVR feature based on Cloud is part of Cisco's Videoscape Unity upgrade function. The new software packages and services Cisco sells to cable operators and other TV service providers are designed to provide new features for pay-TV subscribers.

One of the key new features is the steering DVR,DVR is a set-top box that can record movies and TV dramas from cloud services to devices in the user's home. Video-paying users, whether at home or not, are able to record programs via internet equipment and watch recorded shows with any internet device, where they can replay the program, watch the missed show, and play back the DVR anytime, anywhere, from any device.

Cisco executives demonstrated this new feature at the CES show using the HTC Droid DNA smartphone. The phone's video sharpness is 1080p, and during the demo, Cisco videoscape Snowflake user interface is exactly the same as the user interface on the TV screen on the phone. Cisco then demonstrated how to use the user interface, which allows users to access cloud-based DVR videos on smartphones and watch them on their phones.

The Videoscape Unity function also expands the concept of "ubiquitous television" (TV Everywhere), allowing users to watch live and on-demand video on any Internet device, regardless of where the audience is located. Cisco also adds connected video Gateway, which is designed to distribute videos to any Internet device in the home as a single entertainment center.

Over the past year, Cisco has shifted its strategy to focus on its software business. Cisco created the Videoscape Unity platform by consolidating existing videoscape and the technology and assets acquired last year by acquiring video software and security provider NDS. The new platform consists of software and hardware that provides cloud services, network services, and client solutions.

Cloud DVR Service is significant

The most striking highlight of Videoscape unity is the cloud-based DVR service, which provides greater flexibility for users to watch and record programs, and provides users with greater storage capacity. The service enhances the number of recorded programs and lays the groundwork for cable operators to provide efficient, low-cost services.

But cloud-based DVR services are also controversial. Cablevision, a cable operator, was sued by the television and film industry in 2007 when it launched the "Networked DVR" service. Cablevision, who won the U.S. appeals court in 2008, is already offering users the right to record and store content in the cloud, replacing a stand-alone box in the home.

Even if Cablevision wins court support, the digital copyright of video content remains a more complex issue. Some film and television networks do not want cable operators to provide services that allow users to distribute content on portable devices outside the home. While the Cisco Videoscape Unity platform is designed to allow users to access more devices anywhere, it also depends on cable companies and other TV service providers.

For example, Cox communications plans to use the Cisco Videoscape Unity platform, but does not disclose whether its services include cloud-based DVR capabilities.

In announcing its Videoscape Unity platform, Cisco invited client representatives, including Cox, BSkyB, Liberty Global, Fox TV and MLB.com, to discuss the future direction of television.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)