Cisco launches enterprise TV

Cisco has introducing a new hardware digital media player, the 4400G, along with Enterprise TV, which allows firms to use their IP network to broadcast live TV channels and deliver on-demand video to digital displays.

DMS version 5.0 adds Adobe Flash 9 support to Cisco's Digital Signage system, along with scrolling 'tickers' and emergency digital sign notifications. It also provides new features for Cisco's desktop video system, including new content-level viewing security options, better usage reporting and the facility to embed video content into web pages and other applications.

"We're looking at these different video types, like live streamed, pre-recorded content, and channel TV, to see how we can deal with them in a more de-siloed, architectural way," said Cisco's European DMS market manager Koen Jacobs.

The 4400G DMP also supports MPEG4 and H264 codecs and has an infra-red remote control for controlling the different channels Enterprise TV can display. The DMP sits on the network and connects to LCD screens, acting Jacobs said, "as a set top box for digital media."

Cisco said it expects the market for enterprise content delivered this way to be between $2-4 billion.

Cisco also announced new modules for its Integrated Services Router (ISR) which would allow firms to integrate video surveillance capabilities into network infrastructure for branch offices and other enterprise sites.

Cisco said the system will also work with legacy equipment allowing an easier transition to IP-based systems.

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