CES: Cisco Paints NDS Into 'Videoscape Unity'

Updated platform combines multiscreen video and TV elements from both vendors

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2013 2:19:00 AM

Complete Coverage: CES 2013

Las Vegas -- Cisco Systems said it has integrated the multiscreen-video elements of NDS -- which it acquired for $5 billion last year -- into Videoscape Unity, an expanded version of the video services delivery platform Cisco launched two years ago at CES.

The consolidated Videoscape Unity, announced Monday, includes new preintegrated applications for service providers, including a network digital video recorder that can deliver content over any network to any screen. However, it also remains modular and based on open interfaces, allowing operators to pick and choose the elements they wish to deploy, according to Cisco executives.

"It represents the unification of the user experience for all content," including traditional TV programming as well as over-the-top and even free content, Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's Video and Collaboration Group, said at a press conference here. "The world of television is expanding way beyond the television and way beyond the living room."

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