London, UK, September 4, 2000 - Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced the appointment of TANDBERG Television as the first compression company to become an official re-seller and systems integrator of networking products to the broadcast sector. The move will enable the introduction of new revenue generating interactive services to cable homes and satisfies a growing need among cable and other operators to be able to offer data-related services such as high-speed web access, digital video and voice over Internet protocol (IP).
Phil Sorsky, Director of Cable Operations, Cisco EMEA said: "Interactivity is critical to growth in cable and enables broadcasters and operators to introduce new revenue generating services such as video on demand, home shopping, gaming, Internet access and e-mail. TANDBERG Television's long proven experience in complex broadcast system design and integration is key to bringing Cisco solutions into the broadcast market. They have the experience to sell, integrate and support our products correctly - and they fully understand the needs of broadcasters and cable operators."
Carl Furgusson, Head of Segment Business Management Group at TANDBERG Television added: "This agreement brings together Cisco's IP return path expertise and our own broadcast transmission skills to deliver a significant advancement for the digital TV and IP world, at a time when these two industries are converging. Our combined product ranges provide a complete interactive broadcast solution for cable television."
Under the agreement, Cisco products will be deployed alongside TANDBERG Television's portfolio of evolution 5000 MPEG compression, modulation, and multiplexing systems, as well as super head-end and broadcast management solutions. These Cisco product categories include uBR7246 Universal Broadband Routers, INA2320 Interactive Network Adapters, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) CAR100 series Cable Access Routers and Cisco 6920 RateMUX re-multiplexing systems.
The Cisco uBR7246 combines the functionality of the industry leading Cisco 7200 router and a head-end cable modem in one integrated platform. It provides cable operators with a cost-effective, scalable, and feature-rich interface between subscriber cable modems and the backbone data network. The modular architecture of the uBR7246 maximises cable operators' investment by enabling them to support multiple network services in one platform and avoid head-end product obsolescence as subscriber modem products and technologies evolve.
Cisco's INA2320 Interactive Network Adapter and DVB CAR100 Series Cable Access Router provide a single system comprising cable modem and a head-end for cable operators implementing a DVB/DAVIC (Digital Video Broadcast/Digital Audio Visual Council) strategy. These components, together with the Cisco uBR7200 Series Universal Broadband Router, can form a single system or function as individual components inter-operating with other DVB/DAVIC standards-based equipment.
Lastly, the Cisco 6920 RateMUX is a statistical re-multiplexing system designed to assist cable operators in maximising the bandwidth efficiency and distribution of digital video. It allows operators to manipulate separate channels multiplexed at different rates within a video stream. With the Cisco 6920 RateMUX, cable operators can enable New World video services such as digital television, video on demand (VoD), near-video on demand (NVoD), and digital advertisement insertion.
