Cisco forays into wireless video

By siliconindia   |   Saturday, 23 January 2010, 01:22 IST   |    2 Comments
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Bangalore: Cisco has unveiled its new technology called VideoStream, which will make Cisco's wireless local area network (WLAN) solutions media-ready and enable high-definition video to be scaled through Wi-Fi networks. This technology will include features that would provide better resource control, support for scalable multicasting and prioritization of different types of video stream, which will allow users to define what videos should have reserved resources across the networks. Cisco's media-ready WLAN strategy is based on three main pillars: bandwidth, scale and quality. The new VideoStream technology will ensure Wi-Fi networks are scalable and will provide quality of service to support end-to-end high-definition video. Meanwhile, its 802.11n solution is well timed as it provides the higher bandwidth required. "The announcement is part of comprehensive collaboration strategy to help Cisco to enable new possibilities for enterprises and create increasing demand for bandwidth-hungry collaboration services," said Chris Kozup, Cisco's Senior Manager of Mobility Solutions Marketing. Cisco also announced that Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), a privately endowed university in Rochester, N.Y., will use new media-ready WLAN capabilities as part of its Cisco Unified Wireless Network to deliver learning applications to its students. "With the wireless network, RIT will bring a set of new applications to students and faculty, including mobile, closed-captioned video for its deaf and hard-of-hearing students," said Kozup. The announcement is part of a comprehensive collaboration strategy to help Cisco to enable new possibilities for enterprises and create increasing demand for bandwidth-hungry collaboration services. Cisco expects most of the initial applications to provide premise-based mobility rather than supporting users on the move. The 802.11n standard requires more power than the 802.11g. This, combined with the high processing capacity required for HD video, will increase the strain on the batteries of dual-mode smartphones, which are already struggling to cope with existing Wi-Fi requirements. As a result, most early applications will be based on laptops, cordless desk phones and video signage, rather than on handsets.