NAB Reflections: Cisco's Roger Sherwood Addresses the Future of IP for Media and How It Impacts Sports Production Sports will likely be a late convert in a long-term transition By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 - 12:38 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Two years ago, at NAB 2016, Cisco introduced its Media Blueprint, which essentially serves as a roadmap to grow the use of IP networking and cloud infrastructure throughout the broadcast ecosystem. Now in its third year touting it in Vegas, Cisco introduced several new solutions and programs to the Cisco Media Blueprint. In addition to announcing plans to launch IP Broadcast Training programs midyear, the company introduced its CloudCenter platform to the M&E space to help automate hybrid-cloud environments and also launched its AppDynamics platform for application-performance management.
During NAB 2018, SVG sat down with Roger Sherwood, global industry director, media and entertainment, to discuss how the market has reacted to the Cisco Media Blueprint, the latest solutions being showcased at NAB 2018, what media organizations he sees as ahead of the curve on IP, and when he expects all-IP facilities to become the norm.
Cisco's Roger Sherwood sees the benefits of IP for sports chiefly in at-home production.
How has the Cisco Media Blueprint evolved since you unveiled it, and what has the market reaction been?
[Our] big theme this year at NAB is what we're calling the industrialization of media. We started down this track three NABs ago with the Media Blueprint. Year 1 was about planting the flag and [persuading] the industry to trust us and that we are here for the long term. Year 2 was about getting traction with the early customers and proving it is real. This year is about showing how Cisco can be seen as a trusted partner as the technology transition takes place and the vendors consolidate. We're not inventing anything new here, other than bringing more of the Cisco machine to the vertical. It's more about bringing more products and more customers into the equation and growing the ecosystem.
And what are some examples of how you are taking that next step at NAB 2018?
We've launched training programs for IP and for our IP Fabric solution. The first of those is really a foundational course, where you come into our interoperability labs and get trained on the IP. You are trained on a Cisco switch, but you could then deploy Arista or Juniper in a broadcast facility. It's agnostic. It's our way of just helping move the industry forward. If we want to sell these solutions to [media] customers, we understand that we have to help educate them.
This is not to go up against any of the standards bodies' interops that are happening at very technical levels. It's more of a place for customers and Cisco and other partners to test and validate these workflows. Our CTO Dave Ward leads that [lab], and his philosophy is, Let's bring in Vizrt, ChyronHego, Grass Valley, and [other vendors] and try some cool stuff and maybe something will latch on. And that's really what this year is about.
What specific solutions are you highlighting at the show?
AppDynamics has a big presence. Network-management systems of the past were very much focused on getting information from all these network elements and then trying to figure out the root cause of what was happening in a network. App Dynamics does it from the application itself. If you start with any application, databases, web servers, kinds of things drive that application. App Dynamics basically gives you a picture into the specific piece that's failing in an application.
CloudCenter is our orchestrator across multi-cloud [environments]. We're showing that with SwiftStack object storage in a Vizrt application and how you can provision that on your [on-premises infrastructure] behind your firewall and set up another instance in Google Cloud and have them talk to each other, provide failover. And [you can] automate all of that.
The last thing we have here is what we're calling Ask the Expert. [A demonstration] at the booth shows how we take our collaboration equipment outside of traditional meeting rooms. [NBC Olympics VP, Information Technology,] Dan Robertson had these in PyeongChang and [at the NBC Sports Broadcast Center in] Stamford, CT. People were walking up to these [collaboration displays] and having conversations about what was going on to bring those organizations together.
All of these things are now part of the Media Blueprint, and we're very excited to continue to expand upon that.
Now that IP infrastructure is making its way into real-world media use cases, what are some of the abilities it offers?
The big one is [at-home] production, and Dan has talked about that a lot. That's the leading use case. Customers are asking, How do I reduce my personnel load at remote sites? How do I just strip that down to the bare basics so I've potentially got just a few cameramen plugged into a small rack and then backhaul everything back to Connecticut, in the case of [NBC Sports]. We're seeing that model replicated in Europe and in North America. That's really where we're seeing these technologies come together first.
Which organization or facility is leading the way in terms of the IP transition?
I think the BBC is being held up as the first real litmus test. Essentially, they don't want a single SDI port in the new Cardiff broadcast center. But I think everybody else is in a transition. We're working with a large broadcaster here, and the first one of its affiliates will go live in a few weeks. There's a plan to convert all the others, but it's a long-term plan; it's not going to happen overnight.
When do you expect the majority of broadcast facilities t
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
NAB Reflections: Cisco's Roger Sherwood Addresses the Future of IP for Media and How It Impacts Sports Production Sports will likely be a late convert in a long-term transition By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
