
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
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...