Cisco Unveils New Video Conferencing Technology Today
By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
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Yao Today Helps Cisco Unveil New
Video Conferencing Technology |
The NBA and Cisco Systems Inc. this morning held an int'l video press conference featuring Rockets C Yao Ming, marking the first major sports application of Cisco’s TelePresence video conference technology. The event linked together Houston, N.Y., San Jose, and Beijing, where the video also was shown live on Chinese television. Cisco, already becoming deeply immersed in sports through its ongoing work with the A’s for the forthcoming Cisco Field and several properties for its StadiumVision in-arena dynamic video walls, is using its NBA partnership to showcase the roughly year-old offering. While the HD, lifelike video conferencing is already gaining quick acceptance in the corporate community due to increasing globalization and the soaring cost of business travel, the technology also is being seen as a boon for sports media. To that end, NBA execs intend to begin installing TelePresence systems in league arenas within the next year. TelePresence systems typically cost in the low- to mid-six figures. NBA Entertainment Exec VP/Operations & Technology Steve Hellmuth: “It was immediately clear how advantaged Yao was in this setting compared to a normal remote TV interview. Normally, you have the inner-ear piece and you’re staring at a dark camera, and there’s no real interaction between athlete and interviewer. ... This is video in real time, and more importantly, these are pictures you can really trust, unlike traditional video conferencing systems. You can see every facial expression, every piece of body language. The audio is rich and pure. And as a result, you get more natural responses. This is going to change how these types of interviews are done.” Yao, speaking from Houston as he recovers from a season-ending foot injury, called the system “lifelike, absolutely amazing."
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