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Cisco MediaNet for IP Video Surveillance Examined
by Antony Look, posted on Nov 15, 2010Now more than 4 years from Cisco's first foray into the video surveillance market, the industry waits for Cisco's big move or key advantage to be revealed (beyond their obvious channel strength). Indeed, many of their surveillance offerings have been re-brands or 'me-too' offerings (see Cisco-Pelco and Cisco PSIM/Analytic sources).
At ASIS 2010, an announcement that received little recognition has the potential to have a significant impact. Cisco announced that its IP Surveillance Cameras would start shipping with their MediaNet video optimization offering built in. Cisco markets MediaNet as a solution to the demanding requirements of running various applications over a single IP network including data, telephony and video (such as surveillance).
We think this is interesting because (1) it leverages a clear technological advantage that Cisco has over IP video surveillance providers - IP networking and (2) it addresses a core need - running IP cameras over the IT network.
Inside the Pro section, we dig into MediaNet, examining its capabilities, strength and weaknesses.
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