To set-top, or not to set-top? 

Is that the question? Because Infinite Video Platform is a cloud service that blends broadcast and streaming to create premium video experiences on all devices.

Reach out to book a demo at#IBC2018 with any listed contributor.

Which is best?

Retail streaming devices like the Roku? Or the cable box?

Managed and installed services? Or self-service and self-maintained?

Home theater in the living room? Or streaming to your smartphone?

Good-enough quality? Or picture-perfect?

An industry conference last May queried senior executives at large, global TV operators on these questions. No doubt about it, the simplicity of inexpensive, self-provisioned TV available on streaming gadgets everywhere is a disruptive force.

But it all boils down to this:

Do pay-TV operators need proprietary, managed set-tops anymore?

As we listened to the panel of Sky, Liberty Global, Foxtel & Charter execs, we heard that all were highly open -and even striving -to answer "No."

They're aggressively rolling out streaming infrastructure;

They acknowledge the 'managed' set-top will play a reduced role over time;

And they're shifting their mindset toward delivering 'entertainment everywhere', not just 'TV in home'.

But, when asked to "bottom-line" it?

None of them seemed ready to ditch the set-top. Or at least, not if they would be held accountable for delivering TV at the quality that today's subscribers require.

Of course, the answer to the question depends heavily on the market and network particulars. Broadband access and bandwidth speeds vary dramatically around the world with many regions still characterized by limited two-way connectivity.

Whether your video strategy demands managed set-tops or OTT streaming devices, the Cisco SPVSS team has the scope & scale to do either. And more importantly,both.

Broadcast and streaming, together. Architecturally, that's what we mean by Blended TV. 

Whether your broadcast network is digital terrestrial, QAM, IP multicast or DTH, we can deliver. And we can add streaming to the product mix as well. How?

Infinite Video Platform unifies video & TV services across existing broadcast and adaptive bit-rate (ABR) streaming infrastructure. It enables operators to retain control of those services in order to advance both user experience and monetization strategies.

It also improves the content catalog, allowing operators to add strategic OTT services to their existing Pay-TV linear and on-demand offerings. Perhaps most importantly, it enables operators to create a profitable TV subscriber journey that starts with streaming-only to leverage a frictionless customer acquisition workflow - and can be leveled-up to include delightful 4K UltraHD and time-shifted viewing experiences that get better with each valued upgrade.

That's Blended TV. And it's what we're delivering @CiscoSPVideo.

Book a demonstration of Infinite Video Platform at#IBC2018.

See you there!

Related article: Read about an integration partnership between Sky and Netflix.

Contributors: Brian Ring, Tim Ruhl, Sunil Mudholkar, JT Taylor