We’re Happy to Oblige

My biggest take-away from today’s set of announcements? Customers just cannot get enough of Cisco video collaboration products.

Our new Cisco TelePresence MX800 Dual, for example, was not a planned product. But after experiencing the vast, single 70-inch screen of the original MX800 (now called MX800 Single), customers told us they wanted more of that great experience. They wanted a dual-screen version. And enough of them said it that we had to oblige; hence, the MX800 Dual with two expansive 70-inch screens to show video and content equally and brilliantly.

And not just dual screens, but dual cameras. What was once an option is now standard. The MX800 Dual is only available with the dual-camera, speaker-tracking system, because here again customers spoke. For the type of large rooms where the MX800 Dual is useful, dual cameras are required for the best visual experience. A single camera would only capture the full view of the room and participants would appear relatively small within it. Dual cameras bring the active speaker(s) full screen, basically giving everyone a front row seat and giving the meeting greater focus.

The MX800 Dual also comes to market with a few other notable enhancements that are enabled by the new Collaboration Endpoint Software 8.0 platform for Cisco room-based video systems. We are transitioning to this new software platform from what you may recall as the TC platform with TC 7.3 as the last release. The TC platform served us well for a long time, but the hardware that supported it was running out of processing power. We were forced to move to a new platform in order to continue to bring you the innovative features that you’ve come to expect from Cisco.

And innovate we did. Collaboration Endpoint Software 8.0 introduces these key new features:

Formally supports Intelligent Proximity for content sharing

Multi-streaming capabilities to maximize screen real estate for optimal viewing

Cisco TelePresence Touch 10 improvements, which align the user interface across the portfolio whether you are using Cisco desktop or immersive video systems.

Previously in beta trial, Intelligent Proximity it is now a supported feature for our latest-generation of endpoints*, including the MX800 Dual. In addition to allowing iOS and Android tablets and smartphones to receive shared content as originally introduced, Intelligent Proximity will also enable wireless content sharing from Macs and PCs. This addition is to the delight of our customers as it’s a feature we accelerated based on your request.

Multi-streaming is an intelligent parsing of video streams designed to display video and content on screens for the best possible viewing experience. On a single-screen endpoint, it enhances layouts so that participants can be seen in a more visible way when the screen real estate is largely taken over during content sharing. On a dual-screen endpoint, like the MX800 Dual, multi-streaming can put video on both screens when content is not being shared** — almost like what you would experience on an immersive system but with two screens.

For MX800 Dual customers, these additional features are just icing on the cake. Over and over, customers have expressed their delight to me in just being able to outfit their large rooms with an impressive video and audio experience. My response? We’re happy to oblige. Now, how many would you like?

Special note: To help customers continue to grow and expand their suite of Cisco collaboration solutions, Cisco Capital has financing offers that can be tailored to expand and refresh their portfolios at a pace – and budget – that suits their business needs. By utilizing customized financing solutions, customers globally can optimize cash flow and reduce total cost of ownership, while integrating more users, on more devices and in more locations. For more information, please visit: http://www.cisco.com/web/ciscocapital/index.html

*Products supporting the Collaboration Endpoint Software 8.0 platform include the SX10, SX20, SX80, MX200 G2, MX300 G2, MX700, MX800 Single and MX800 Dual. The TC platform will now be on maintenance mode for security and bug fixes only.

**Multistreaming has additional infrastructure requirements; please check the technical notes.