Cox Streamlines VOD With Ericsson

Ericsson announced at NCTA that Cox Communications has used its “Next Generation MediaPath Secure Content Delivery System” to help centralize its video-on-demand operations.

The Ericsson solution (formerly sold under the Tandberg Television brand) was selected by Cox Communications for receiving and distributing content to its on-demand library. Cox, which has used components of Ericsson's on-demand solution since 2001 for receiving content from networks and programmers, has been streamlining its VOD operation to pump content out to individual systems from a centralized library.

The new VOD architecture uses Cox’s existing IP / MPLS (Internet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching) over fiber backbone to offer thousands of titles to Cox's digital cable customers.

"Ericsson's team worked with us closely to launch the secure central distribution system on a very tight timeline," said James Kelso, Cox's VP of video engineering, in a statement. "The system has reduced our operating costs and gives us more control and flexibility in managing the On Demand content that our sites receive."

“By centralizing their content ingest and distribution, Cox is once again pioneering technical solutions that will increase the efficiency of their operation,” added Andrew Rowe, head of software product management in Ericsson's Solution Area TV. “The MediaPath based solution will scale with Cox's distribution requirements today and tomorrow.”