Video provides an engaging, near face-to-face experience for our customers and partners, creating a powerful relationship between them and the company. Two options exist for placing video on Cisco.com as described below.
Video on Demand (VoD)
Cisco Video on Demand (VoD) uses streaming technology to provide any time, any where delivery of information to a global audience. VoDs can consist of synchronized video, voice, slides, transcript, and software demonstrations. Uploading a VoD using the standard Cisco Template and UI will result in the launch of a new browser window by clicking a link on a Cisco.com page. This is option is best for transferring information that includes PowerPoint slides and other links to media in addition to the video.
The Content Upload Tool (CUT) is used to load the video into the standard template and on to the Cisco TV VoD servers, where it can be retrieved for placement on Cisco.com. CUT is a web-based application that is part of the Cisco TV VoD management infrastructure. For more information:
With this option, the video will be embedded in your Cisco.com page and is viewed within the context of the page. The video loads on a paused still frame which will also be displayed at the end of the video. The Play button is coded within the .html file to be trackable by Omniture.
Use the embedded video option when:
Your video has been approved by Brand Strategy and Identity (corpvideo@cisco.com).
You have existing H.264 MP4 encoded with specs similar to those listed below, or you can provide a source video file in uncompressed .AVI, .MPEG-4, or .MOV format to Cisco TV for conversion to H.264 MP4.
Your video contains marketing-type content with people talking rather than just text or slides.
Your video is around 2-4 minutes in length. Embedding videos that are longer than five minutes is not recommended.
For productions over 10 minutes you should pursue a Video on Demand (VoD) from Cisco TV.
Learn more about usage guidelines for Embedded Videos.
Screen shot of standard cisco.com embedded video player: JW Player
Video Encoding & Still Frames
For quality output, it's best to start with a high bit rate source video file. Ideally, this would be an uncompressed AVI, MOV (QuickTime), or MPEG 4.
Work directly with Cisco TV to process video files, video tapes or DVDs via their Global Request Form: ://wwwin.cisco.com/corpcom/arch/ciscotv/ctv-request-form.shtml
On the request form, click the "Start a new request" button at the bottom-left. Then select "Media Processing: Video only to media file or VoD". You can also email them at: ciscotv-projects@cisco.com
Recommended h.264 MP4 Encoding Specs for Cisco.com
Video Dimensions: 640 x 480 (for 4:3 aspect ratio) or 640 x 360 (for 16:9 aspect ratio)
Video Codec: h.264 (baseline profile)
Video Bit Rate: 800 kbps
Frame Rate: Same as source
Audio Codec: AAC
Audio Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Still Frame
Copy a frame from the source video using QuickTime or another video editing program. Resize the still frame to match the same dimensions as the video (640x480 or 640x360).
See Ciscopedia for more details on publishing and coding embedded video.
from Cisco TV.