C.E.S 2013: Cisco Wants Your Video to Find You

In the future, the TV shows and movies you want to watch should find you — you shouldn’t have to find them. And you should be able to watch them on any device.

That’s the video service Cisco Systems wants to put in your living room. On Monday, the company introduced Videoscape Unity, a cloud-based video platform that it hopes service providers, like cable TV companies, will embed in their set-top boxes.

The software package includes a tool to recommend shows to a person based on past viewing patterns. It creates a profile for each user — if Mom likes watching musicals, for example, her profiles will show a list of music-related channels; if Dad likes sports, his profile would show ESPN and Fox Sports.

The other major part of Cisco’s package is a cloud-based DVR. If you want to record an episode of “Mad Men,” it can potentially be stored in the provider’s cloud for as long as you like, as opposed to your local hard drive. As a result, you should be able to watch that episode on any device, like an iPad or Android phone.

Cox Communications is Cisco’s first United States customer to commit to offering Videoscape Unity.

Cisco is not the only company thinking about making content easier to find on the television. Panasonic and Samsung demonstrated a similar feature in their TV sets that makes recommendations based on a person’s TV habits. Some of Panasonic’s televisions even use a built-in camera to detect a person’s face and switch to his or her profile.