OC3, NBC, and Olympics IT- with a little Cisco

Did you ever wonder what technology NBC used to broadcast the 2008 Olympics across the world on multiple platforms? how did they handle the data connection?

Well I found a cool article from Information Week that discusses their use of Cisco technology.

According to Information Week, NBC had Cisco Systems provide ip video technology. This enables NBC workers to edit and broadcast the video as it came from Beijing. The video was them delivered to the multiple platforms of tv and web/pc, and smartphones screens.

NBC used three OC3 connections and a router combined them into one large virtual pipe of 450-Mbps. The file sharing and workflow process allowed them to capture and distribute thousands of hours of "film" and prioritize video.

I thought this article was timely and a good example of what can be done with a data connection and proper networking, in this case utilizing OC3 and Cisco's ip infrastructure.