Dover International Speedway recently worked with Ciena and Broad Valley Micro Fiber Networks to upgrade its facilities. Broad Valley designed, constructed and is operating DIS’s new WiFi over Ethernet/Fiber platform using Ciena’s packet networking solutions. Launched at the NASCAR race weekend on May 13, the upgrade is said to help eliminate bandwidth bottlenecks on race days and enables DIS to increase the network capacity required for videography, commerce and fan connectivity.
The upgraded network offers WiFi connectivity inside and outside the track to support point of sales systems, public Internet access, security systems, and dedicated Internet access for members of the media. It also allows for programmatic data analysis to aid in future marketing plans and strategic initiatives that improve operations and overall fan interactions. Ciena’s 3900 family of switches provide Broad Valley and DIS with a scalable and resilient network that reportedly can quickly add new high-capacity data services. Additionally, Ciena’s Unified Management solution is said to offer complete visibility and control of the network, allowing Broad Valley to proactively resolve unexpected issues and maintain network reliability.
MindMeld unveiled MindMeld for TV, which it says is the first solution designed for pay TV and OTT content providers “to empower effortless entertainment discovery and smart-home experiences through voice and conversational interfaces.”
“TVs and set-top boxes have had speech recognition for the last four years, but many users dislike the experience that’s been notoriously brittle and not very smart,” Tim Tuttle, CEO and founder of MindMeld, says. “With the launch of MindMeld for TV, it is now possible for cable companies and smart home service providers to create transformative conversational experiences that will delight millions of subscribers.”
The solution includes advanced AI to understand a wide range of query facets for both VOD and live TV programming content including awards, themes, show times, sports teams, popularity, time periods and more. It also offers pre-integration with what is said to be the industry’s most widely used TV metadata libraries, including Gracenote, which cover more than six million movies and TV shows. “This feature helps customers to quickly and easily get their intelligent conversational interfaces up and running almost immediately out-of-the-box,” the company says. “Built-in smart home language models that enable users to conversationally interact with their smart-home and IoT devices, including programmable thermostats, smart door locks, connected lights, and weather forecast services.”
It also features client SDKs to support conversational experiences on a range of connected home devices including the Amazon Echo, smart TVs and smart set-tops.