Radvision upgrades MCU line

Like an auto maker replacing a popular, but aging car line, Radvision this week will replace its line of viaIP multipoint conference unit (MCU) and gateway products with a new hardware platform called Scopia capable of handling more calls from more devices.

The new line will have three models, ranging from the 1-rack unit Scopia 100 for small and midsize business that handle 12 ports of audio, up to the Scopia 1000 chassis, which has room for up to 18 blades and can handle 330 video calls and 1,700 ports of audio simultaneously. Radvision developed the Scopia product with the idea that conference participants could be calling in with a video endpoint, standard telephone line or even over a cellular network.

"It puts us in a strong position for the converged market," says Killko Caballero, general manager of Radvision’s enterprise business unit. "You can handle anything you want: Audio, video, a combo desktop and room."

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Like an auto maker replacing a popular, but aging car line, Radvision this week will replace its line of viaIP multipoint conference unit (MCU) and gateway products with a new hardware platform called Scopia capable of handling more calls from more devices.

The new line will have three models, ranging from the 1-rack unit Scopia 100 for small and midsize business that handle 12 ports of audio, up to the Scopia 1000 chassis, which has room for up to 18 blades and can handle 330 video calls and 1,700 ports of audio simultaneously. Radvision developed the Scopia product with the idea that conference participants could be calling in with a video endpoint, standard telephone line or even over a cellular network.

"It puts us in a strong position for the converged market," says Killko Caballero, general manager of Radvision’s enterprise business unit. "You can handle anything you want: Audio, video, a combo desktop and room."

In terms of video, the initial release of the Scopia platform will support up to 4CIF video (standard television) in any given call. With vendors such as LifeSize, Tandberg and Polycom starting to ship high-definition video systems, Caballero says future Scopia updates will also support HD video for those that want to take advantage of the increased resolution.

"They're replacing a hardware architecture that is probably five years old," says Andrew Davis, principal analyst at Wainhouse Research in Brookline, Mass. "We welcome what they're doing, but they absolutely had to do it. They were getting long in the tooth."

Radvision faces competition from video conferencing endpoint vendors as well, with the major players all offering their own MCU products.

While Radvision is refreshing its hardware MCUs, the company will still offer its software-based MCUs targeted a small and branch offices. A new version of the company's iView management suite will allow larger organizations to mesh both hardware and software MCUs to handle large calls automatically. Caballero says the iView software will route the heavy processing pieces of the call to the Scopia hardware with easier pieces handled by the software MCUs.

Davis says while this type of "cascading" (connecting multiple MCUs) has been around for a while, he doesn't believe such huge video events are all that common.

Scopia will be available for order this week with large scale implementations priced around $2,000 per port. The low end Scopia 100 will be priced around $30,000.