Vidyo has announced a new HD videoconferencing at a "significantly lower price point," demonstrating the $750 Executive Desktop System at the just-concluded Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012. Vidyo also demonstrated a scalable HEVC (H.265) codec for videoconferencing, along with a browser-based 1440 system that allows customers single-click connections to a videoconference.
Vidyo's $750 Executive Desktop System delivers up to 1080p30 encode and 1440p60 decode. The Executive Desktop offers a floating concurrent-use license that follows the user instead of being attached to a specific device. According to the company, the system delivers almost twice the resolution of traditional telepresence screens; it is scheduled for shipment beginning in December 2012.
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The company also demonstrated a HEVC (H.265) codec for videoconferencing. The new codec is designed to achieve the same or better quality as a 1080p60 display, but at half the bit rate of existing H.264 SVC codecs. Vidyo, in cooperation with Samsung, has submitted the design to the ITU-T. Vidyo is committed to deliver support for H.265 via a software upgrade at no extra charge to customers who have a maintenance agreement.
Also at the conference, Vidyo showcased a browser-based 1440 system that allows customers to connect to a videoconference with a single click to anyone on Skype, Facebook, Google Talk and other business video applications. This browser-based system is, according to the company, designed to offer "better than telepresence-quality inside a Web browser without requiring special purpose hardware or soft client installation."
Vidyo also announced it is now shipping the company's multi-protocol media server, supporting H.264 AVC, H.264 SVC, H.263, H.323 and SIP. A virtualized version for VMware environments is scheduled to ship in Q1 2013.
Commenting in a statement, Ofer Shapiro, Vidyo's co-founder and CEO, said, "Vidyo is the only company in the market today shipping 3rd generation SVC-based products that already incorporate years of field experience, customer feedback and robust intellectual property."