ELSA Ships Industry's First Single-Board ISDN/Videoconferencing/Multimedia Solution; ELSAvision provides 128KBPS ISDN for Web-Surfing, H.320 videoconferencing and MPEG playback, replaces up to 4 boards in any PC.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1996--ELSA Inc. today announced immediate availability of ELSAvision -- the first PCI-based, single-board solution for ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. , videoconferencing and multimedia. ELSAvision is the first product to combine a 128 KBPS ISDN adapter See ISDN terminal adapter. with H.320 videoconferencing, collaborative computing software and MPEG-1 video playback. Unlike other PC-based videoconferencing products, ELSAvision maximizes value by "doubling" as an ISDN terminal adapter A device that adapts a computer to a digital ISDN line. Like a modem, it plugs into the serial port of the computer or into an expansion slot. Some terminal adapters use the parallel port for higher speed. for web surfing Refers to jumping from page to page on the Web. Just as in "TV channel surfing," where one clicks the remote to go from channel to channel, the hyperlink on Web pages makes it easy to jump from one page to another. and enhancing game-play with hardware-based MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). video decoding. A single ELSAvision replaces a two-card videoconferencing package, an MPEG decoder and an internal modem or ISDN terminal adapter -- providing both corporate MIS and home users with a complete multimedia/Internet solution that is easy to install and maintain. Using the DCI/DirectDraw(TM) software interface, ELSAvision uniquely supports videoconferencing at the maximum resolution of the graphics card, rather than defaulting to 640 x 480 -- ELSAvision also enables a fully resizable videoconferencing window. As the board uses the PCI bus, it is fully Plug-n-Play compliant and transmits data at far higher data rates than traditional ISA-based boards. ELSAvision supports both Microsoft(R) Windows 95 and Windows 3.1. The board includes two co-processors for high-quality audio/video and an optional digital camera upgrade for unmatched videoconferencing quality. ELSAvision is also software-upgradable to allow new features such as I-Frame MPEG video encoding in the future. Quotes "ELSAvision addresses the ongoing convergence between multimedia and the Internet in a cost-effective, easy-to-install package," said Thomas Neubert, vice president and general manager of ELSA Inc. "A single ELSAvision can replace up to 4 boards in a PC and since ELSAvision is based on PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). , it is fully Plug-n-Play compliant and minimizes installation headaches associated with ISA-based alternatives." "ELSAvision truly realizes the capabilities of 8x8's Video Communications Processor," said Kevin Deierling, Director of Marketing, 8x8 Inc. "Not only does it provide high quality desktop video conferencing capability, the card also enables users to surf the Web at more than four times the speed of the fastest modem. ELSAvision delivers truly outstanding value." ELSAvision Features ELSAvision offers a number of unique features that combine ELSA's expertise in high-performance ISDN and graphics technology: -- Is the first single-board, PCI solution for H.320-standard videoconferencing -- Supports both Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 -- Includes bus-mastering and Plug-n-Play functionality -- Includes built-in ISDN adapter (dual B-channel) for up to 128 KBPS data-throughput. ELSAvision can also be used as a standalone ISDN adapter for data communications -- another first -- Supports 30 Frame Per Second QCIF See CIF. QCIF - Quarter CIF and 15 Frame Per Second CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). videoconference rates -- Allows application sharing, whiteboarding and file transfer with Intel ProShare(TM) Premier -- Includes multi-standard CODEC capabilities -- supports not only H.320 videoconferencing, but also MPEG-1 video decoding -- Is the first videoconferencing solution to break the 640 x 480 graphics barrier -- ELSAvision can display a 30 Frame Per Second videoconference at the maximum resolution of the user's graphics adapter, up to and including 1600 x 1200 -- Provides full international communication capabilities -- supports the European ISDN 112 KBPS connection speed as well as 128 or 64 KBPS -- Supports major ISDN switches including Euro-ISDN, 1TR6, National ISDN-1, and AT&T 5ESS (also suitable for PBX (Private Branch eXchange) An inhouse telephone switching system that interconnects telephone extensions to each other as well as to the outside telephone network (PSTN). systems) -- Includes built-in S-VHS (Super-VHS) A VHS recording and playback system that increased resolution from 240 to 400 lines and used a higher-quality cassette. S-VHS introduced the S-video interface, which separated the luma from the color (see S-video). video inputs -- allows users to either record a videoconference and/or use a high-quality camcorder's optics as the main camera -- Provides onboard 33 MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second) The execution speed of a computer. For example, .5 MIPS is 500,000 instructions per second; 100 MIPS is a hundred million instructions per second. DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive for advanced audio synchronization and echo cancellation -- Supports international audio compression standards -- G.722 and G.728 -- Supports G.711 standard -- ELSAvision can place a voice telephone call to any phone worldwide -- Allows user to dedicate 1 B-channel for best-quality audio -- Is upgradable to digital camera for highest-quality video -- Includes headset and analog camera with built-in microphone included -- Includes built-in diagnostic LEDs to assist in technical support -- Provides a 3 year warranty Pricing and Availability ELSAvision -- shipping June 15 -- is available for $1,649 and includes the ELSAvision board, an analog camera, headset, Intel ProShare Premier application sharing software and communications software. The board is fully FCC/UL-approved and comes with a 3-year warranty. Support is available via hotline, faxline, BBS (1) (Bulletin Board System) A computer system used as an information source and forum for a particular interest group. They were widely used in the U.S. , and CompuServe. For more information, contact ELSA at 800/272-ELSA (3572) for more details. Company Information ELSA Inc. is a subsidiary of ELSA GmbH, a privately-held company based in Aachen, Germany. Founded in 1980, ELSA has built a world-class reputation in high-performance 2D graphics boards and modem/ISDN data communications products. The company has also made aggressive moves in the high-end 3D market with its GLoria(TM) board and retail multimedia products with its ELSAmotion MPEG multimedia board. -0- Note to Editors: ELSA and GLoria are trademarks of ELSA, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited are hereby acknowledged and recognized. Color Photography is available for this product. ELSA Inc. has relocated to: 2150 Trade Zone Blvd. Suite 101 San Jose, CA 95131 Phone 408/935-0350 Fax 408/935-0370 BBS 408/935-0380 Web site: http://www.elsa.com CONTACT: ELSA Inc. Jeannette Dike, 408/935-0350, ext 104 jdike@elsa.com web: www.elsa.com or Horizon Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Jonathan Hirshon, 408/982-2555 jh@horizonpr.com web: www.horizonpr.com |
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