Sony Announces Launch Into Videoconferencing Set-Top Market.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)--March 8, 1999--MultiMediaCom, (Booth No. 609)--Adding to its family of award-winning videoconferencing A real time video session between two or more users or between two or more locations. Although the first videoconferencing was done with traditional analog TV and satellites, inhouse room systems became popular in the early 1980s after Compression Labs pioneered digitized video systems systems, Sony Electronics Sony Electronics Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is the largest component of Sony Corporation of America, the U.S. holding company for Sony's U.S.-based electronics and entertainment businesses. announced today its worldwide launch into the set-top market with its plug and play videoconferencing system, the PCS-1500. Weighing in at only 6lbs 10oz, the PCS-1500 is one of the most compact set-top videoconferencing systems in the world. About the size of a textbook, the system is H.320 compliant as well as H.323 ready (with full H.323 capability planned for October 1999). Sony's PCS-1500 videoconferencing system is priced under $5,000 and is designed with ease of use in mind. "As videoconferencing becomes a mainstream technology with international reach, the profile of the videoconferencing user is expanding," said Glenn Adamo, vice president of videoconferencing for Sony's Broadcast and Professional Company. "Sony has created this new system to meet the demands of the variety of users asking for high-quality set-top, plug and play systems at an affordable price point." Features The PCS-1500 is the industry's first set-top videoconferencing system to offer a dockable pan/tilt/zoom camera. Whether docked to the station or mounted strategically in the room, the camera can follow a subject, allowing him or her to move freely. Auto-tracking motion detection, automatic back-light compensation, auto focus, built-in 12x zoom lens and resolution of more than 460 TV lines provide image quality and a natural meeting environment. The system is supplied with a compact, Remote Commander(R) unit that is as easy to use as a television remote. All command functions, including easy install, dialing, camera select and control, picture-in-picture, volume, microphone control, and basic Sony Trinitron(R) television controls are available on the remote. Future Ready The new system is H.320 compliant and is H.323 ready (with full H.323 capability planned for October 1999). The H.323 board option enables videoconferencing over local area networks (LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. ) and wide area networks (WAN). The H.323 option also incorporates Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. ) that allows IS specialists to manage their network environments while employing videoconferencing. An optional V.35 interface is also available to support dedicated networks. System Capabilities and Options The basic system runs at speeds of up to 128kbps at 15 frames per second (fps) and is available in two additional versions, the PCS-1500U (PCS-1500-Upgraded) and the PCS-1500ME (PCS-1500-Multiple Endpoints). The PCS-1500U is capable of 384kpbs at 30fps and PCS-1500ME is also capable of running at speeds of up to 384kbps, and has built-in, standards based multipoint functionality. An enhanced built-in multipoint feature on the PCS-1500ME, technology first brought to market by Sony in its award winning TriniCom(R) 5100Plus System, allows up to four H.320 standard sites to participate in a videoconference vid·e·o·con·fer·ence n. A teleconference using video technology, such as closed-circuit television. vid without using an external bridge or bridging service. All three versions offer an optional wireless document station, the PCS-DS150, with a built-in VGA/SVGA/XVGA scan converter A device that changes the video output from a computer to standard TV signals, allowing a regular TV to be used as a computer screen. A VCR can then also be used to record screen output. . The document station, with built-in 18x zoom lens, provides 470 lines of resolution The number of horizontal lines on a TV or computer screen. The term typically refers to TV sets; for example, wide screen digital TVs have 720 or 1,080 lines of resolution, while analog TV uses 525 lines. VHS tapes can render from 240 to 260 lines. and is ideal for 3D-object capture and graphics display. The wireless capability allows the user to bring the station to the conference table or work area. PowerPoint(R) Presentation, or any other PC-based presentation, can be easily integrated into the videoconference by simply connecting a PC/laptop to the document station. In another industry first, image transmission of the presentation is continuous, about every four seconds on 128K transmission and about every second on 384K. This allows the presenter the freedom to concentrate on the presentation without concern for manually advancing to the next slide. Function keys for control are located on the remote control as well as on the document station. Fast and Efficient According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Adamo, PCS-1500 integrates the use of the new H.263 standard in the codec (1) (enCOder/DECoder) A hardware circuit that performs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) and digital-to-analog (DAC) conversion. When analog signals are entered into a computer, cellphone or other device via a microphone or video source such as VHS tape or analog TV, algorithm to provide visible improvement of the display in moving subjects at speeds from 128 kbps up to 384kbps. Pricing and Availability The PCS-1500 will be available in June from authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: Sony videoconferencing resellers, at a suggested retail price of $ 4,995. PCS-1500U is also available in June at a suggested retail price of $7,995. PCS-1500ME and the PCS-DS150 document station will be available in September, at a suggested list price of $ 9,995 and $ 3,199 respectively. Editor's Note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : More information about Sony products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sony.com/videoconference, or readers may call 1-800-686-SONY. Additional press information is available at http://www.sony.com/news. Sony Electronics offers a wide array of products and systems for image capture, production and display. Sony also provides specialized spe·cial·ize v. spe·cial·ized, spe·cial·iz·ing, spe·cial·iz·es v.intr. 1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study. 2. equipment and systems for data recording, duplication, electronic photography/publishing, videoconferencing, high definition video, interactive and security applications. In the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 1998, Sony Electronics had record sales of $10.5 billion. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion