I participated in a unified communications panel at InfoComm about three years ago. It was a great panel with representation from companies like Cisco, Polycom, and (the now defunct) Tely Labs. I was the oddball of the bunch; promising the audience that a focus on software to improve proximate meetings was needed at least as […]

As local churches have embraced the capturing, producing, editing and publishing of video content for sermons, event promotions, service streaming, digital signage and social media, many are just now counting the costs and cons of storing massive amounts of video and media data for long-term archival, which leaves the future accessibility of this data in […]

Extron is launching into a completely new market category with their new MediaPort 200, an HDMI (and audio) to USB bridge for integrating pro AV sources or systems with software codec conferencing applications. The cool thing about this product is it will give integrators a way to make money integrating consumer videoconferencing products and apps […]

Crestron is using ISE to launch its new Crestron RL 2, the enhanced second-generation version of Crestron RL. The Crestron RL 2 is designed to for unified communications and group collaboration in a the conference room. It brings Crestron DigitalMedia and Microsoft Lync software into a single device that enables video, voice, interactive content sharing, […]

So you’re telling me hardware is dead… Every time a new software video conferencing product hits the market, I hear the cries that hardware is dead in our industry. Cloud (Internet) services are all the rage, but the continual cry of hardware being dead from software vendors is stale and has run its course. Maybe […]

Last week Ryan Pinke joined a new tradition in proclaiming the video conference Codec dead. In my own look ahead I posited a potential future free of boxes, in which software solutions largely replace dedicated appliances. Is Pinke right on this one? Have we reached, or are we nearing the end of hardware? I don’t […]

New VC technology lets everyone into the party It always amazes me the calls I get from very large organizations and universities making the comment “We don’t want Cisco or Polycom endpoints.” At first I thought this was just a few fringe organizations, but it is becoming all too common request as of lately. While […]

Extron has just started shipping the VNC 325 3G-SDI — a VN-Matrix series codec that streams SDI, HD-SDI or 3G-SDI video and embedded audio over standard IP networks. The VNC 325 transports low latency, production-quality SD or HD video with embedded audio. Two channels of audio can be streamed with video in low bandwidth applications […]

RGB Spectrum has expanded its line of DSx codecs with the introduction of its new DSx300M secure access model. The DSx 300M codec is specially designed for streaming and recording of graphics and HD video using H.264 compression. The codec records, streams and replays graphics and HD video at up to 1920×1200 and 1600×1200 resolutions. Additional features include on-screen display (OSD) with titling and time code, external time code synchronization, […]

Google plans to acquire VoIP codec developer Global IP Solutions (GIPS) for approximately 421 million Norwegian kronor (US$68.2 million). GIPS develops codecs for encoding real-time video and voice signals into a digital format for transport over IP networks. Its portfolio of products includes software that can be integrated into voice and video apps for mobile […]