CIOIN

Polycom, Inc. announced support for a breakthrough, standards-based video compression technology, H.264 High Profile that will reduce the bandwidth requirements for high-definition (HD) telepresence and standard definition (SD) video conferencing by as much as 50 percent, representing substantial network bandwidth cost savings for customers. The reduced bandwidth requirements will also serve as a catalyst for broader video deployments, creating a network effect that will deliver greater customer benefits as the Polycom Open Collaboration Network of partners drive telepresence and video conferencing adoption within Unified Communications (UC) environments, the company stated in a press release.Breakthrough Video Performance.

Through coding efficiency innovations, Polycom's support for H.264 High Profile will deliver breakthrough video performance at any bandwidth, including full-motion HD video quality starting at just 512 kbps, and full-motion DVD-quality SD video starting as low as 128 kbps. "Polycom is giving customers the best video experience in the industry at half the network bandwidth requirements of competing solutions, a substantial benefit that will drive wider adoption and greater return on investment for customers," said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom. "Polycom continues to drive visual communication innovation through our best-in-class solutions, our industry-leading infrastructure platform, and through the Polycom Open Collaboration Network of leading unified communications and network partners."

Polycom's support for H.264 High Profile will play a key role in its recently announced alliance with Juniper Networks, which is focused on improving the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of video networks. "Juniper and Polycom are creating the first scalable, 'conferencing-aware' network solution which will enable carriers to maximize the value of their existing networks to deliver high quality video services," said Gerri Elliott, executive vice president for strategic alliances, Juniper Networks. "This will help carriers to move away from siloed networks toward more intelligent and efficient converged networks which are more sustainable and profitable in the long-term."

The reduced bandwidth requirements will also help drive broader use of video within unified communications environments through efforts with Polycom Open Collaboration Network partners Avaya, Microsoft, IBM, Siemens Enterprise Communications Group and BroadSoft. "Siemens is excited about its partnership with Polycom and the support for H.264 High Profile, which will give our customers added cost-effectiveness and faster return on investment for their UC-enabled video solutions," said Gerald Kromer, senior vice president of services and solutions for Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN). "Video communication is becoming a key component of UC, and helps to dramatically improve the productivity of our customers. Working with Polycom enables us to deliver on our Open Communications commitment and enhance our leading OpenScape UC platform with a full range of video solutions that deliver exceptional performance at any bandwidth."

"We see tremendous value in Polycom's support for H.264 High Profile. It further enhances and broadens video use across our organization, without significantly impacting network requirements or cost," said Ben Weinberger, CIO at Lathrop & Gage. "Lathrop & Gage uses Polycom telepresence to connect our geographically dispersed lawyers face-to-face in real time to help us better serve our clients and increase productivity while reducing costs."

Benefits for Remote Workers

Higher video quality at lower bandwidth will drive greater video use among mobile and home office workers, and increased adoption overall will drive greater intercompany collaboration. These applications often involve calling across less-than-perfect networks or between corporate networks across the public internet. To ensure a more consistent, high-quality experience, the new H.264 High Profile video technology is complemented by Polycom's innovative Lost Packet Recovery (LPR) quality of experience (QoE) technology. With LPR, Polycom protects voice, video and content quality during packet loss and network congestion.