Polycom to cut videoconferencing bandwidth

Polycom has announced that it will support H.264 video compression technology to reduce the bandwidth requirements for videoconferencing and unified communication technologies by up to 50 percent.

The company said cutting bandwidth requirements will help drive a wider range of video deployments and create a network effect that will deliver greater customer benefits to small, medium and large firms.

H.264 uses coding efficiency innovations that allow full-motion high-definition video to run on bandwidth requirements starting from just 512Kbit/s, and full-motion DVD-quality standard-definition video starting as low as 128Kbit/s.

Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom, explained that the company is trying to address the key barriers to adoption for visual communication through a standards-based approach that will drive industry growth.

"Businesses of all sizes and across all industries want the productivity and cost-saving benefits of visual communication, and we are trying to drive down the cost of ownership to make it affordable and accessible to a broader range of customers," he said.

The reduced bandwidth requirements could also serve as a catalyst for broader video deployments, delivering greater customer benefits to help push the use of unified communications within the business environment, the firm said.

Higher video quality at lower bandwidth will also drive greater video use among mobile and home office workers, according to Polycom, and increased adoption overall will drive greater collaboration between companies.

The firm also announced the launch of two new products in its telepresence portfolio. The HDX 6000 View provides a full-featured high-definition room system, while the Polycom HDX 9000 1080 offers 1080p video resolution.

The moves represent Polycom's continued attempts to take on Cisco in the videoconferencing space after joining forces with Juniper Networks in January to offer cost-effective and reliable telepresence and videoconferencing services.

Cisco itself launched a new interoperability standard to drive take up of the service among smaller businesses, and previewed its TelePresence to the home solution in Barcelona last month.