Polycom Announces Ultimate HD - Collaboration Architecture for Virtual Meetings That Rival In-Person in Quality of Detail, and Resulting Efficiency and Productivity
Polycom UltimateHD Enables the Only Complete High Definition Solution With HD Voice, Video, Multimedia Content, Bridges, Servers & Services
PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 23 -- Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCM), the world's leading provider of unified collaborative communications solutions, today redefines the very nature of the virtual encounter with the industry's only complete high definition (HD) communications and collaboration architecture known as UltimateHD(TM). Unlike other high definition solutions, which can only focus on delivering the requisite video resolution, HD solutions adhering to the UltimateHD architecture enable a total high definition solution for every aspect of the experience affected by high definition: HD video as well as HD voice, HD multimedia content, HD bridging, HD recording/archiving/streaming, and supporting HD services.
The result are solutions that deliver a highly engaging virtual experience never before possible that rivals the efficacy of in-person meetings, enables new types of detail-oriented applications, and increases personal and team efficiency and productivity while eliminating the fatigue from remote collaboration. The UltimateHD experience and solutions from Polycom are now available at your desktop, in the conference room, in the classroom, and in the hospital or doctor's office. UltimateHD is an open architecture which enables discrete solutions to be used with great flexibility; adding functionality and expanding availability of high definition voice, video, content, infrastructure and services to additional types of systems as business needs change. With UltimateHD solutions, customers can transition to high definition smoothly from their existing investments.
Wayne State University, Michigan's only urban research university with more than 33,000 students in Detroit, Mich., is awaiting delivery of its first Polycom HDX(TM) series video systems. "Wayne State University is incorporating Polycom HD video into its collaboration environment in order to offer the most realistic experience possible over video," said David Fleig, project manager with Computing & Information Technology at Wayne State University. "At our remote locations our goal is to replicate the look and feel of the main campus and HD video will go a long way to helping achieving that. For us, there is no compelling reason anymore to buy standard definition products. We chose Polycom's HD solutions for the same reasons we've always gone with Polycom in the past: the company's reputation, the quality and ease of use of its products, and its exceptional service and support."
"AT&T is deploying increasingly sophisticated audio and video conferencing systems for our business customers' communications and collaboration needs," said Eric Shepcaro, senior vice president, business development, AT&T. "Polycom's evolution to HD with their focus on standards, interoperability, and the ability to upgrade continues to fit AT&T's strategy of integrating and deploying a broad range of video solutions."
Polycom began delivering components based on the UltimateHD architecture last year with the Polycom MGC(TM)/MGC+, the only multipoint bridges that support true high definition and are capable of scaling to support 90 concurrent high definition sessions. In the spring of this year, the company introduced the only scalable high definition recording and streaming server, the Polycom RSS(TM) 2000. At VON last month, Polycom introduced HD Voice systems with the VoIP SoundPoint® IP 650 handset and plans to introduce a new VoIP conference phone in the second quarter of 2007 that will enable users to launch HD video sessions directly from the conference phone.
At the annual, independent Polycom User Group (PUG) conference beginning today in Orlando, Polycom further extends its high definition offerings with HD video and HD Readiness services. The new Polycom HDX video platform brings high definition to the desktop, group system, and to Practitioner Cart healthcare systems (for more detail on these high definition video systems see today's accompanying release entitled, Polycom HDX Delivers High Definition Video Communications Solutions with Unrivaled Flexibility).
"Polycom's UltimateHD solutions deliver stunning voice, video and content collaboration benefits," said Will Stofega, research manager at IDC Research. "The quality of detail, both visual and vocal, finally delivers the experience we have all been waiting for since the inception of video systems. Everything is crystal clear. And because the high definition video experience is enabled by a new architecture developed from the infrastructure up to support high definition, all types of multimedia content from many diverse sources can be supported, recorded, archived and streamed. The MGC bridge can support simultaneous HD and non HD, on-demand and scheduled unified collaboration meetings across devices and protocols. Polycom's UltimateHD architecture truly delivers solutions that are the closest experience to the in-person meeting."
"Because UltimateHD solutions enable remote participants to easily engage with everything happening in the on-site meeting without any of the common distractions of conferencing over distance, we expect to see a dramatic increase in the applications for our collaboration technology," said Bob Hagerty, chairman and CEO of Polycom. "For example, CEOs can gauge their counterpart's reactions and establish trusted relationships faster as they negotiate during merger talks, surgeons can display operating room procedures to their colleagues millimeter by millimeter, manufacturers can check output quality directly and in real-time from the factories of their outsourced vendors, animation filmmakers can see and hear the nuances of the daily footage from teams around the world, aeronautical engineers can collaborate on detailed plans, and pharmaceutical R&D teams can keep drug development on schedule and speed time to market by following the sun with a daily hand-off to teams in the next region. An organization's productivity and efficiency skyrocket when people enjoy the same level of experience remotely as those participating in the on-site meeting do physically."
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. is the worldwide leader in unified collaborative communications (UCC) that maximize the efficiency and productivity of people and organizations by integrating the broadest array of video, voice, data and Web solutions to deliver the ultimate communications experience. Polycom's high quality, standards-based conferencing and collaboration solutions are easy to deploy and manage, as well as intuitive to use. Supported by an open architecture, they integrate seamlessly with leading telephony and presence-based networks. With its market driving technologies, best-in-class products, alliance partnerships, and world-class service, Polycom is the smart choice for organizations seeking proven solutions and a competitive advantage in real-time communications and collaboration. For additional information call 800-POLYCOM (765-9266) or 408-526-9000, or visit the Polycom website at www.polycom.com
Source: Polycom, Inc.
CONTACT:
Jessica Kersey
Polycom, Inc.
+1-925-924-5689
Jessica.kersey@polycom.com
Web site: www.polycom.com/
