Polycom Drives Mainstream Video Collaboration with New Wave of HD Solutions and Technology


Customers benefit from expanded HD video portfolio and breakthrough technology for improved video conferencing between home office workers, remote sites, and field applications

PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 15 / / -- Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCM), the world's leading provider of unified collaborative communications solutions, today announced new solutions and technologies to mainstream high definition (HD) video conferencing across organizations and applications. The new Polycom HDX(TM) 8000 series delivers UltimateHD(TM) to small and medium-sized conference rooms with unrivaled quality and performance. Polycom also unveiled new patent-pending Lost Packet Recovery technology that provides breakthrough QoS for IP networks and makes video conferencing more viable for home office workers, remote offices and field applications.

With the addition of the HDX 8000, the HDX Series has been expanded to include the recently-announced HDX 4000 integrated desktop system for executives, physicians and small groups; and the HDX 9000 series for large meeting rooms, classrooms and integrated custom-room environments. Polycom HDX video conferencing systems are the only endpoints on the market that deliver UltimateHD, which includes HD video, HD voice and simultaneous HD content sharing capabilities. In a just-released review of leading HD video conferencing endpoints by Wainhouse Research, Polycom HDX received top scores over competitive systems.

"In our comparative review of three industry-leading HD video conferencing endpoints, Wainhouse Research named the Polycom HDX platform as our number one choice," said Andrew W. Davis, managing partner, Wainhouse Research. "Our extensive, hands-on competitive analysis shows that the Polycom HDX Series received top scores in 8 out of 10 evaluation categories. Besides great video quality, the HDX series provides outstanding, leading-edge audio performance and unparalleled multimedia capabilities. The new HDX 8000 is a significant announcement that will help make HD videoconferencing affordable to everyone."

Polycom HDX Version 2.0 software delivers Polycom's patent-pending Lost Packet Recovery technology to all HDX systems, providing an outstanding video conferencing experience on networks with even moderate levels of packet loss. Lost Packet Recovery can improve the pervasiveness of video conferencing in an organization by enabling consistent quality for home office workers, field deployments, calls on "dirty networks" subject to frequent packet loss, and even calls over the public internet. HDX Version 2.0 also enables HDX 9002 and 9004 systems with embedded multipoint capability to deliver HD continuous presence multipoint for up to four sites or non-HD continuous presence for up to eight sites.

"Polycom customers benefit from the strongest and most highly-integrated portfolio of high definition video conferencing, collaboration and content management solutions in the industry today," said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom. "With the addition of the HDX 8000 series, Polycom expands the benefits of high definition into classrooms, meeting rooms and beyond. And with breakthrough advances like our Lost Packet Recovery technology, Polycom simultaneously improves the user's experience and enables high quality video conferencing to be reliably deployed and used over a broader range of IP network environments."

Polycom continues to expand its integration efforts with its strategic global partners including Avaya, IBM, Microsoft and Nortel to make HD video collaboration a seamless part of these core unified communications environments. Today, HDX Version 2.0 enables integration with the Avaya Video Telephony Solution and Microsoft LCS 2005, making Polycom video collaboration capabilities instantly accessible within these UC environments. Additional information about this integration can be found at www.polycom.com under "Partners & Alliances" then "Strategic Alliances."

"Increasingly, video is a critical component of unified communications for companies looking to take customer service and collaboration to the next level," said Mary Dunlop, vice president, Unified Communications Product Management, Avaya. "For it to be truly effective, it needs to be as simple as a phone call. Avaya does just that, and Polycom strengthens our ability to provide the most complete portfolio of practical, high-quality, reliable video solutions for a broad range of business issues."

The standards-based Polycom HDX line is part of the industry's only integrated and complete HD video collaboration portfolio, including HD video endpoints and systems, telepresence and immersive telepresence solutions, HD conferencing bridges, HD recording, streaming and playback systems (for both video and content), HD video content management, and integrated Polycom HD Voice endpoints. To assist customers deploying HD video conferencing, Polycom Global Services offers a comprehensive suite of HD Readiness services through channel partners -- from planning and design to evaluating and optimizing HD video performance on existing networks to standard maintenance, training and service options.

The Wainhouse Research evaluation of HD video conferencing endpoints is available at www.wainhouse.com.

Pricing and Availability

The Polycom HDX 8000 series can be ordered today through certified Polycom channel partners with availability planned for November 2007. North America list price starts at US $10,999 for the HDX 8002 and US $13,999 for the HDX 8004 (price includes Polycom EagleEye(TM) camera).

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 high definition video, wired and wireless voice, and content solutions to deliver the ultimate collaborative 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, workplace wireless 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 from on-demand communications and collaboration. For additional information, call 800-POLYCOM or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com. Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and/or related specifications referenced in this press release are not guaranteed, and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks, and HDX, UltimateHD, and EagleEye are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (C)2007, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: Polycom, Inc.

CONTACT: Kevin Young of Polycom, Inc., +1-925-924-5706, kyoung@polycom.com

Web site: www.polycom.com/

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