SONY ANNOUNCES NEWEST ADDITION TO VIDEOCONFERENCING FAMILY; New TriniCom 4000 System Makes Videoconferencing Simple, Affordable and Easily Upgradable

Business Wire, May 22, 1996

WASHINGTON, ITCA Booth No.1129--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 1996-- Sony Electronics today announced the new TriniCom(TM) 4000 system, the latest addition to its expanding line of videoconferencing products. At a very competative price point, the new system broadens Sony's offerings to the videoconferencing market, providing solutions for an even wider range of applications and budgets.

At a suggested retail price of under $16,000, the high performance TriniCom 4000 system comes standard with all the features needed for most videoconferencing applications, and is scalable to the TriniCom(TM) 5000 system to keep pace with a company's evolving videoconferencing needs.

"Sony is very excited to be offering the next system in its expanding family of videoconferencing products," said Anthony Gargano, senior vice president of application systems for Sony Electronics' Business and Professional Products Group. "Sony's flagship product, the TriniCom(TM) 5000 system, brought Sony's expertise as an audio visual and electronics manufacturer to the videoconferencing industry. With today's introduction of the TriniCom 4000 system, Sony is reaching out to provide videoconferencing excellence to an even larger spectrum of users."

Sony's TriniCom 4000 Rollabout Videoconferencing system features a wireless remote control and on-screen icon menu, making it easy to operate even for first time users. The TriniCom 4000 system comes equipped with a video/audio processor with full duplex audio, a high-resolution 1/3-inch HyperHAD(R) CCD camera and 27-inch Trinitron(R) monitor. The TriniCom 4000 system also features a flexible network interface, ITU-T standards protocols and picture-in-picture functionality. The HyperHAD CCD camera includes up to six preset positions, far-end camera control capability, flexible camera operation with pan/tilt capability, and up to 12X zoom. The full-duplex Echo Canceller makes videoconferencing as natural as face-to-face encounters.

With optional upgrade cards the TriniCom 4000 system can be expanded to incorporate a host of advanced features found on Sony's popular, standards-based TriniCom 5000 system. The optional PCS-UC400 upgrade package gives the TriniCom 4000 four-party multipoint conferencing functionality that allows videoconferences involving up to four locations on a single split-screen monitor without the need for an external MCU. The PCS-UC410 upgrade package provides the TriniCom 4000 system with the added benefit of MMR compression for high-resolution monochromatic documents and JPEG video compression for full-color, still-video pictures.

Pricing and Availability

The TriniCom 4000 rollabout videoconferencing system will be available in July 1996 from authorized Sony videoconferencing resellers at a suggested retail price of $15,900. -0- Editor's Note: For more information on Sony products, readers can call 1-800-635-SONY. For additional press information via fax, please call Sony Access at 1-800-SONY-022. -0- The Business and Professional Products Group of Sony Electronics is a leading U.S. supplier of video and audio equipment for the broadcast, production, business, industry, government, medical and education markets. Sony offers a wide array of products and systems for image capture, production and display. Sony also provides specialized products and systems for data recording, duplication, electronic photography/publishing, videoconferencing, high definition video, interactive and security applications.

CONTACT: Brian Levine

Sony Electronics 408-955-5121

levineb@ccmail.nhq.sony.com

or

Wendy Simmons

Technology Solutions

212-696-2000

wsimmons@tsipr.com