Polycom Introduces Breakthrough Video Calling System for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, Telecommuters

Business Wire, May 10, 2004

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LAS VEGAS & PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2004

Class-Defining Polycom V500 First to Deliver Enterprise-Quality

Audio and Video in an Office Video Calling System for Under $2000

Polycom(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCM), the world's leading provider of Unified Collaborative Communications solutions, today unveiled the Polycom V500(TM), a class-defining video calling system that brings the productivity and accelerated decision-making benefits of enterprise video communications to small and medium sized businesses and telecommuters. The simple, yet powerful system offers customers a natural video calling system at an affordable price.

"The Polycom V500 addresses the growing market for selling high-quality video communications into the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment," said Robert Mahowald, research manager at IDC. "The moderate price and easy-to-use system can help expand the use of video beyond the boardrooms and conference rooms of large companies, into smaller businesses, serving remote workers and smaller offices within an enterprise."

The first service provider to market and sell the Polycom V500 is AT&T (see joint Polycom and AT&T announcement today entitled, "AT&T and Polycom to Deliver Enterprise Class Video Communications to Small and Medium Sized Businesses"). "The Polycom V500 is an exciting product for AT&T's small and medium sized business customer base and is a natural complement to AT&T's end-to-end class of service network, IP gateways and bridging services," said Jim Stapleton, marketing director, AT&T Select Accounts. "This is a significant move toward driving the mass adoption of video, with a solution that fits within every business budget without sacrificing video quality and gives small and medium sized organizations a great business application for increasing collaboration and communication."

"Polycom is committed to enabling everyone in all-sized businesses whether remote or at work to instantly and easily collaborate with other employees, partners, and customers," said Ed Ellett, senior vice president and general manager of video communications at Polycom. "The Polycom V500 is another way Polycom is making enterprise-quality video communications available and affordable at the personal and office level. A wider range of organizations are now able to benefit from the power and competitive advantages of real-time collaboration."

The Polycom V500 delivers natural, enterprise-quality video communications (30 frames per second), Polycom Siren14(TM) wideband audio (14 KHz), H.264 video compression for higher quality video over lower bandwidth, and advanced video calling capabilities in a system priced under $2000. The affordable, yet powerful system offers many advanced technologies typically associated only with high-end group conferencing systems. Capabilities of the Polycom V500 include:

-- Enterprise-quality video -- delivers 30 fps video for natural

communication

-- Near CD-quality audio -- Siren 14 wideband audio delivers four

times the quality of a regular phone call

-- Better video over lower bandwidth -- the H.264 compression

standard delivers twice the video quality over existing

bandwidth, making high-quality video more accessible using

lower bandwidth.

-- Simple to use -- easy to connect, uses an intuitive remote

control and features a personalized interface to simplify

calling procedures -- simplified TV like remote control too

-- Audio and video error concealment -- features Polycom leading

audio and video error concealment technology to maintain

quality and minimize the impact of network congestion and

packet loss

-- Multiple network support options -- customers can use cable,

DSL, ISDN or LAN connections -- IP support up to 512 Kbps and

ISDN up to 128 Kbps (support for ISDN is a separate model)

-- Data sharing support -- users can receive slides and other

content sent during a video call

-- Secure video communications -- features embedded AES

encryption for secure calls

-- Other advanced performance features -- dual monitor emulation

enables users to display both near and far views or people and

content appearing simultaneously on a split screen; and

international language support (11 languages)

Studies have shown significant increases in learning as well as information absorption and retention in face-to-face meetings that take place by video conferencing. According to a recent UCLA study, 55 percent of the impact from a conversation comes from face and body language. Video conferencing raises productivity, contains travel costs, encourages collaboration and reduces time to market.

As companies move from circuit switched Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) to IP broadband networks, high quality video conferencing can support more business applications more cost-effectively. Video communications is increasingly popular in real-time business environments where teams are dispersed and faster decision-making is needed to ensure companies remain nimble and competitive. Small and medium sized businesses are using video conferencing to improve their training programs, business planning, customer relationships, and many other applications that require collaboration and personalization.