HP Reminds Us that It Does Video Conferencing Too

Simon Mackie — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:01:14 +0000

HP today announced that it is releasing a new line of high-definition videoconferencing products. These new Visual Collaboration products are entering a fairly crowded HD videoconferencing marketplace, with established offerings from the likes of Cisco and LifeSize being joined by many more recent entrants into the market, like EspressoHD and Damaka. HP will be hoping it can make its products stand out by providing a solution that isn’t only accessible via hardware installed in conference rooms, but also on desktop and laptop computers. This could make high-quality video conferencing available throughout an entire organization; a common complaint of many existing telepresence systems is that they are locked away in conference rooms and only available to a select few.

The new HP products include:

HP Visual Collaboration Desktop. A client that can be installed on users’ own laptops and desktops. The software offers flexible bandwidth management with scalable video coding.
HP Visual Collaboration Executive Desktop. A bundled touchscreen product. It features an HP TouchSmart 600Qm All-in-One pre-loaded with the HP Visual Collaboration software, and includes a camera and headset accessories.
HP Visual Collaboration Room 100 and Room 220 provide high-quality video in conference rooms. As it’s portable, it can be moved from room to room if required.
HP Visual Collaboration Studio. A top-of-the-range offering that offers three-screen immersive solutions and features broadcast-quality cameras and lenses.

Because the server infrastructure is software-based, HP says that it should reduce total cost of ownership and eliminate the need for a multipoint control unit (MCU). This infrastructure can be on-premise, hosted or offered in the cloud by service providers. The Visual Collaboration Gateway can interface with both H.323 and SIP protocols, so it will offer a migration path for companies wanting to continue to use their legacy videoconferencing equipment. HP’s existing Halo products, which run on a dedicated network, will continue to be offered as an option for customers looking for a fully managed solution.

HP’s Visual Collaboration line will be sold by HP and selected partners. It’s available now; full details of the product line can be found here.

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HP Reminds Us that It Does Video Conferencing Too

Watercooler Clips: Sales Guy vs. Web Dude