One step Beyondis the way for Sony

Reading AV specialist targets SMEs with new Sony HD entrant

Distributor Beyondis has added Sony PCS-XG80 HD videoconferencing to its range.

Beyondis managing director Kristian Davies said that videoconferencing technology’s time has come as it is getting affordable and easy to use even for SMEs.

The user buys the codec, a Sony HD camera and an audio module but it is essentially simple to use out of the box with a PlayStation-like console.

“With Sony now in the HD arena, it will have a big influence on the market,” he said.
Davies said he is expecting a big takeup of videoconferencing applications over the next 18 months.

“The traditional AV channel is well established but now there are these sorts of devices all over the network, the IT resellers are actually the obvious people to be selling this,” he added.

Also, Sony’s brand is strong and the higher-quality HD offering should have wide appeal for a range of customers.

“There are also significant savings to be made on travel costs, which means it is environmentally friendly,” he said.

The £5,500 Sony system is interoperable and standards-based so can be used to talk to other companies or locations that do not have the same setup.

Sony’s PCS XG80 setup combines 1080i high resolution and a frame rate of 60 fields per second, providing nearly four times the detail of standard definition (SD) images.
“We believe it offers our customers unrivalled quality at a price that makes high definition video conferencing solutions accessible to all,” Davies said.

According to Sony, the PCS-XG80 HD videoconferencing system has been finding fans in Europe. It has backward compatibility, so can be used alongside older, SD legacy systems over IP or ISDN.

Two separate streams of live, HD information can be supported in parallel – such as live camera view and an animated PowerPoint presentation, Sony said.

Four hundred units shipped to Europe in August, the product’s first month on the market, the vendor said.

The system has appeal for large corporate businesses and SMEs as well as healthcare, government and education verticals, Sony said in a statement.