Sony unveils the new generation of multimedia videoconferencing systems; the most powerful, scalable, compact and in the market today

The PCS-1P videoconferencing system offers the full benefits of high quality video, audio and data conferencing to organisations worldwide.

As Nitesh Naidu, Product Manager, Sony Broadcast & Professional MEA - Video networking explains, 'Today, many businesses are facing the same challenges. Gaining competitive edge, increasing efficiency and improving profitability is balanced by the need to manage travel budgets and other overheads more effectively. That is why corporate companies, educational establishments, scientific institutions and medical practitioners are using videoconferencing to improve their internal as well as external communications ¡V bringing people together to easily share ideas and swiftly make decisions, wherever they are in the world.'

The Sony PCS-1P addresses these very issues in providing a competitively priced, reliable and viable alternative to face-to-face meetings, whilst maintaining a natural meeting experience. In addition, its user friendliness removes every barrier for users wanting to operate and make a videoconferencing call.

The new generation of multimedia videoconferencing systems from Sony enables the user to connect two PCs or laptops to facilitate sharing of high-resolution data at the touch of a button - irrespective of the number of participants, while retaining full industry-wide interoperability. The PCS-1P is highly scaleable and can be applied to many user environments: from desk usage to large board room meetings, within companies, institutions or at home.

With its unique MPEG4 coding, Sony takes the next step in videoconferencing, delivering unequalled audio and video quality. Superb audio reproduction is assured by MPEG4 Advance Audio Coding (AAC) at 14 Khz, double the bandwidth of conventional conferencing systems, to ensure that every participant can be heard with unprecedented quality. Equally, MPEG4 video coding is able to deliver far better video quality than the widely used video coding standard, even when using low bit rates. Supporting MPEG4 also anticipates future connectivity capabilities with a wide range of consumer products such as PDA's. With videoconferencing migrating increasingly towards IP networks and internet, the PCS-1P delivers a high level quality of service to ensure a reliable conference with the optimal quality. With the Advanced Encryption Standard supported confidential information stays secure.

The PCS-1P can enable six site multi point calls at max. 384Kbps per site in a mixed IP/ISDN environment, connecting up to 6 international locations into one meeting instantly, while 2 cascaded PCS-1P systems can bring up to 10 video or audio sites together in one videoconference. Further improving the natural interactivity of a face-to-face meeting, a digital whiteboard connected to the Sony PCS-1P system adds hand written comments or diagrammatic explanations during the conference.

In combination with Sony's CTE-600 Audioconferencing device, the PCS-1P can easily equip the largest boardrooms. Six built-in microphones provide a 360,,a coverage around the meeting room, while the integrated speaker projects crisp and clear audio in all directions for improved intelligibility. The smart CTE-600 actively filters out background noise and features a built-in echo canceller.