All hail the PCS-XG80, the industry's first 1080i HD videoconferencing system. Now you can see exactly how fit/fuggly your Transatlantic colleagues are.

Combining a 1080i resolution and a high frame rate of 60 fields per second, the PCS-XG80 promises unrivalled live video quality for a very natural alternative to face-to-face meetings.

Thanks to its backward compatibility, you even have the flexibility to choose to connect with HD video quality through the growing number of affordable high bandwidth connections or with your older, SD legacy systems over IP and/or ISDN. In an industry first, the product also features BrightFace, Video Annotation, and RF Remote functionality.

The PCS-XG80 is an expansion of Sony's current HD PCS group systems lineup, and incorporates PCS-HG90 functions and features. From PowerPoint and animations to live DVDs, you should be able to share PC data in HD at 30fps. With the dual stream functionality, this means that you can actually send two separate streams of live, HD information in parallel. Both live camera view and for example animated PowerPoint can be displayed in HD on two different screens or projectors at the remote site.




Featuring 6-site multipoint conferencing, you can call up to five other remote sites to simultaneously meet and multi-language support for 20 different languages means you can easily navigate through the menus. Wide band stereo audio should also enhances the overall meeting experience with crisp and clear sound.

Speaking at the Sony Business Showcase event in Dublin, Paul Hennessy, Director of Media and Professional UK and Ireland, said: 'We have drawn on more than 25 years of High Definition leadership in the broadcast industry to design a High Definition videoconferencing solution that is affordable and flexible, yet delivers an unparalleled user experience.'


He continued: 'We believe that the PCS-XG80 delivers the best available video and audio quality on the market for those large corporate organisations as well as SMEs, healthcare institutions, education establishments and government bodies that are looking for cost-effective, best of breed and proven communication technologies. 'In addition to the high quality and great performance of the PCS-XG80, we have also designed it to offer an unrivalled collaborative environment, where people can engage face-to-face, without incurring the financial, environmental and human costs of what is essentially unnecessary travel in today's global business environment.'

The PCS-XG80 will be available for shipping from spring 2008, at a list price of approximately GBP 5614.

[via BIOS Magazine]