VoiceCon 2009: Cisco extends telepresence capabilities

If there was any recent doubt that Cisco is gung-ho on video, all should be erased with the release of its latest slew of telepresence products and applications today. The company added an entry-level telepresence system, support for telepresence over T1/E1 connections, and some apps for user collaboration beyond meetings.

The Cisco TelePresence System 1300 series is designed for up to six people in a shared-use meeting room. It has a 65-inch plasma screen and three cameras, and it's expected to be available at a list price of $79,000 - not cheap, but more affordable for smaller businesses and branch offices of larger businesses.

With some software and compression magic, Cisco TelePresence Extended Reach can now run over bandwidth connections as low as 1.5 Mbps in 720p resolution with QoS while preserving the experience. The package also supports telepresence over open Internet connections such as FiOS or DOCSIS, providing support for 1080p or 720p resolutions.

New applications include Recording Studio, a way to create HD video messages and presentations for playback on Cisco TelePresence units at 1080p HD quality, and Event Controls, a new application for event managers to create and host internal or external events in standard Cisco TelePresence rooms, including presentations, keynotes, lectures and seminars.