TelePresence makes video conference more "intimate"

Video conferencing has long been plagued by the detached feel of talking to a television set, but Cisco Systems Inc. in U.S. on Sunday unveiled a new tool it claims can deliver a vastly more intimate experience.

The release of Cisco TelePresence, the company's first foray into the fledgling "telepresence" market, was the San Jose-based network equipment maker's latest move to expand from its traditional business of network routers and switches into video -- a strategy it launched with the February acquisition of cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta.

The technology aims to be so realistic as to make conference-call participants believe the person talking on the monitor is actually in the same room.

The latest product will be available from December in two versions initially. The basic TelePresence 1000 model, designed for one-on-one meetings, is priced at 79,000 U.S. dollars per station.

TelePresence 3000, for larger meetings, is installed in the form of a small conference room with three high-definition screens on which participants are displayed life-size. It is listed at 299,000 dollars per station.

Hewlett-Packard Co., among others, is already offering telepresence products. Its Halo room looks similar to TelePresence 3000, but Halo uses a dedicated network rather than a client's like TelePresence. Analysts say it is too early to say which system is better.

The telepresence market is projected to grow to 300 million dollars by 2008, according to technology research firm Gartner Inc.

Source:Xinhua/Agencies