HP partners with video conferencing firm Vidyo, drops hints at mobile applications
The ink's barely dry on HP's acquisition of some assets from Phoenix, but that's not the company's only recent deal -- it also announced a partnership with video conferencing firm Vidyo last week. That wouldn't necessarily be all that notable in and of itself, but HP seems to be going out of its way to talk up the potential mobile implications of the deal, with HP's Halo marketing manager Darren Podrabsky offering the following tidbit to PreCentral:
We've talked about the desktop. Think mobile. Think about your phone. HP just acquired Palm. Think about how many legs something like this has. Feel free to speculate.
Of course, there isn't much more than speculation about those possible mobile applications at the moment, with the official press release on the partnership (after the break) only confirming that one of the first uses of Vidyo's technology will be an "executive desktop solution" running on an HP TouchSmart PC. Still, as the man says, feel free to speculate.
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HP Partners with Vidyo to Offer Anytime, Anywhere Visual Collaboration
New HP-branded solutions bring quality video experiences to desktops and conference rooms with lower total cost of ownership
PALO ALTO, Calif., and HACKENSACK, N.J., June 9, 2010 – HP and Vidyo® Inc., a software-based videoconferencing solution provider, today announced an agreement to expand the HP Halo portfolio to include conference room and desktop endpoints that run on enterprise networks.
The new HP-branded visual collaboration solutions will deliver high-quality video experiences while operating on infrastructure that delivers a lower total cost of ownership. Available through HP and channel partners, the solutions will be fully interoperable with traditional videoconferencing endpoints and current Halo Studios.
The offerings will use Vidyo's complete VidyoConferencing™ line of software-based desktop and room system-based solutions running on HP servers to dramatically reduce a customer's network and video infrastructure requirements while delivering high-quality, high-definition video.
"Companies need a complete portfolio of endpoint solutions, including video at the desktop, on mobile devices and in conference rooms, so they can collaborate more effectively," said Rob Scott, vice president and general manager, Halo Telepresence Solutions, HP. "Together with Vidyo, we will provide customers with quality desktop and conference room video experiences that run over the internet or wireless networks, are highly reliable and can seamlessly connect to our existing high-end video collaboration offerings."
Vidyo's technology is able to optimize the user's video experience to reduce latency with H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC), an adaptive codec that can ensure a more reliable video experience on best-effort networks. This also eliminates the need for a costly multipoint control unit (MCU).
According to a report by analyst firm Gartner Inc.,(1) "Adaptive codecs are game-changing, since they provide a more credible path for high-quality videoconferencing to migrate more rapidly to the Internet. This greatly improves reach, reduces transport costs and drives growth."
"Vidyo and HP will offer a set of solutions that bring together the best aspects in high-end videoconferencing whether at the desktop, in conference rooms or in Halo studios," said Ofer Shapiro, co-founder and chief executive officer, Vidyo. "Vidyo looks forward to partnering with HP to help enterprises achieve new efficiencies in global video collaboration from this software-based architecture."
The solutions offered by HP will include an executive desktop solution running on an HP TouchSmart PC. HP and Vidyo will begin jointly marketing these solutions later this year.
About Vidyo Inc.
Vidyo Inc. pioneered personal telepresence enabling natural, multipoint videoconferences on desktop computers and room systems. Vidyo's patented VidyoRouter™ architecture delivers the only available H.264/Scalable Video Coding (SVC) solution that eliminates an MCU while delivering the industry's best error resilience (click here to see a video) and lowest latency videoconferencing solution over the Internet and wireless networks. Learn more at www.vidyo.com. Follow Vidyo on Twitter@VidyoConf.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
"Game Changers for Desktop Video," Robert F. Mason, Geoff Johnson, Gartner Inc., Nov. 10, 2009.
