Polycom enhances video recording, streaming and content managment

“Use of live video broadcasts and on-demand video content is growing rapidly in the enterprise, government agencies, healthcare organisations, and educational institutions,” said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom. “Polycom offers a unique solution by allowing customers to leverage Polycom telepresence and video conferencing systems to reach broader audiences through real-time video streaming for company-wide communication from executive leaders and through on-demand video content captured using the Polycom systems. This marriage of telepresence with streaming and on-demand multimedia content provides a powerful, cost-effective solution for video-enabling geographically dispersed organisations.”

The Polycom Video Media Center™ (VMC™) 1000 is an appliance-based solution for centrally managing, leveraging and protecting video assets. It works in conjunction with the Polycom Recording and Streaming Server (RSS™) 2000 and other industry encoders to capture live video conferences or user-generated video recordings that can then be distributed as a live broadcast or edited, published and made available for on-demand playback. The capability can help connect dispersed workforces and improve collaboration by seamlessly integrating live video streaming and on-demand video content into organisational communications and conferencing.

New enhancements to the Polycom VMC 1000 include broader support for multicasting technologies, including support for multicasting through Silverlight-based players from Microsoft. Also new is expanded support for content delivery networks (CDNs), including the Qumu MediaNet and other encoding solutions. Combined with new question-and-answer capabilities for live broadcasts, the multicast and CDN support allows organisations to distribute live video broadcasts more efficiently and effectively to large audiences. The solution is well-suited for applications such as an executive address to an entire organisation or town hall sessions for employees, partners, or channel community.

Additional enhancements to the Polycom VMC 1000 include compatibility with Safari browsers for Mac computer environments and support for a wider range of media formats beyond H.264, MPEG4 and Windows Media, including Quicktime and Flash. It also now supports network-based storage, providing a more scalable and robust solution allowing IT administrators to apply established data policies to video content for back-up and storage.

Polycom also announced enhancements to its RSS 2000 for recording and streaming telepresence and video conferencing meetings. The platform now supports 1080p high-definition (HD) visual communication in addition to existing support for 720p HD resolution. The system now also supports side-by-side layouts for video and content, and security enhancements such as AES media encryption and Network Address Translation (NAT).

“Polycom visual communication is an essential component in our ability to deliver care, independent of time and location,” said Dr. Glenn Hammack, CEO of NuPhysicia, the leading provider of telemedicine health services in the U.S. “We recently extended its use to support the launch of Medicine At Work, a new, cost-effective health benefit option for employers. Using the Polycom recording, streaming and video content management solution, NuPhysicia was able to reach a broad, geographically dispersed audience quickly and cost-effectively with a very professional and dynamic unveiling of the new Medicine At Work programme. We were then able to package and repurpose the live presentation in an on-demand format that has continued to generate awareness and interest in the new programme.”

Applications for live video broadcasts and on-demand video content are broad and include: corporate communication (investor relations, internal announcements, all-hands meetings, mergers and acquisitions, etc.); education and training (retention of intellectual property, distance learning, recorded lectures, self-study programmes, certification, etc.); human resources (new hire training, benefits updates, compliance testing, etc.); and sales and marketing applications (product updates and demonstrations, field sales training, promotions, partner education/updates, marketing campaigns to targeted audiences, etc.). Video content can also help reduce customer support costs by providing effective and easy-to-follow product details, installation instructions, troubleshooting guides and user manuals.