Video Calls Get Security Boost

Polycom and VCON last month jumped on the H.264 bandwagon by expanding support across their product lines for the new compression standard, which provides double the quality of video calls when compared with its predecessor without increasing bandwidth usage.

Tandberg, which already supports H.264, and Polycom also extended support for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which provides for increased protection against hackers trying to intercept corporate video communications.

With so much attention being paid to security, the boost in H.264 support couldn't have hit the videoconferencing market at a better time, said Don Eckrod, president of AAA Networks, a solution provider in Falls Church, Va. "Everybody is talking about security, particularly in the government sector where encryption is extremely important," Eckrod said. "It's about knowing that when you're going to communicate from Point A to B, it can't be sniffed by somebody."

Market leader Polycom, Pleasanton, Calif., said its forthcoming version 6.0 software upgrade, scheduled for release in March, will add support for H.264 and AES across its iPower and ViewStation FX, EX and VS4000 group conferencing units.

Oslo, Norway-based Tandberg, Polycom's closest rival, launched Tandberg Management Suite (TMS) version 8.0. With the release, Tandberg has made AES a standard feature across its entire product line. The new version also extends the multivendor management capabilities of Tandberg's software by adding support for Polycom MGC multipoint-control units.

TMS 8.0 also supports the brand-new Tandberg Instant Messenger, a tool that works with MSN Messenger to bring videoconferencing calls into the world of instant messaging and buddy lists.

Austin, Texas-based VCON, meanwhile, said it plans to add H.264 support to its vPoint videoconferencing software during the second quarter of this year.