British Telecommunications Plc and Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA last week formally launched their jointly-developed VC8000 system to turn a personal computer into a videoconferencing terminal which requires a Basic Rate ISDN line. It will ship early next year in the UK at a hefty UKP3,600, and a US launch is to follow in March or April. It includes a small video camera that sits atop the machine, a single slot board, and the software, which was developed by Olivetti. The two invested UKP20m in the system; Olivetti is selling it as part of its Personal Communications Computer. At the demo, it ran at only three to five frames a second; 15 a second are promised at launch.
