No doubt spooked by Hitachi Ltd’s ultra low cost videoconferencing systems, Peabody, Massachusetts-based PictureTel Corp has turned to Siemens AG’s Siemens Private Communication Systems for muscle, and agreed to joint development of a full motion, full colour videophone. Siemens will develop the telephone-related components while PictureTel will develop the video and audio technology. The companies said they have developed prototypes already, but pricing and availability have yet to be set. The systems will be compatible with existing PictureTel systems and with the CCITT H.261 standard and will also be able to send and receive documents. They will operate with Siemens’ ISDN PABXs and public digital networks at 56Kbps to 128Kbps. The system will offer full Common Intermediate Format video resolution to provide high quality on small and large monitors. The development agreement builds on an existing Siemens-PictureTel PaCT joint marketing programme.
