Being Mobile World Congress, quite a few software vendors found themselves tucked into corners of bigger booths, eager and willing to showcase their latest work. Ittiam is one of those companies, relying on Texas Instruments’ OMAP 4 platform to power its new HD video conferencing system. The demo shown here at MWC involved a foursome of TI development boxes, but the underlying platform was most certainly Android 2.2. Anil Kumar, the manager of Ittiam’s video communications division, noted that the system would work just fine on Gingerbread and Honeycomb, enabling up to four devices (smartphones, tablets, whatever) to link up and enjoy a multi-faced call over a standard 3G network.

Of course, the demonstration that we were shown used an Ethernet network for maximum stability, but the low-bitrate technology would allow bearable results on 3G networks (and better-than-average results on a 4G network). We were told that the company is in talks with “numerous” phone makers, in hopes of getting their VCS software integrated onto Android devices by the year’s end — think Qik, but for video conferencing — but he couldn’t hand out any specifics. Head on past the jump if you’d like to see a demo (and hear an awful lot more).

Continue reading Ittiam shows off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4 (video)

Ittiam shows off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Panasonic Japan today announced the KX-VC500 [JP], a new video-conferencing system that makes it possible to communicate using full HD screens. The system mainly consists of a device Panasonic calls HD communication unit and a remote control, connecting users via the web.

For some strange reason, Panasonic intends to sell the corresponding microphone separately (for a yet to be determined price). Not only that, the KX-VC500 doesn’t come with a camera either. Instead, buyers are supposed to use their HD cameras they already have at home or in the office, obviously. Panasonic promises superior sound quality (MPEG-4 AAC LD, 20kHz).

The main unit can be plugged into any screen capable of displaying HD images. It features two HDMI ports and an RGB interface.

The system will hit Japanese stores October 1 with an open price model. Panasonic hasn’t said yet whether it will be available outside Japan as well, but plans to produce 300 units monthly.