Vidyo Offers Web-Based Video Conferencing for SMBs

Mention video conferencing to most small business owners and they’ll no doubt think of slow, choppy playback and echoed, garbled sound. But Vidyo claims its Web-based product produces affordable, high-definition desktop video conferencing. Is this simply too good to be true? Gerry Blackwell at VoIPPlanet.com puts the claim to the test.

High-definition desktop video conferencing over the Internet for small businesses may sound like a pipe dream, but Vidyo, a four-year-old software developer that launched its first product a year ago, claims to be able to deliver it today.

The company’s new VidyoOne product, launched in October, is an ‘appliance’ that small businesses can install in their own data centers or at a collocation facility. It uses patented Vidyo technology to enable conferences with video at up to 720p (pixels of vertical resolution), equivalent to broadcast HDTV.

The cost? A five-port VidyoOne server that supports up to 25 users and 5 simultaneous participants sells for $7,000. A 10-port, 50-user VidyoOne costs $14,000.

Vidyo can also arrange collocation at an all-in cost of $13 per month per user. That’s based on charges for collocating one rack and use of a 15 Mbps Internet connection, amortized over 25 users.

What’s the catch?

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