PictureTel Announces New Siren Wideband Audio Technology Licensing Program.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2001 PictureTel's Siren Technology Licensing Program Updated for Broad Deployment; Delivers Life-Like Audio Quality for Multimedia Application Developers PictureTel(R) Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :PCTL PCTL Percentile PCTL Prioritized Candidate Target List ), the world leader in integrated collaboration, today announced that it has lowered the cost and streamlined the process of licensing its patented Siren(TM) wideband audio technology that was approved as standard G.722.1 by the International Telecommunications Union See ITU. (body, standard) International Telecommunications Union - (ITU) ITU-T, the telecommunication standardisation sector of ITU, is responsible for making technical recommendations about telephone and data (including fax) communications systems for PTTs and suppliers. (ITU (International Telecommunication Union, Geneva, Switzerland, www.itu.ch) A telecommunications standards body that is under the auspices of the United Nations. Comprising more than 185 member countries, the ITU sets standards for global telecom networks. ). In a concurrent press release, PictureTel today announced that the Company will license Siren to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT MSFT Microsoft (stock symbol) MSFT Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore (Italy) MSFT Multi-Stage Fitness Test MSFT Master of Science in Family Therapy MSFT Macalester Students for Fair Trade ) for use as platform technology for third-party developers in future versions of the Windows operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . In addition, Microsoft will harness Siren technology in its upcoming Windows XP The previous client version of Windows. XP was a major upgrade to the client version of Windows 2000 with numerous changes to the user interface. XP improved support for gaming, digital photography, instant messaging, wireless networking and sharing connections to the Internet. . PictureTel's Siren technology is the international standard endorsed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for wideband audio compression Encoding digital audio data to take up less storage space and transmission bandwidth. Audio compression typically uses lossy methods, which eliminate bits that are not restored at the other end. ADPCM and MP3 are examples of audio compression methods. See audio codec and data compression. . Making highly efficient use of available bandwidth, Siren is able to deliver life-like audio experiences even on V.34 (33.6 kbps) and V.90 (56kbps) modem connections. The technology delivers audio quality that is closer to FM radio than to ordinary telephone calls. Another important benefit of the Siren algorithm is its high speed, making it well suited to real-time applications such as IP telephony The two-way transmission of voice over a packet-switched IP network, which is part of the TCP/IP protocol suite. The terms "IP telephony" and "voice over IP" (VoIP) are synonymous. . In addition to Microsoft, market leaders including Intel and Nortel Networks (Nortel Networks Limited, Brampton, Ontario, www.nortelnetworks.com) A world leader in telecommunications products, which includes switching, wireless and broadband systems for service providers and carriers, telephones and systems for residential and business users, computer telephony currently license Siren for a diverse range of applications. The new licensing program has been designed to reduce cost and complexity to licensees. For annual volumes under 50,000 units, for example, the cost is now 66 percent lower, allowing even startups to benefit from Siren technology. In addition, licensing terms have been streamlined and bundle all available features including those that had formerly been options. For example, the 16kbps extension that is suited to low bandwidth applications is now included with all standard licenses. More information about the licensing program can be found at: http://www.picturetel.com/siren. "Advances in broadband IP networks, VoIP, and other multi-media technologies have expanded the market for Siren dramatically over the last year," said Peter Secor, director of business development, PictureTel. "The tremendous level of interest that we have seen from these communities has prompted us to simplify the process and to set new pricing levels that will deliver industry-leading audio capabilities at unmatched price point performance levels." About Siren Siren is a wideband audio compression algorithm that was approved in 1999 as recommendation G.722.1 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the international body responsible for the standardization of telecommunications technology. PictureTel developed this technology to meet the demanding audio needs of the multimedia community. The algorithm works for all kinds of audio signals - speech, music, singing etc. G.722.1 provides wideband audio (7Khz of audio bandwidth), closer in quality to FM radio than to ordinary telephone calls that are limited to only 3.2khz of audio bandwidth. Until now wideband coding was only possible using ITU-T See ITU. ITU-T - International Telecommunications Union Recommendation G.722 (at double the bit rate of G.722.1) or a proprietary algorithm. This is a significant bandwidth savings, and opens a whole new world of applications. The technology and patents needed to implement G.722.1 can be licensed from PictureTel. Siren currently serves as the audio backbone for PictureTel's revolutionary iPower(TM) family of integrated collaboration solutions. The PictureTel 900 Series(TM), the first solution in the iPower family, combines videoconferencing, the PC, and the Internet to deliver intuitive, media-rich remote communications (1) Communicating via long distances. (2) See remote control software. that provide the first real synonym for face-to-face interaction for the most demanding business applications. About PictureTel PictureTel Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTL) is the world leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a full range of visual- and audio- collaboration platforms. PictureTel also owns 1414c, a communications ASP that greatly simplifies the network complexity inherent in mixed rich media collaboration. PictureTel markets network conferencing servers in addition to the complete range of end-point products and delivers a global capability to service, support and provide complete solutions for customers needing rich media communications. PictureTel is fundamentally in the business of eliminating the barrier of distance, enabling people to be Anywhere Now. This release includes projections and other forward-looking statements about the company's revenues, earnings, and other measures of economic performance. Actual results could differ materially from forecasts due to many factors such as, for example, competitive pressures, changes in technology, and the difficulty in forecasting in overseas markets and indirect channels. Additional information concerning risks that could cause actual results to differ is contained in the company's annual report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. and its Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. as filed with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. PictureTel is a registered trademark of PictureTel Corporation. PictureTel 900 Series, iPower, Share Ideas Simply and Anywhere Now are trademarks of PictureTel Corporation. All other terms and products names may be trademark or registered trademarks of their respective owners. |
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