Cisco to sell video conferencing box for the home

Cisco Systems Inc announced on Wednesday that it is going to start selling a $599 box that turns living-room TV sets into big videophones.

It is the first entry by the world's largest maker of computer networking gear into home videoconferencing, a market that has been dominated by free, PC-oriented services such as Skype SA.

Cisco said that the 'umi' device will include a camera and will be controlled by a remote. The service will cost US$25 per month on top of the purchase price.

Cisco emphasises that the system will produce high-definition, life-like video, but the quality will also depend on the speed of the home's broadband connection.

Competing consumer-level videoconferencing services mostly do not produce high-definition video, but TV manufacturers have already started to bring video calling into the living room.

New TVs this year from Panasonic Corp and Samsung Electronics Company can use the Skype conferencing service with accessory cameras.

Cisco, which is based in San José, California, said the umi will be sold at Best Buy starting November 14.

Verizon Communications Inc also said it would sell the system, starting next year, to customers who have its FiOS fiber-optic Internet service.

Cisco has been selling corporate videoconferencing equipment for years, focusing on the very highest end of the market - so-called "telepresence" systems that take up a whole room, with large plasma screens and carefully staged lighting.

Broadened its portfolio

Earlier this year, it broadened its portfolio considerably with the US$3.4-billion acquisition of Tandberg ASA, a Norwegian company that made systems ranging from telepresence set-ups to videophones on the desk top.

In the consumer video-conferencing space, Cisco is competing not just with Skype and TV makers, but with Logitech International SA of Switzerland.

It is big maker of webcams and is collaborating with Google Inc on connecting TVs to the Internet.

Last year, Logitech bought LifeSize Communications, which produces a range of business-focused videoconferencing gear.

- AP