If you are tired of low-resolution webcams, this one may be for you: LifeSize will be offering a high-definition video conferencing kit in early 2006. The four piece kit called LifeSize Room includes a pan-tilt-zoom camera, audio speakerphone, Codec/connector box and wireless remote control. Using H.264 compression, the system will be capable of doing 1280 X 720 pixels.
The camera looks similar to the bullet shaped Apple iSight webcam and can capture 1280 X 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. Audio is capture with the speakerphone which consists of 16 circularly mounted microphones and can record in 22 KHz full-duplex. All of the video/audio connections go into a codec stand that contains S-Video, Composite and VGA in and out. There is also a NTSC/PAL switch on the back of the stand. VoIP users can plug in a phone into the stand and will appreciate the SIP and H.323 support.
Shipping date and price have not been announced.
