VCON’s VCB 2000 videoconferencing bridge and The Media Xchange Manager® (MXM) Gatekeeper/Management System provide investment protection with SIP/H.323 support

(March 2, 2004) Austin, Texas – VCON (Nouveau Marché ISIN Code: IL 00 108 30540), a worldwide leader in audio and videoconferencing solutions, today announced its SIP/H.323 convergence and co-existence strategy. This strategy includes support for both SIP and H.323 videoconferencing devices in its server-based networking products, as well as multipoint and point-to-point calls between SIP and H.323 devices.

The VCON MXM has many benefits for a multi-vendor videoconferencing network. Some of those benefits include PBX functionality such as call transfer and call forward, gatekeeper support such as bandwidth management and directory services, and web-based scheduling. Included in these benefits is support for SIP devices and for calls from a SIP client to an H.323 client and vice-versa.

VCON’s VCB 2000 is a scalable, richly featured videoconferencing bridge that enables videoconference streaming, web-based scheduling and management, cascading and audio transcoding. Additionally, any VCB 2000 conference can include a mixed environment of SIP and H.323 endpoints, all with the ability to see the conference in either continuous presence or voice-activated switching mode.

“While not yet widely adopted, we are seeing an increasing number of SIP endpoints in the videoconferencing market,” said Gordon Daugherty, chief marketing officer, VCON. “Designing infrastructure products that include support for both SIP and H.323 devices gives VCON customers investment protection, which is very important in the purchase of bridges and management systems. As videoconferencing networks grow with a mixture of H.323 and SIP endpoints, VCON is ready to grow with them.”

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a standard developed by the IETF and approved in 1999. While both the SIP and H.323 protocols address audio and video communications over the Internet, it is only recently that users have had the requirement for devices to interoperate and be managed by a single management system.

About VCON

VCON develops and manufactures a variety of conferencing solutions that enable seamless communication and collaboration using all forms of interactive media. The company’s award-winning technology ensures the highest audio and video performance for organizations worldwide. VCON’s meeting and collaboration solutions include desktop and group videoconferencing products, audio conferencing products, data conferencing products and management systems. The company markets its products and services through a network of reseller partners, OEMS and value-added resellers around the world. VCON has worldwide headquarters in Israel and regional headquarters in Munich, Austin and Beijing. VCON is publicly traded on Le Nouveau Marché (Nouveau Marché ISIN Code: IL 00 108 30540).