VCON announces the VCB 2500 MCU and streaming server, new versions of Media Xchange Manager ® and Conference Moderator

February 14, 2005 (Austin, TX) - VCON ( Euronext- Nouveau Marché -ISIN CODE: IL 00 108 30540 ), a worldwide leader in videoconferencing solutions, today announces the VCB 2500, VCON's new multipoint videoconferencing unit (MCU) and streaming server, as well as enhancements to its server-based product line.

The new VCB 2500, created to make multipoint conferencing and streaming easy for administrators as well as end-users scheduling their own conferences, is the only MCU on the market with an embedded gatekeeper (MXM). This unique aspect of the VCB 2500 greatly reduces costs because it eliminates the need for companies to purchase an external gatekeepers and additional PCs. What's more, the VCB 2500 includes all the major high-quality standards for video, audio and data, and allows participants to conference at the data rate of their choice. A VCB 2500 conference is easy to setup, administer and monitor, and any conference can be streamed out over the corporate network.

"VCON's VCB 2500 MCU is robust enough for all our multipoint conferencing needs, and is versatile by being truly vendor-neutral so that any videoconferencing endpoint can be joined in a conference easily and quickly," said Randy Cross, Media Services Coordinator-WECN, College of Agricultural Human and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University. "This was a crucial factor in our decision to purchase the VCB 2500."

The VCB 2500 MCU includes all of the rich feature sets found in VCON's previous MCU, the VCB 2000, including an embedded gatekeeper, streaming capability, and conference scheduling and moderation. The VCB 2500 adds advanced capabilities such as speed matching, symmetric bandwidth in H.261 and H.263 (for continuous presence), and audio transcoding. The VCB 2500 also includes a full array of audio and video algorithms necessary for successful multipoint conferencing, including CD-like 20KHz audio and H.264 video. The VCB 2500 supports both H.323 and SIP clients, incorporates multicast streaming, and includes free vPoint HD desktop video clients. Additionally, the VCB 2500 supports H.235 for encrypted multipoint conferences and H.239, which allows MCU participants to share data during a multipoint call.

"VCON's new VCB 2500 MCU is powerful, easy to operate and install and provides excellent price performance," said Andreas Wienold, vice president, global sales & marketing, VCON. "We're confident that VCON's partners and end users will embrace the VCB 2500 as a premier video MCU and streaming server."

VCON is also releasing version 4.2 of its MXM and Conference Moderator. The new MXM version features enhanced web-based tools and support for H.350, which provides uniformity and easier access to endpoint and end-users in a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) environment . VCON's Conference Moderator, which combines web-based scheduling, multipoint session moderation and web data conferencing into one easy-to-use package, now features definable "roles" for each conference participant, integration with LDAP directories, GUI improvements (especially for chair control functions), and status reporting.

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 Euronext (Euronext- Nouveau Marché -ISIN CODE: IL 00 108 30540).