Polycom Inc. (PLCM) has announced enhancements to its Polycom Video Media Center (VMC) 1000 and Polycom Recording and Streaming Server (RSS) 2000 solutions that allow organizations to use Polycom’s telepresence and video conferencing solutions to reach large, targeted audiences with live video broadcasts and on-demand video and multimedia content.

The Polycom VMC 1000 is an appliance-based solution for centrally managing, leveraging and protecting video assets. It works in conjunction with the Polycom RSS 2000 and other industry encoders to capture live video conferences or user-generated video recordings that can then be distributed as a live broadcast or edited, published and made available for on-demand playback.

New enhancements to the Polycom VMC 1000 include broader support for multicasting technologies, including support for multicasting through Silverlight-based players from Microsoft. Also new is expanded support for content delivery networks (CDNs), including the Qumu MediaNet and other encoding solutions. Combined with new question-and-answer capabilities for live broadcasts, the multicast and CDN support allows organizations to distribute live video broadcasts more efficiently and effectively to large audiences.

Additional enhancements to the Polycom VMC 1000 include compatibility with Safari browsers for Mac computer environments and support for a wider range of media formats beyond H.264, MPEG4 and Windows Media, including Quicktime and Flash. It also now supports network-based storage, providing a more scalable and robust solution allowing IT administrators to apply established data policies to video content for back-up and storage.

Polycom also announced enhancements to its RSS 2000 for recording and streaming telepresence and video conferencing meetings. The platform now supports 1080p high-definition (HD) visual communication in addition to existing support for 720p HD resolution. The system now also supports side-by-side layouts for video and content, and security enhancements such as AES media encryption and Network Address Translation (NAT).

The enhanced Polycom VMC 1000 is now available starting at $60,000. The enhanced Polycom RSS 2000 is also now available starting at $15,000. Polycom solutions are available through a global network of certified Polycom channel partners.