Polycom Audio Conferencing

The Financial Relations Board, Inc. and Contigo Software recently announced a new technology Polycom audio conferencing that enables companies to use the visual capabilities of the internet to enhance their conference calls without requiring modification of the viewer's or presenter's equipment. The development could add a vast new visual dimension to teleconferences.

Utilizing FRB's "RendezView" System unveiled recently, corporations can enable audiences worldwide to simultaneously view slide presentations on their desktop computers while listening to conference calls on standard telephone lines. The hybrid approach eliminates the need for audio cards and other system enhancements as the entry fee for internet conference calls, according to FRB Partner Julie Creed.

Most of the internet innovations being marketed today require an excessively advanced system on the audience's desktop, which in turn limits the number of people who can benefit from the latest whizbang product; RendezView makes internet conference calls accessible to a broader audience, which is the whole point of conference calls in the first place. The web presentation service enables any investment analyst, broker or money manager equipped with a JAVA-enabled browser to watch on a desktop computer a live visual presentation by a corporate executive simultaneous with the standard audio teleconference briefing, according to Creed.

Up to now companies seeking to broadcast a live audio/visual presentation could reach only viewers who had previously equipped their PC's with special software and audio cards. This has severely limited the usefulness of audio/visual techniques in attempting to reach broad scale investor audiences. Meanwhile, in the past 10 years the audio teleconference has emerged as the number one means of communicating with investment professionals and is used by an estimated 80% of the nation's 12,000 public listed companies, plus many overseas. RendezView web presentation services will enhance the ordinary teleconference greatly.

Developed by a leading San Diego software developer, Contigo Software LLC, the new system allows a corporate executive to conduct a live dialogue with dozens or hundreds of investment professionals worldwide, while personally controlling the flow of visuals --including a pointer/highlighter-- appearing on the audience's computer screens. The slides, created in either PowerPoint or Corel Presentation Format, will supplement any audio teleconference with charts, photos, maps, diagrams and other elements and can display the company logo or photo of the speaker as an inset.

As a host of the presentation and conference call, the presenter provides selected viewers with the "flight" number to access the slides at their web site, and a conference call number to access the audio portion. Neither the presenter nor the viewer needs special hardware or software. Both need only a conventional PC, MAC or UNIX system equipped with a JAVA-enabled browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

The presenter knows who has logged into the conference, controls the speed and flow of the slides with the touch of a keypad or mouse, decides whether or not to download or send the slides to the viewers, and has many additional features available for use during the presentation such as highlighting, pointers and seamless links back and forth between web sites.