SightSpeed 5.0 Launches

Berkeley, CA based SightSpeed, an IP video and voice services company, is launching its 5.0 product tonight.

While many of the changes are upgrades to its video product suite (including a new video codec) and user interface (which is already good), SightSpeed makes several introductions in this launch. Among them, it’s adding new PSTN out and in-calling features to extend SightSpeed functionality to mobile and regular phones. And it’s leveraging its video expertise to add a new “place-shifted” TV service, which gives users a “Slingbox-like” experience without the hardware. A small remote control icon lets you flip through channels being served up via your TV at home.

With an already highly regarded video product that touts video at 30 fps and ultra low latency, the move to add TV is a natural extension of its technology. Additionally, it could prove to be a savvy competitive move, with Novac’s Skype-based TV product being one of what will be many entrants in the place-shifted space.

In a highly competitive space with a slew of well-funded competitors like Skype – product quality matters. SightSpeed really delivers. Their affordable video conferencing service is stunning. We aren’t alone in our enthusiasm. Read, for example, Davis D. Janowski’s breathless account of SightSpeed’s new feature set at PCMag.