Polycom Inc Helps Bring RENT To Japan

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, today announced that its industry-leading immersive telepresence solution, the Polycom RealPresence^TM Experience High Definition (RPX^TM HD), played an important role in the collaboration process between the Tokyo and New York creative staffs of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical RENT during the production of the musical in Japan (produced by Toho).

Using Polycom RPX solutions, RENT's Tokyo and New York creative teams collaborated face to face across nearly 7,000 miles as effectively as if they were in the same room. The Polycom RPX is uniquely designed as the industry's only complete room-within-a-room telepresence environment optimized to deliver natural, life-like communication among geographically dispersed groups. The immersive communication experience helped the teams accelerate decision making, reduce travel costs and improve productivity and efficiency.

"The product team here in Japan needed to work closely with the director, stage designer, and costume designer in New York, but e-mails, phone calls, and even traditional video conferencing did not satisfy our needs," said Ms. Mariko Kojima, RENT's producer in Japan. "The Polycom RPX immersive telepresence solution provides an amazing "same room" meeting experience, with clear video and acoustic technology that picks up even whispers, which enabled us to communicate very effectively despite the great distance separating our teams. A sense of "sharing the same space" was critical when making big decisions and discussing intricate details and sensitive issues. The Polycom RPX HD allowed us to have natural interaction and ultimately helped us save significant time, money and energy, while also reducing our stress levels."

"Telepresence is universally applicable and we are consistently amazed how customers apply Polycom solutions to solve a wide range of problems," said Youssef Saleh, senior vice president and general manager of telepresence and vertical solutions at Polycom. "The collaboration between the RENT musical production teams is a great example of the power of immersive, face-to-face collaboration and how Polycom solutions can erase the barriers of distance. We are proud of our contribution to help bring this outstanding musical production to Japan."

Mr. Toshiya Honma, who is in charge of the acoustic treatment for RENT in Japan, said, "The Polycom RPX HD immersive telepresence solution is so true-to-life. It did not give me any sense of being surrounded by technology devices, which allowed me to naturally talk with the creative staff in New York through the large, cinematic video walls. Being able to see our team in New York face to face, gave me a feeling of freedom, and it felt as if we shared the same conference room. Also, because the Polycom RPX HD excelled in sound quality and speech processing, we found no problem in sound gain and feedback, which resulted in natural and stress-free communication. I was able to talk from anywhere in the room and could not only hear the voices of others clearly but I could also tell where the speaker was because of stereo sound. Without a sense of discomfort created by technology devices, opinion exchanges went smoothly; everyone was able to speak and interact naturally."

RENT is a legendary musical in the U.S., written by Jonathan Larson. Following its premiere in 1996, the show attracted people due to its sensational and dramatic story and music. It ended its run on September 7, 2008, and holds the record for the 7th longest-running show in Broadway's history. The Broadway musical RENT in Japan was scheduled from November 7 to December 30 at Hibiya Theater Creation in Tokyo and from January 8 to 12, 2009 at the ION Theater BRAVA in Osaka. For more information about the Japan run of RENT, please visit the RENT web site at http://www.tohostage.com/rent/.

 

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