Avocent Corporation announced that it has achieved several important technical breakthroughs to enable desktop workstations and PCs to be seamlessly accessed from remote locations, for an unmatched user experience. The advances include transparent extensions of USB 2.0 as well as full digital video interface (DVI) over standard TCP/IP networks without any loss of video resolution, frame rate, content or clarity. The advances mean that users can utilize USB 2.0 devices and remotely access computers, as well as access exact replicas of computer videos that are located anywhere on the network. The company said patents were pending on the technologies.

"These types of pioneering achievements represent several years of work and a leap forward in the way that users will be able to access their computers in the near future," said Kieran MacSweeney, General Manager of Avocent Corporation. "We anticipate that further investments next year will enable a new user interface that can finally deliver true virtualized desktops. We continue to be committed to developing solutions that are truly innovative in the way that they help customers reduce costs and simplify the management of their IT infrastructure."

Avocent said the DVI extension enables exact replicas of video from computers to be accessed by users located anywhere on a network. The technology will also support, for the first time, single and dual video sources with high resolutions up to 1920 x 1200. Avocent said its technology will enable video compression rates at approximately 10 times higher than any comparable product. The unique compression technique will enable users to see video that is identical to video coming directly from a remote computer via a TCP/IP network.

Avocent said its transparent extension of full USB 2.0 enables any USB device that is plugged into a user station to be mapped directly to a remote computer.

The technology will support all USB devices including CD drives, touch screens, digitizing tablets and PDAs, at full USB speeds and provide seamless connection of those devices to a computer that is located remotely from the user.

The company plans to introduce a new solution during the first half of 2007 that would initially be focused on specialized applications where keeping PCs in close proximately to users was impractical due to space, security or environmental restrictions, such as financial trading floors, call centers, or industrial locations. Longer term, the company indicated it was developing desktop over IP solutions for a broad base of users to enable true virtualization of any desktop.

"As a result of these advances and additional ones that we will be introducing in 2007, we will have the capability to deliver a truly innovative 'desktop over IP' solution," said John Curran, vice president of marketing for Avocent. "In the coming months we intend to commercialize these new technologies and offer them to end users through our existing channels as well as OEM relationships."

Posted by David Marshall on December 17, 2006 09:45 AM