The Video Border Proxy (VBP) 200, supports a firewall, network-address translation, DHCP and QoS; and provides support specifically for video. The device also includes a wireless access point.

VBP 200 prioritizes video and audio packets over data packets to make the most of home broadband connections of 256K to 512Kbps.

“This is like a cable TV or DSL router, but it has code to let you be part of a videoconference,” says Ira Weinstein, an analyst with Wainhouse Research.

Deploying separate router, firewalls and VPNs as a way to achieve the same features is more complex and costly, Weinstein adds.

The VBP 200 is designed to work in tandem with Polycom’s V 700 video monitor-microphone-speaker unit to support business-quality videoconferencing for a price of less than $4,000. Weinstein says such other vendors as Direct Packet Research offer similar systems for less, but they don’t have as much throughput as the new Polycom package. The VBP 200 is expected to be available in June.