Video-Conferences in Color: Workstation Technologies Inc., a...

Video-Conferences in Color: Workstation Technologies Inc., a maker of computer components, has launched a color camera for desktop video conferencing systems that the company says can lower the costs of corporate meetings.

The camera is a based on technology similar to that in its black-and-white video camera for a system that sits atop desktop computers. That system sells for $160 to $225 and was introduced in March.

The video conferencing system is based on multimedia technology, the combination of a personal computer, high-quality sound, graphics and video. The camera squishes the visual data into encoded bits that can be transmitted over phone lines or computer networks.

Until recently, the technology was too expensive and complicated for use with desktop computers. But advances in compression, or the ability to compress data into smaller, encoded bits, has helped it spread.

“The missing link in this rapidly growing world of video-conferencing and multimedia is a camera” that can bring full-motion color video to the desktop, said Ashkor Jain, executive vice president.

Using the camera, a video conferencing system could flash images of someone using the system as fast as TV images can be transmitted, the company said. Workstation Technologies, based in Irvine, will sell cameras to suppliers for $210 to $270 each.