23 April 2001, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Telos Systems has introduced a new generation of their famous Zephyr ISDN codecs. The new Zephyr Xstream (in both rackmount and portable versions) includes the features that helped make the original Zephyr the most successful audio codec in the industry, along with new capabilities that promise to make Zephyr Xstream the most popular codec yet.

Says Scott Stiefel, Zephyr Xstream product design manager, "The original Zephyr is already the world’s most widely-used ISDN codec. So, in designing Zephyr Xstream, we spoke with Zephyr users world-wide and asked for their ideas. We found out what additional capabilities they considered most useful, and implemented them in our new Zephyr Xstream codec family."

Zephyr Xstream introduces new features such as Low-Delay MPEG AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which dramatically reduces delay time and gives better quality than MPEG Layer III at comparable bit rates. There is also an Ethernet port, which allows Zephyr Xstream to stream audio over IP connections and adds networked remote control capabilities. Zephyr Xstream is fully compatible with all existing Zephyrs and has G.722, Layer II, and Layer III coding capabilities.

A portable model, Zephyr Xstream MXP, adds a stereo mixer with 4 switchable mic/line inputs and DSP processing by Omnia. Processing presets include settings for voice and music. Zephyr Xstream MXP also offers four headphone monitors with two separate mixes. These convenient built-in mixing capabilities can also be had in a rackmount version, the Zephyr Xstream MX.

Zephyr Xstream codecs are now shipping with a retail price of $3,990 (US); Xstream MX and MXP models are priced at $4,490 (US). To find out more about Zephyr Xstream, visit Telos at the NAB April 23-26, Booth R2263, Las Vegas Convention Center.

Telos Systems, with headquarters located in Cleveland, Ohio, and offices in Baltimore, Maryland; San Diego, California; and Freising, Germany is a leading manufacturer of ISDN, digital network and telephone interface products for talk-show programming, call-in radio segments, teleconferencing, audio production, remote broadcasts, and intercom applications.

Omnia, a Telos company, is world-renowned for its innovative digital audio signal processing expertise. Its family of digital audio processors for FM, AM, TV, DAB, Internet, and broadcast audio production are setting new standards for audio quality in the broadcast and Internet industries worldwide.

To find out more about Telos Systems, call +1 (216) 241-7225 or e-mail info@telos-systems.com.