8 April 2002, Las Vegas, NV USA

Telos Systems, makers of the industry-standard Zephyr ISDN transceivers, unveiled the newest member of the Zephyr family today at the 2002 NAB Convention in Las Vegas: Zephyr Xport, a low-cost portable codec designed to produce unprecedented audio performance from POTS (PSTN) telephone lines.

According to Telos director Michael Dosch, Zephyr Xport breaks new ground by raising the performance of POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) codecs to an exceptional level of audio quality, made possible by use of a revolutionary new coding method and the ability to dial up to ISDN-connected Zephyr Xstream transceivers using commonly available analog phone lines.

Zephyr Xport uses an enhanced version of MPEG AAC called AAC-SBR™ (Advanced Audio Coding Spectral Band Replication). This breakthrough coding algorithm, combined with Telos’ unique DSP-based modem technology, delivers stunning reproduction of both voice and music at very low bit rates. SBR enhances the efficiency of MPEG AAC by 30%, making it possible to transmit very high quality audio over an analog modem.

Zephyr Xport also provides significant improvements in connection reliability. Its unique DSP-based modem architecture enables an ISDN connection at the studio end of the call. Xport connects to a POTS telephone line, which communicates with an ISDN-connected Zephyr Xstream in the studio. Unlike other POTS codecs, which require analog lines at both ends, the pure digital studio-side connection provided by the Zephyr Xstream dramatically, improves line quality and connection reliability.

This provides an additional benefit to Zephyr Xstream users, whose studio-side units can be used to connect to Zephyr Xport, Zephyr ISDN transceivers, and even third-party ISDN codecs.

Zephyr Xport is designed for portable use and contains a built-in mixer, which provides mic and line inputs with selectable dynamics processing by Omnia, independent receive audio, and separately adjustable headphone and monitor mix outputs. Like Zephyr Xstream transceivers, Zephyr Xport incorporates a Web server, Ethernet port, and boasts a friendly user interface built with non-technical operators in mind.

Zephyr Xport is currently in Beta testing, and is scheduled to begin shipping to clients later this year. Projected cost is $2,390.00 US MSRP.

To find out more about Zephyr Xport, visit Telos at the NAB, Booth L2251 in the Las Vegas Convention Center Radio Hall.

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. Zephyr, Xstream, Xport and Omnia are trademarks of TLS Corp. SBR and Spectral Band Replication are trademarks of Coding Technologies. All rights reserved.

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