Is it good equipment, need some contact info if anybody has it. Thanks in advance!

Yes, Polycom is very good equipment.  Some would argue top of the line.. Can't help you with contact info.

It's mostly sold through distributors. There are two or three major ones and most buy through those. The "good equipment" is highly debatable. There are better pieces than others.

Besides polycom, is there anything else we should be looking into for larger conference rooms - I think cisco is a little over our budget for a few of these projects. Thanks!

Lifesize, but in all honesty- not sure you should sink cash in it. Software is where it’s at ala Skype and Jabber

Yes, I haven't sold hardware based VC systems in some time now, at least a couple years.

All my customers have moved to UC, web-based conferencing. This can be problematic at times with USB connectivity and such, but as long as your DSP provides a USB connection, you can get normal setups (ceiling/table mics, cameras, etc.) to work great with Skype, webex, etc.

Either way, Polycom/Cisco always seemed to be priced pretty comparatively, from what I remember.

What's the application and why do they need a hardware based VC?? They could always use a hosting service to connect hardware based to software based systems.

Has anybody used the snap av conferencing equipment?

I've used the Nearus camera before with good results and the ClearOne gear is solid. I might try Vaddio for cameras next. I've been around the big conference equipment players in the past but most of the new clients just want to go with a simple web based conferencing provider and USB interfaces. I still recommend a professional mic setup and DSP though.

There is a reason why Polycom isn't a public company any more ;)

I'm in the moving away from hardware codecs camp as well. Unless the client already has legacy systems or specific far ends to connect to that have them or is looking for the best of the best (hardware, but not Polycom), most clients will be much happier with a software based system; Skype4B, Zoom, and WebEx being the most popular in my experience.

Polycom is one of the few DSPs that doesn't include USB today natively just for that reason (their DSP line is like 10 years old. albeit rock solid reliable for what it is), but it can be adapted fairly easily. For smaller rooms, the Trio 8800/8500 work great as a SIP phone/USB audio interface. Tabletop SIP phones are most of Polycom's revenue now, particularly Skype4B phones. The rest of the market has kind of passed them by in their efforts to Make the VC Market Great Again rather than keeping up with the changing world.

Lots of other audio options for smaller rooms if you don't want the SIP phone in the same box, but that way looks nice and keeps the table clutter to a minimum (Revolabs/Yamaha UC, AcousticMagic, Jabra, etc.).

You can use any camera with an external USB encoder or there are tons of USB cameras available now. Vaddio, Marshall, Panacast, HuddleCam, VDO360, ClearOne, Logitech, etc., etc.