February 21, 2012 — Faster VoIP paging and more control make Vocia 1.4 even more intuitive and easier to integrate

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Biamp Systems, a leading provider of innovative, networked media systems, is kicking off HiMSS 2012 by showcasing Vocia 1.4. In response to industry-wide communication trends and evolving customer needs, Biamp has introduced new features and enhancements in Vocia 1.4 that provide streamlined call prompt options and greater control, along with expanded programming and customization enhancements. These newly added features, coupled with Vocia's existing network-based architecture, make it ideal for paging systems within hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Vocia 1.4 adds to Vocia's existing functionality and provides new options for system integration. These features include:

• An enhancement of the VoIP telephone paging interface for simpler, faster emergency pages;
• Control options for General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) on the VO-4 and VI-6 devices that eliminate the need for a third-party controller to collect contact closures to trigger events in a Vocia system;
• Multiple microphone options for the Wall Station units that accommodate two microphone types from Biamp; the noise-cancelling microphone that is currently available on the Wall Stations, and a soon to be available unidirectional microphone similar to that of the Desk Station devices.

"Making reliable products is enormously important to Biamp, and that is particularly true when they're used in the types of critical applications where Vocia, our networked public address system, is installed," said Steve Metzger, President of Biamp Systems. "It's at the core of what we do every day, and it's why we chose to become an ISO9001 certified manufacturer. We have been engineering networked products for a long time now, and we have a passion for making audio products that sound great. Great sound is extremely important for distributing music or carrying on a teleconference, and absolutely essential when used for critical paging. We're committed to the continued development of Vocia. The features and enhancements in this release will provide our customers with powerful new tools."

Biamp has also implemented enhancements in Vocia 1.4 that will benefit integrators, programmers and system managers. Vocia 1.4 features increase audio management flexibility during system updates so only the device affected by the system update will be muted, leaving the rest of the system online.