Polycom 7200-23130-001 HDX 7000-720: HDX 7000 HD codec, EagleEye camera, HDX mic array, Eng rmt. Cables: 2 compon . . . MSRP: $9,999

This is a highly overpriced unit that utilizes what in the computer world could be considered stone age technology. The unit, as shipped, is capable of setting up meetings with other Polycom units. It has only DVI inputs and outputs, and will directly connect only to monitors with either DVI or composite (5 RCA jacks, three for video, two for sound). It has no HDMI in or out. For $129 you can buy a dvi-hdmi cable from Polycom, or you can spend about $40 to patch a connection together yourself; why it does not ship with a variety of connections for connecting to a variety of modern equipment is beyond me, especially at the cost; additional cables cost the company less than $10 apiece. The unit I first received was defective; Polycom did drop-ship me a replacement after they had to admit it was not working properly. I gave it two stars because the non-defective unit does in fact work. You could accomplish the same thing by buying a decent webcam for $200 or less and a decent conference room microphone for less than $100, running them through a $600 desktop machine (if you don't already have an available computer. I regard it as absurd to spend this much money for a unit with one, and only one, useful function and had recommended against it in the first place, but was overruled because the main desire was to connect mainly with another Polycom unit, which is understandable if not convincing.