When we noted back in November that videoconferencing was becoming more and more of a consumer product, we mentioned Hackensack, NJ-based Vidyo as one of the smaller fish that would be giving companies like Cisco and Logitech a run for their money. Yesterday, Vidyo announced their new telepresence system, called VidyoRoom HD-220: a high-definition, room-based videoconferencing system with a price that will certainly make Cisco disciples rethink their systems.

There are a number of variables in play—from the price of bandwidth to the relevance of legacy videoconferencing systems—that are helping newer videconferencing companies take flight. Bandwidth is getting cheaper and cheaper as conferencing technology continues to improve, which is a start. Larger companies can benefit from this as well, but companies like Vidyo that have smaller product lines are much nimbler in this type of market. Complete telepresence solutions from videoconferencing giants easily cost $250,000, and even then the endpoints might have components that already are, or will soon be irrelevant.

VidyoRoom HD-220 sells for about a tenth of the cost of a high-end telepresence platform: the endpoint starts at $6,995, and with the addition of HD cameras and screens, audio, and the Vidyo router, it adds up to about $25,000 – $30,000. Reviewers have noted that Vidyo’s system doesn’t offer the same sophistication of a Cisco system, but the general opinion is that the product is much more mature than its price suggests.

Questions about Vidyo’s quality tend to stem from their source of transportation: the public Internet. But company execs claim that their technology minimizes latency and packet loss. Either way, they’ve had some pretty substantial success, and are reportedly looking at mobile outlets next.