Sony Electronics and GlowPoint said today they have launched a new consumer voice- and video-over-IP service targeting the consumer market.

The new consumer version of Sony’s IVE (Instant Video Everywhere) service is a slightly scaled down version of the company’s corporate service and includes a free element where users can call each other via voice and video.

“I’ve always been a big proponent of reminding people that VoIP used to be voice and video over IP,” said Mike Brandofino, chief technology officer and executive vice president of GlowPoint. “A lot of people dropped the video because it was so difficult.”

GlowPoint, which operates the network behind the Sony-branded service, also is promoting the ability to call to other clients with the IVE (pronounced ‘Ivy’) service, though in reality that may be a little slow in coming. IVE uses SIP-based technology and doesn’t include any proprietary implementation of the standard, Brandofino said. In the company’s core network, it also has a SIP-to-H.323 gateway allowing users to communicate with other video clients.

“We’re breaking down the barriers from an island of video perspective,” he said. “The codec is a SIP-based codec. What we have to test is the SIP gateway communicating to all of the H.323 devices. That doesn’t mean we’ll be able to communicate with every NetMeeting or Polycom client. But we’re setting the groundwork for that.”

Indeed, the company is working on a number of other alliances that will put the client in other consumer products such as set-top boxes. In fact, it likely wouldn’t be able to go to the consumer market without a recognized brand name given the amount of VoIP competitors.

“We want people to understand that this Sony IVE solution can extend beyond their PC,” Brandofino said. “Sony has the wherewithal to reach all of those markets.”