Carlos Montenegro asked:




When companies have to buy something, it has to be approved by management. With the cost of air travel going up, it is only right to justify the use of video conferencing since it is more affordable to do so in the long term.

How do you justify that? Most companies use numbers as their basis in making a decision so if you look at the expense report and notice that a huge chunk is spent on traveling, they will realize that they can cut cost here and use the money saved somewhere else.

But doesn’t video conferencing equipment cost a lot of money and isn’t the system very complex? For a time but this has changed. This is because vendors no longer use ISDN lines and they have now shifted to IP networks. This is the same system used by the Internet thus making it easy to integrate with other systems.

For those who are concerned about how much it costs, the price of video conferencing equipment has gone down through the years making it more affordable for businesses.

A decade ago, a video conferencing system costs $75,000 or even more. Nowadays, you can find one for less than $10,000. Other accessories like a webcam will cost you less than thousand.

As a result, it is no wonder that a consumer report has shown that there was a 22% increase in sales of the equipment in 2006 versus 2005. So although you may need a lot so this can be installed in each office, in the long term it doesn’t because you already have the system in place which is not affected by the price of oil in the world market.

Another way to justify the need for this technology is to do a study by interviewing those who have gone on business trips in the past and ask how well it went. Previous reports have shown that traveling takes a toll on your body due to fatigue and stress. By the time they get to where they are going, their mind is not focused with what needs to be done thus decreasing their productivity.

You can also argue the other benefits of video conferencing like the ability to increase the sales and product development cycles, improve the quality of communications, better delivery of training and coaching to the other offices as well an improvement in the quality of the work after a staff meeting.

There have also been other improvements both in audio and video quality so you get to communicate with the other party in real time. But the best part about such systems is that they are user friendly since most of the systems currently available are menu driven so you don’t need to study a manual inside out and no special expertise is needed.

When management has approved your request, it is time to go out shopping for the right system. Ideally, you should get one that has an audio and video channel but the latest is the kind that allows multi-media communications. This allows the user to send and receive data in a dual stream IP environment.

Do I need to say more to help you justify the need for video conferencing systems? Maybe not so do your research and use the system to your potential.

Jane

James Hunter asked:




With videoconferencing people can interact as if they were talking face to face with both images and sound relayed in real time. This article is designed to guide you through the various options to arrive at the system type best suited to your purpose.

There are various types of videoconferencing; which is suitable for your application will depend upon the IT structure available and what it is that you actually want to achieve.
Video conferencing has in the past been relatively expensive, but prices are coming down and it is possible for anyone with a fast enough internet connection to operate a video conference.

Systems are available for hire, lease or sale.

Systems may be installed at all or any of the following: – on the desktop PC a dedicated videoconference suite mobile – for use when and where the need arises.

Each has various advantages and limitations which may be critical to your purpose.

Paradoxically it is far more critical that audio connections are maintained than the video. You may loose a video signal or it may be intermittent but the conference will still proceed – if you lose audio, nothing can be achieved (unless both parties are versed in sign language!)

Video speed for equipment is often shown as frames per second abbreviated as FPS.

In the UK video from most sources runs under the PAL standard which 25 frames per second – e.g. domestic VHS players. In the USA the system is NTSC which runs at 30 frames per second. Videoconference equipment commonly is specified as 15 fps or 30 fps. In layman’s terms – 15 fps will be jerky, it shows every other frame, 30 fps is full motion video.

The higher the frame rate the greater the data load, so the faster the connection required.

A minimum requirement for full motion video and audio between two points is 768 Kbps.

This made up of:- an encoding rate of 384 Kbps (typically used) is selected. This is broken down into two parts – 64Kbps is for the audio 320 Kbps is for the video.
The resulting 384 Kbps stream is compressed and sent (from you – the source) to the remote point (the destination). Similarly a 384 Kbps stream is received from the remote point to you. Thus twice 384 Kbps in bandwidth is required.

If there is a lot of motion in the video, very little compression is achieved. If there is little or no motion in the video, the savings can approach 50%. It would, however, be foolish to design a system which relied on the participants being forced to remain static.

There are two types of video conferencing, each has sub-types. Point to point – a live video / audio communication between any two locations. Multipoint – links between a three or more locations

Point to Point (P2P)

Point to point – a live video and audio communication link between any two locations.

P2P – Application

Where the need is to communicate between two points only at any one time: – Two offices of the same company Yourself and a business partner company, e.g. Yourselves and a major supplier Senior management/ teams from two divisions – e.g. research and manufacture.

P2P – Use

Virtual meetings on a one to one basis Project workgroup co-ordination of effort, live adjustment of data, drawings, documents or prototypes Virtual board meeting between two groups of people in specific locations – say 5 in one and 4 in another

P2P – Limitations

Bandwidth required increases in proportion to the amount of data being exchanged. Audit trail of actions taken by whom with a timeline sequence often required. Extra equipment is necessary to show physical objects, using a visulaiser for say engineering parts

Point-to-Point Videoconferencing

Consider two videoconference terminals (vct) that are connected to the Internet.

The vct and its associated peripherals allow the user to make a call to another client, send the local audio/video stream to the remote client, and hear/view the received audio/video stream on a local speaker/monitor that is connected to the vct.
Assume one user (the local user) uses a vct to call a user at a remote vct by entering the IP address of the remote vct. The clients setup a call between the stations following the specifications of the H.323 protocol. Once the call is setup, the clients exchange audio/video streams over the Internet. The point-to-point videoconference continues until one of the users “hangs up” the call.

IP numbers are difficult to remember; some users have dynamically assigned (DHCP) IP numbers that can change every time they boot their system and problems in using IP addressing when different vendor systems are used.

The Gatekeeper

To alleviate the problem of IP dialing, the H.323 standard defines the use of a gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper is a system that connects to the Internet just like the client terminals. The IP address of the gatekeeper is configured into the client terminals and when the clients “power up”, they communicate with the gatekeeper and transfer certain information to the gatekeeper that describes the vct.

When the clients register with the gatekeeper, they pass their IP numbers, H.323 alias, and H.323 extension to the gatekeeper where it is stored. This allows a local user to dial a remote user by entering the remote users H.323 extension in effect their video telephone number.

The local vct communicates the H.323 extension to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper then checks to see if the remote client is registered with the gatekeeper, then sets up the call between the two clients.

Once the call has been setup, the audio/video streams flow directly between the clients over the Internet.

Multipoint

Live video and audio links between a three or more locations.
To handle this situation, the H.323 standard introduces the concept of a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). The MCU can be thought of as a “video bridge”. The MCU connects to the Internet and registers with the gatekeeper.

A MCU, depending on its design capacity, can handle a certain number of simultaneous videoconferences each with each videoconference being logically separate from the others and with each having a specified number of users.

When users want to join a particular videoconferencing session, they dial the service number/password combination. The gatekeeper checks to see if that service has been registered by a MCU. The gatekeeper completes the call by connecting the client to the specified videoconference on the MCU.

Once the call has been connected, the client’s audio/video stream is then sent over the Internet from the client to the MCU. Similarly, other clients connect to the session and send their audio/video streams to the MCU. The MCU selects one of the audio/video streams on the videoconference and returns that audio/video stream to all of the clients (that is all except the client whose stream was selected).

There are several methods for selecting an audio/video stream. Audio switching and chairman control are two alternatives. Typically, the method that is chosen is audio switching where the MCU selects the stream that currently has active audio (someone is talking or is talking the loudest).

As the user(s) at one site stop talking and the user(s) at another site start to talk, they capture the MCU. The process is repeated with the video from the newly selected site now being sent to all the other sites.

Streaming

To participate in a H.323 videoconference, users must have appropriate videoconferencing client terminals and have Internet connectivity with sufficient bandwidth to support the videoconference.

Some users may not have these capabilities but would still like to be able to participate even if that meant that they could only see and hear conference participants but not be able to interact with them. (Watch and Listen)

Users can receive the stream using a browser on a computer. They enter the URL of the server, and the server starts the encoded audio/video stream over the Internet to the computer.
Plug-Ins for the browser exist that are capable of decoding both RealVideo and Windows media streams. The user can thus see and hear the participants in the streamed videoconference in near real-time.

Alternatively, a user can connect to the server at a latter date and view the archived version of the videoconference.

Fernando

Carlos Montenegro asked:




Video conferencing equipment that is used in one location is different from another. If you plan to get one for the office, you should decide whether to buy a PC based system, a portable, a rollabout or an installed system.

Just to give you an idea, a PC based system can accommodate one or two people, the portable is good for two to eight, the rollabout is for three to fifteen while the installed system can be used by 20 or more participants.

You should also get the right sized monitor so everyone will have a good view of whatever is projected on the screen. Most video conferences use a 20 or 35 inch monitor but since this is still small when there are many people, the solution is to get an LCD projector.

When you have decided which one to get, the next thing you have to be concerned about is the bandwidth because the faster it is the better so you are able to compress audio and video signals and connect in real time.

Most video conferences today use two ISDN lines at the same so if you don’t want to see any blurred movement, it is best that these transmissions move at 768k to 1.5 megabytes per second.

The codec is considered to be the most important of all the equipment in video conferencing. When you are looking for one, you should make sure that it is compatible with the other versions in the market. You should also check if the system you get supports full duplex audio and digital echo cancellation so you get to see and hear the other party clearly.

In order for the presentation to be a success, you need to have multiple monitors and projectors. This will let you see the other party and a preview of what you are showing next. This will prevent any mistakes and make sure that everyone is listening to what you have to say.

But some people can use just one monitor instead of two. They just have to make sure that the monitor they have has a picture in picture feature so get to see a preview of what will be shared next. In the event that you will be talking to more than one party, you must also have a bridging system in place.

As for the camera, there are different types to choose from. You can get multiple cameras to show different sides of the presentation if you have to move or better yet get the robotic version that will automatically follow you.

The document camera is considered to be the a must in video conferences so that aside from seeing your face on the screen, people will be able to see the visual aids that you have prepared.

Lastly, you may want to have a phone line so if you have to take a call, you can do so during the presentation. But if you will be talking to a lot of people as well, this can also be done through the bridging.

The price of video conferencing equipment varies but the prices these days are more affordable than they were 10 years ago. People have noticed a huge growth in 2006 versus 2005 and this is expected to continue as more people are willing to use such a system.

Leslie

Michael R. Burns asked:




The history of video conferencing has gone from expensive video equipment and “in room” systems that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars back in the 70’s and 80’s to the recent advent of desktop video conferencing services that use the Internet, web cams and cost under $100. per month for unlimited usage.  Finally, the price point has come down to where small businesses and consumers can utilize this technology and not be burdened by the huge costs.

The new technology works like this.  Each participant has a desktop or laptop computer, equipped with Internet access and a web cam.  A web cam can be purchased from any office supply store for as little as $35. The moderator would then subscribe to a desktop video conferencing service, where they would receive login and password information.  A fifteen to twenty minute training session would bring all of the parties up to where they are ready to start their own conferences.

The leader or account holder can have up to one hundred parties on his conferences.  Approximately eighteen videos can be displayed simultaneously on everyone’s screens.  There is a “real estate” issue in that the limited screen size only allows eighteen videos.  In addition, the more videos being displayed bring a drag on bandwidth.  The optimum size is about eight videos being viewed at the same time.

Now the moderator is ready to hold as many video conferences as he needs.  He will have to schedule each of his conferences just like he would with an audio conference call.  At the appropriate date and time of the meeting, everyone invited would log on to the URL and input their meeting identification code and password and possible other identifying information.  Everyone will then be connected to each other over the Internet.  Their videos will be displayed and the video conference can begin. The audio portion of the conference can either be carried over the Internet as VOIP or voice over Internet protocol or the moderator can use an audio conference line, which will provide top quality sound.

The beautiful aspect of the technology is that the service works extremely well.  Everyone can see all of the parties on the conference and they can talk and gesture just like they would in a live face to face meeting.  Small businesses and consumers alike will find this service exciting, functional, simple to use and certainly easy on the budget.  Desktop video conferencing has certainly arrived and now is the time to take a test drive.

Lois