AV Technology - August 2008 - (Page 20)

business HD VIDEOCONFERENCING ON A BUDGET High definition videoconferencing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. By James Careless D espite the six-figure price tags of some high-end offerings, affordable HD videoconferencing is not an oxymoron. “In fact, a LifeSize Express HD videoconferencing system can be purchased today for under $6,000,” says Todd Luttinger, CEO of the systems integrator/installer Videre Conferencing. “This is a fully-functional HD system.” Is this a good deal? To answer this question for your company, you need to know what HD videoconferencing truly is, how it works, and how it can be done cost-effectively. HD VIDEOCONFERENCING DEFINED In its purest sense, HD videoconferencing is simply videoconferencing executed at HD resolution. To do this, every part of the transmission chain must be HD capable. The viewing monitors must be HD, providing widescreen (16:9) images at the 1080i (1920 x 1080 pixels) or 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) image standards. The videoconferencing cameras must also be HD capable, although some degree of video compression will likely be acceptable to reduce bandwidth demands. The video codecs must be capable of passing and receiving HD signals through whatever network is being used. That said, it isn’t necessary to use full HD signal rates to achieve a reasonable HD-like experience. For instance, broadcast HDTV is typically 30 frames per second, but the HD videoconferencing standard for full motion video is 24 frames per second; equivalent to a motion picture frame rate. “Reduce the frame rate, and the bandwidth requirement drops from 1 Mbps to 768, 512 or even 384 kbps,” Luttinger says. “Granted, the video may look a bit jerky, but the image quality will still be there.” Worth noting: An HD videoconferencing system can communicate with a non-HD videoconferencing system, says Ira Weinstein, senior analyst and partner with Wainhouse Research, a market intelligence firm based in Duxbury, MA. “When the two systems connect, they automatically check each other’s capabilities,” he explains. “System One says, ‘I can do HD; can you?’ If System Two says, ‘Yes’, then they connect at an HD-compatible data rate. If System Two says, ‘No’, then System One connects at whatever nonHD data rate is acceptable to System Two.” “The concept is what we call ‘optimal definition,’ “ says Sean Lessman, Tandberg’s senior director of advanced technology. Tandberg makes a range of cost-effective HD videoconferencing systems, starting at $8,000 for the Centric 1700 MXP. “Working together, the two systems select the frame rate, resolution, and data speed optimally suited for their interconnection.” The bottom line: HD videoconferencing simply represents an upgrade to standard videocon- ferencing technology, not a radical or necessarily expensive change. BENEFITS OF HD VIDEOCONFERENCING The outstanding benefit of HD videoconferencing is picture quality. Just as with broadcast HDTV, high definition images provide a sense of reality that conventional television just can’t match. For companies wanting to use videoconferencing on a regular basis, it is a good investment not just for today, but also for the future. Even in instances where an HD videoconferencing system is being used in SD, this technology delivers images that are typically cleaner and crisper than their analog equivalents. That’s not all: HD videoconferencing systems like Polycom’s HDX products “deliver significantly enhanced audio quality and the ability to deliver content in HD simultaneously,” says Kevin Young, Polycom’s senior manager of public relations. “The enhanced clarity and ability to do both video and content simultaneously in HD allows customers to use the technology for new types of applications that weren’t previously possible.” YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR The amount of money spent on an HD videoconferencing system affects not just how many monitors the system will have, but also how “immersive” the experience will be for the system’s users. For those companies wanting to create a true “telepresence” experience — a videoconferencing environment where local and distant participants not only talk and see each other but can work collaboratively on projects using electronic whiteboards and other online media sharing equipment — buying a budget-priced system may The KDV7819 from Kedacom is codec that costs around $9,999, yet delivers dual-HD video streams and full-range digital audio signals sampled at 48 kHz. 20 | AVTECHNOLOGY | august 2008 www.avtechnologyonline.com http://www.avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - August 2008

AV Technology - August 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: The Project’s Over...Now What? Government: Generational Diversity and the Rise of the Millennials Education: DIY ISP.EDU HD Videoconferencing On a Budget Using Automatic Mic Mixers The Way I See It: The Standards Dilemma in AV Something for Everybody AV Adds the Magic to Microsoft’s Hat Trick Simple Control for Smarter Classrooms Product Review: VeEX VePAL MX100 Product Spotlight: Amps; Touchpanels New Products Ad Index AV MO: Dealing with Ambient Light

AV Technology - August 2008

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