VIDEOCONFERENCING

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VIDEOCONFERENCING

• Mike Leach
• Dawn Schafer
• Shinsuke Tatsuuma

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History of Videoconferencing

• First Videoconference was held in April 1930
  between ATT HQ and Bell Labs in New York City
• FCC was formed in 1933
• 1941 First Analog standard for TV with 4.2 MHz of
  Bandwidth
• 1950s 83 Channels covering Frequencies 54-890MHz

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First Videoconferencing Product

• 1964 ATT introduced Picturephone at the New York
  City Worlds Fair
• Required 1MHz Processing Power
• 1971, First transatlantic videoconference
  occurred between two Ericsson systems
• 1990s Desktop Videoconferencing available
• Business Applications more prevalent

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What is VideoConferencing

• Transmission of images and speech back and forth
  between two or more physically separate
  locations.
• Accomplished through the use of cameras, video
  displays, microphones and speakers
• Special Equipment and data transport facilities
  enable this technology to work

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Videoconferencing Today

• H.323 approved by ITU in 1996 to create standards
  for videoconferencing
• Specifies mandatory and optional requirements in
  areas to enable a complete communication sequence
• Defines four major components terminals,
  gateways, gatekeepers, and multi-point control
  units

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Videoconferencing Today, Cont.

• Growing at 40 per year since 1995
• 2.9 billion in 1995 to nearly 10 billion in
  1998, and a whopping 35 billion by 2002.
• 250,000 Systems in 1997
• 600,000 Systems in 2001

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Videoconferencing Applications

• Meetings
• Education
• Telemedicine
• Telecommunicating
• Judicial Applications
• Surveillance and Security
• Remote Laboratories

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Basic Steps For Getting Started

• Selecting a Vendor
• Contractual Issues
• Equipment and Network Investment
• Vendor Services and Support
• Ongoing Maintenance
• Future Enhancements and Upgrades

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H.323 vs H.320

• The H.323 standard is a technology for the
  transmission of real-time audio, video, and data
  communications over packet-based networks
  (including the internet)
• H.320 standard is a technology for the
  transmission of real-time audio, video, and data
  communications over ISDN networks

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Costs of Entry

• Recent decreases in the costs of entry have made
  video conferencing a more attractive proposition
  for business.
• 3 Basic costs to consider
• The CODEC
• Peripherals
• Bandwidth

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The CODEC

• Short for Code/Decode
• The CODEC is the computer that "squeezes" all the
  video and audio information into a formthat can
  be transported over special phone lines .
• Can be hardware or software based

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The CODEC (cont)

• Once transported the information must be
  unsqueezed by another CODEC so it can be
  looked at.
• Prices can vary from 2000-40,000
• Recent technology developments have closed the
  performance gap between entry level and high end
  CODECs

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Video Conferencing Peripherals

• Other equipment that allows video conferencing to
  occur, including
• Cameras
• Speakers
• Lighting
• Monitors
• Microphones

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Bandwidth

• Bandwidth A measure of spectrum (frequency) use
  or capacity
• Frequency The number of times that an alternating
  current goes through its complete cycle in one
  second of time

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Bandwidth Requirements for VC

• In videoconference based systems a bandwidth of
  17.5 to 72 MHz is used to spread the television
  signal in order to prevent interference (a TV by
  comparison uses about 6MHz)
• For video conferencing to take place the signals
  must be carried between CODECs through special
  ISDN lines

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ISDN

• Integrated Services Digital Network - A set of
  protocol and interface standards that effectively
  constitute an integrated (voice, video, and data)
  telephone "network.
• Special lines that can carry high bandwidth
  video conferencing signals
• Must be leased and paid for on a usage basis

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Final Costs

• A functional H.320 compliant video conferencing
  system will range from 30,000 to 50,000
• ISDN pricing is mostly determined by usage, a
  realistic expectation based on an hours use/day
  is 1000 a month
• Additional maintenance and upgrade costs must be
  considered as well

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Current Vendors

• Sony
• Polycom
• Motion Media Technology Unlimited
• PictureTel

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Personal Videoconferencing

• To be able to hold a video conference, you need
  to prepare
• A personal computer
• A video camera
• A video capture device
• A microphone
• A video conferencing software

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Video Cameras

• Digital Videos
• Logitechs Quick-Cam

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Logitechs Quick-Cam

• You do NOT need a video capture device.
• a video camera a video capture device
• Your computer should have a USB port.
• Connect to your computer by using a USB
  cable/connection
• Most newer computer has a USB port as a standard
  feature.
• USB (Universal Serial Bus)

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Logitechs Quick-Cam (cont)

• The size and resolution of the video you can
  capture is limited.
• Your picture will be grainy, fuzzy, and dark.
• No problem for a video conference
• Not portable
• Cheaper
• Compared with other digital cameras

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Logitechs Quick-Cam VC

• Optimized for a video conferencing
• Include a Video Conferencing Software
• Microsoft NetMeeting
• a H.323 compliant product
• Capture color still or motion video images quickly

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Video Conferencing Software

• CU-SeeMe
• CU-SeeMe Pro
• Microsoft NetMeeting

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CU-SeeMe

• Developed at Cornell University
• Free version
• Enable voice and visual communications over the
  Internet Protocol Network
• You need to know a IP address.
• CU-SeeMe Pro
• a H.323 compliant product

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Multipoint Control Unit

• Enable group conferencing
• CU-SeeMe Conference Server

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Why Dont Some People Use It?

• Swedish Study of 7 Corporations
• gt50 Satisfied with systems
• Other hadnt discovered how to use
• lack of pusher
• Successes depend on CEO and top management
• One Key person can motivate entire corporation to
  use the system

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Implementation Suggestions

• Introduce meeting rule
• Inform the employees
• Evalutate constantly
• Study physical meetings
• Outline a Corporate Strategy
• by Mr. Bengt Myhrman and Mr. Bjorn Eriksson at
  the Royal Institue of Technology, Stockhom, Sweden

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The Future of Videoconferencing

• Bandwidth Requirements/Management
• Willingness of Consumers to embrace technology
• Cost of Entry
• Integration of videoconferencing, audio,
  presentations, whiteboard support, data sharing,
  and information distribution.

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Conclusion

• Consumer Acceptance once videoconferencing is as
  easy to use as a phone
• Effeciency and Cost Reductions will require more
  businesses to integrate Videoconferencing as
  apart of the IT strategy

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Questions

• What has to happen for this technology to become
  as accepted as other electronic forms of
  communication? (telephone, email, voice mail,
  photocopying memos)?
• Can video conferencing ever replace the majority
  of a companies travel expenses?