CompareBusinessProducts.com Video Conferencing Buyer s Guide for First Time Buyers
Video conferencing has become an incredibly powerful communication tool in today s fast pace business world. More and more businesses are finding themselves opening more and more markets and needing a tool to maintain high level communication. This is where video conferencing shines as an invaluable tool for business communications. Video conferencing allows businesses to link multiple offices into one meeting saving time and money that would have went to expensive business travel. Furthermore the ability to easily contact outside offices or employees not only saves time but also increases office efficiency. After making the decision to invest in a video conferencing system, there are always a myriad of options and features from which to choose. Each option and feature has their own uses and merits but there are some features that are absolute must haves for any first time buyer. These features are not fancy bells and whistles but the essential elements that build a dependable and efficient video conferencing system. Contents - Multi-Protocol Label Switching vs. Scalable Video Coding - Gateway Service - Presentations with Video Conferencing - Video Conferencing Interaction CompareBusinessProducts.com (888) 852-5226 2
Multi-Protocol Label Switching vs. Scalable Video Coding The first decision to make on features is deciding on the quality of service of a business s video conferencing system. Quality of service of a business s video conferencing system is directly related to how much bandwidth is supporting the video conferencing system. The more bandwidth allocated for a video conferencing system equates to a higher quality of service such as the ability to display high definition video and sound. There are two routes in which to determine how much bandwidth a business needs for its video conferencing systems. The first option is invest into Multi-Protocol Label Switching from the business internet service provider. Multi-Protocol Label Switching insures the highest quality of service as it provides the most amount of bandwidth. This is done by the data packets that are sent from the video conferencing system to video displays are specifically labeled and thus are more quickly routed to their destination. While Multi-Protocol Label Switching systems deliver the highest quality of service it is also very cost prohibitive for most businesses as a simple system can have a monthly fee as high as $7,500 a month. The alternative is to invest into a video conferencing system that uses scalable video coding. Scalable video coding is the future of video conferencing. Instead expensive massive bandwidth systems that use multi-protocol label switching to ensure a high quality of service, scalable video coding instead sends multi-layered video streams that allow for the adjustment of frame rate and adjustment of image detail through temporal and spatial layers which greatly reduces the need for bandwidth. In easier terms the multi-layered video streams require half the bandwidth of multi-protocol label switching. Scalable video coding can maintain a high quality of service using a business current high speed internet service provider. The difference in cost is staggering, a dedicated multi-protocol label switching system can have a monthly cost of $1,225 per user, while a similar system using scalable video coding and a basic high speed internet service provider can cost as little as $20 a person. Gateway Service A problem for lots of businesses with multiple offices is that not every office has the most up to date hardware and software and can even have conflicting operating systems. This can create havoc in video conferencing as computers are unable to communicate to each other because of hardware and software inability to work together. This is where gateway service comes in. Gateway service bridges the gaps of hardware and software and allows businesses to have video conferences with multiple endpoints with varying networks, video formats and audio formats. This service enables businesses to have to video conferences with other businesses as well regardless of the other businesses video conference system and set-up. The ability to have video conferences anywhere in the globe with any other businesses with video conferencing no matter the other businesses computers, networks, or software makes gateway CompareBusinessProducts.com (888) 852-5226 3
service an incredibly powerful feature that can save a business time and money that would have been spent on expensive business travel. The ability to link up with another business also improves company efficiency and increases the rate at which business gets done. Gateway service is a feature that any video conferencing system should have for the simple fact that it bridges any technology gaps between offices and other businesses. Instead of costly and time consuming business travel businesses can hold video conferences at any time without having to worry about if the other endpoint has the right equipment or software. It can save businesses money by not having to upgrade and update every office with the latest and newest hardware to have video conferences. Also if the home office is upgrading to the newest video conferencing equipment gateway service makes it possible for other offices operating on the older system to still be able to have video conferences. For these reasons alone gateway service is an absolute must have feature for any video conferencing system and ensures that a business is always ahead of the technology curve. Video Conferencing Presentation Modes There are many presentation modes for any video conferencing system and each mode has its own purpose. There is continuous presence, voice activated switching and lecture mode. Continuous presence creates a picture of all the endpoints and participants in the video conference. Every endpoint and participant can see and hear each other in one image. This is great for group discussions and brainstorming meetings. Everyone can collaborate together in a meeting at the same time and thus every participants input is heard and discussed. This feature is also great for businesses with multiple offices as every office can be represented and seen in each video conference creating a greater team presence for the business as a whole. Voice activated switching is different from continuous presence in that the side that is talking and/or presenting is the only endpoint heard and seen by all other endpoints and participants. This is feature is great for emphasizing goals and maintaining company focus. This feature is also great for removing any confusion that can happen in continuous presence as over talking is greatly eliminated. Each participant will also feel more involved in the meeting as they will be the focus of the group as they speak and/or present which is great for cultivating better business communication. CompareBusinessProducts.com (888) 852-5226 4
Lecture mode is a great presentation mode for centralized presentations. One video conferencing endpoint is the central endpoint and that image and audio is displayed to all other endpoints and/or participants. The central endpoint receives a display of all the other endpoints and/or participants in the video conference. This mode is an excellent tool for delivering company memos and messages from the home office to every other office within a business. Lecture mode can also be an invaluable training tool as one endpoint can conduct training while all other participants can watch, observe and learn and the trainer can observe and ensure that all participants are active during the training session. Every business must decide on how their video conferences are presented and held. Continuous presence is great for collaborative meetings and brainstorming. Voice activated switching works great for video conferences between businesses and other offices as each side can be the focus of the meeting. Lecture mode can be valuable tool for training and delivering company-wide messages. Video Conferencing Interaction There are many features beyond the basic presentation and backbone hardware that are the core of any video conferencing system. Features such as file transfer, slide show, text chat, desktop sharing, recording and white board all make every video conference more interactive and more effective. File transfer allows users to upload files, such as pictures, documents, videos and audio files, directly to the video conference without having to leave the video conference as well as not having to deal with ftp, emails, upload sites or having to physically move. Instead files can easily be shared between endpoints seamlessly. The ability for offices to easily share files and information is invaluable. Slide show works with presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint and allows users to display presentations, images, and diagrams across any video conferencing endpoint and/or participant. This feature is one considered essential for any video conferencing system. Text chat enables to participants within a video conference to interact with one another during a video conference. Chat is conducted thru instant messaging and users can share ideas, internet links and comments. This enables collaboration between participants without interrupting the main speaker and/or presentation. Text chat can be made public or private and all text chats are contained within the video conference. Some text chat programs though can be used outside of the video conference. CompareBusinessProducts.com (888) 852-5226 5
Desktop sharing can be a very powerful feature. This feature allows users who are using their desktop as a video conferencing endpoint to display the desktop screen to all video conferencing endpoints and/or participants. This feature is great for showing work in progress from the participants desktop. For example a movie studio can see the progress the special effects team has made on a certain scene. This feature can also take the place of the slide show and save business money by only purchasing one feature as opposed to two features. Recording is a feature that allows businesses to record any video conference. This feature is great for those who may have missed a video conference to stay in the business loop. It can also be used as a training tool as well as training sessions can be conducted once and replayed via video conference saving a business both time and money. Also any part of the video conference can be recorded, not just the entire video conference but any snippet or length of time can be chosen to record, as well as the entire video conference. White board is an incredible feature that allows all participants in a video conference to share ideas on a digital white board that can be edited and changed by all participants. Documents such as budgets and images can be uploaded on to the digital white board and again be edited by other participants. This feature allows offices to collaboratively work on a project together in a video conference. CompareBusinessProducts.com (888) 852-5226 6