Videoconferencing

We can't conduct business without meetings. But with travel budgets tightening, bringing remote workgroups and customers together is increasingly difficult. Videoconferencing helps solve that problem by letting distant parties collaborate without travel. In fact, videoconferencing can make employees more efficient even when all meeting participants are on the same campus.

Videoconferencing systems are designed for either desktop or conference room use. Desktop systems let an individual meet with another individual or group in another location. Conference room systems provide features that let a group in one location videoconference with one or more individuals or groups in other locations. Desktop systems are based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) H.323 LAN and Internet videoconferencing standard. You can configure conference room systems to support the ITU H.320 standard for videoconferencing over ISDN lines, the H.323 standard, or both. Both standards encompass several audio and video compression-decompression (codec) standards, as well as the ITU T.120 data-conferencing standard, which allows for file sharing, whiteboarding, and file transfer.

Starting at the Desktop
Desktop videoconferencing products are simple and inexpensive to implement. Microsoft NetMeeting, which has been included with Windows OSs for some time, is the least expensive approach to videoconferencing. NetMeeting lets two parties see each other and converse, but the program's application-sharing, whiteboard, and file transfer features are what make videoconferencing a viable alternative to in-person meetings. To share NetMeeting's video and audio among more than two parties, you must buy Microsoft Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server (ECS) or a separate Multipoint Control Unit (MCU).

For a better desktop videoconferencing experience (although at a higher price), take a look at Winnov's Videum 1000 and Videum MXC Color Camera ($419 direct), PictureTel 550 Videoconferencing ($1200 list), and Polycom's ViaVideo ($599 list) H.323- and T.120-based desktop videoconferencing products, all of which work with NetMeeting. (For vendor information, see "Contact the Vendors.") The Videum 1000 and PictureTel 550 provide PCI video/audio capture cards and cameras that eliminate the need for a USB port and thus aren't limited by the port's 12Mbps transfer rate, promising better video quality than a USB-based WebCam. Both products' video capture boards also provide dedicated sound circuitry, which should improve audio and video synchronization compared with the separate video and sound circuitry provided in most PCs. By relieving the PC's CPU of video compression and decompression responsibilities, the PictureTel 550's digital signal processor (DSP) promises more efficient video processing and lets the CPU focus on document collaboration tasks.

The ViaVideo takes a different approach, combining a camera, a microphone, a sound card, and compression hardware in the camera housing, which plugs into the PC's USB port. A DSP compresses the audio and video before transferring it to the PC, yielding better video quality than a WebCam. Like the Videum 1000 and PictureTel 550, the ViaVideo has onboard sound circuitry for better audio/video synchronization than most WebCam-based desktop videoconferencing solutions. The PictureTel 550 and ViaVideo have echo-cancellation circuitry, which eliminates the need for a headset.

Windows XP and its conferencing component, Windows Messenger, can also provide a good desktop videoconferencing experience, thanks to the OS's echo-cancellation capabilities and support for a new high-fidelity audio codec. (For more information about Windows Messenger, see the sidebar "Conferencing, Windows XP—Style.") With a desktop solution in place, a user can use Exchange 2000 Server's instant messaging capabilities or Microsoft .NET Messenger Service (formerly MSN Messenger Service) to determine whether another user is available and to invite that user to participate in a videoconference.

Room Conferencing Systems
Conference room systems are typically designed either for small groups of up to 10 people or for larger meetings of up to 30 people. Most systems intended for larger groups (aka boardroom systems) use cameras with a wider field of view and let you connect multiple cameras and microphones.

Before purchasing a conference room system, you need to consider factors such as how many simultaneous conferences you'll need to be able to support and how many remote conference room and desktop videoconferencing endpoints will need to join each conference. Think about how many participants will be involved in videoconferences and the participants' special needs (e.g., high-quality video and audio, an electronic whiteboard, playback from a DVD player or a VCR, multiple cameras and microphones for large groups, document or object cameras for sending images of documents or models). Also consider whether your network has the necessary bandwidth. When you look at solutions, ask about vendors' document sharing and collaboration features and the remote management and diagnostic software each product provides.