I have recently deployed a solution using a product Called Radvision and
it works very well over broadband connections. I am in the process of
deploying a large scale project for the Navajo Nations schools using a
product from BNI. Both systems are H.323 based and can easily compress
down on the WAN links only. Solving the Multicast issues has been very
easy with Cisco and Extreme LAN switches and routers running QoS and ToS
tagging.
Regarding cameras we have been using Sony cameras and an integrated set
top box from Radvision. The Radvision camera Pans and Zooms and will
follow the speaker automatically.
Mark Nishimura
-----Original Message-----
From:
[hidden email] [mailto:
[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Owen Densmore
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 11:34 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Friam
Subject: [FRIAM] Media Conferencing
I'm interested in finding a good way to hold media conferencing. For
one thing, we're starting to spread a bit here, with albuquerque
starting to be a locus of friamers. Also we have several "graduates"
both in the US and world wide with whom we'd like to remain able to
include in technology meetings. Finally, we're starting to have offers
for collaboration with groups that are similarly wide spread.
So this bring me to some sort of interesting media solution.
Certainly a conference-capable phone system is very important. This
may shortly be replaceable with VoIP systems which allow multiple
participants in a session.
Fax and email/web/pdf does well for sharing in non-real time graphics
and documents needed for the meeting, and even for sharing information
(slowly) during the meeting itself.
Video becomes problematic for a variety of reasons. Good cameras are
expensive and hard to use for most folks. Indeed, the conference rooms
at Sun were often "broken" because the video systems were so weird.
Using computer based systems can work, but tend to be platform-specific
and often do not interoperate well. Recent improvements in the H323
suite of protocols are fixing this, however, and may be mature enough
now.
As an aside, I find the iSight (camera/mic) from apple ($150 roughly)
surprisingly effective over broadband links. I've used it quite a bit
in multimedia chat and find it surprisingly useful. Possibly could be
used for meetings if Apple makes it work on windows.
So this is all to ask: Has anyone got useful information on affordable
media systems that we might consider for Wide Area Friam?
-- Owen
Owen Densmore 908 Camino Santander Santa Fe, NM 87505
Cell: 505-570-0168 Home: 505-988-3787
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