Buyer's Guide to Video Conferencing

Conferencing is very innovative green technology group. The current geo-political climate, a focus on increasing productivity and cost reduction, and a general reluctance to travel have all contributed to a heightened awareness of the necessity of video conferencing and other conferencing and collaboration technologies. Corporations, state and local governments, universities and health care providers are utilizing this technology today for many applications including training, telemedicine, product development, customer service, board meetings, managing mergers and acquisitions, and interviewing to name a few. When properly implemented, video conferencing does indeed provide value to these businesses. This document will provide the first time user a non-technical guide on how to acquire the best video conferencing system for their respective organization.

There are a few key factors one should consider when acquiring a video conferencing system, which includes the type of system and the network over which the system will operate and the physical layout or space where your conference will be held. The quantity of

people who will participate at each site during a video conference is another factor. Also, will it be important to share and collaborate PC-based information (ie: PowerPoint presentation) during a video conference.

In addition, you may need to consider if you have a need to conference with multiple sites at one time. We refer this type of conference as a multi point conference, which you will need to determine if you commonly include vendors, clients or partners in a conference that are off your premises. Of course, multi point conferencing over a wide-area network (WAN) will impact the quality of service of your video conference.

Today, we have many types of video conferencing choices and a wide range of configuration. However, options are changing and improving rapidly. We suggest that you consult with one of our Conferencing Advisors before you make your investment into video conferencing technology.

System Type	Description	Common Application

Personal Computer Desktop	Webcam with software codec, operates on a PC.	Personal or home use.
Executive Desktop Conferencing Equipment	Desktop Executive System flat panel LCD with video conferencing technology integrated.	Executive who wants a stand-alone appliance in his office or home office. Point-to-point, up to 4 conferencing points.
Video Conference Room	Integrated codec system comes in separate components for integration into to a high-end conference room.	Small to mid-size conference room with up to ten participants.
Audio, Video and Collaboration Conference Bridge	Integrated codec system comes in separate components for integration into to a high-end conference room.	High-end multi-media presentation room used for audio/video conferencing and local presentations.
Telepresence Conferencing Systems	Telepresence is a video conference in which local and remote participants appear to be in the same room, sitting at the same table.	Each person experiences a life-size image of the remote attendees, with the easy to use technology effectively out of sight. The resulting video conference is amazingly realistic.

The type of carrier network, whether a private network, virtually private network or the Internet will play a key role in the overall reliability and quality of the solution you choose to implement. A great system will perform poorly if you have it running on an unreliable network.

There are two commonly used carrier solutions, the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and an IP network. ISDN has been around since the early 1990s. It is similar to your telephone line as it is a circuit switched network. Therefore, when you place a call over an ISDN network, that circuit is reserved for your application. Thus, it provides a very high quality of service for video conferences.

Some disadvantages of ISDN networks include, it often times is difficult to deploy because ISDN requires special ordering and installation of specials circuits.

Internet or IP Networks offer more flexibility and ease of use and centralized management. Some of the benefits of implementing video conferencing over IP networks includes, lower cost end points, low usage fees, and centralized management because IP-based systems are connected to your corporate LAN/WAN, they can often be managed or controlled by centralized management systems.

□	The Top 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Buy or Lease Video Conferencing Systems.

□	Why Some People are Taking a New Look at Videconferencing

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