CU-SeeMe, an established videoconferencing product, just got better with
its latest release, version 3.0. In fact, with this new release, the product should appeal
to a broader audience than ever. That is, CUSeeMe, which is already a hit with Internet
hobbyists, should begin drawing more interest from the business market.
As one of the earliest videoconferencing products, CU-SeeMe achieved a
certain notoriety for its use by mature audiences. (Talk about heavy clicking.) But now,
CU-SeeMe, like much else associated with the Internet, is about as mainstream as you can
get. For example, through its support for the TCP/IP protocol, CU-SeeMe suits the purposes
of corporations that have high-speed LAN networks. A corporation could use CUSeeMe to
enhance interactions among employees. One obvious application, virtual meetings, could
save lots of time by allowing all of the participants in a meeting to remain at their
desks. Also, cybercasting could improve corporate training as easily as it now provides
entertainment.
FEATURE SUMMARY
General Features
- View up to 12 participant windows simultaneously.
- Caller ID for incoming connections.
- Launch pre-configured CU-SeeMe conferences from Web pages.
- Local window controls, including audio, video, status bar, and connection information.
- User-selectable transmission settings, including a control panel for Windows 95 style
adjustment. Contacts/Management Options
- Phone book with graphical contact cards (to save, add, and edit participant and public
conference sites).
- Directory services (for locating CUSeeMe users online). Option to register
electronically during installation.
- CU-SeeMe profiles management (creation of multiple profiles), directory services
management, listener management, parental control. User-Selectable Audio Modes
- 2.4 Kbps and 8.5 Kbps codecs to support 28.8+ Kbps modems.
- 16 Kbps and 32 Kbps codecs for higher bandwidth connections.
- Forward error correction for greater audio integrity.
- Choice of Hands Free transmission or Push To Talk. Echo Reduction User-Selectable Video
Modes
- 24-bit true color and 4-bit grayscale support.
- Advanced controls for tuning video image transmission.
General Requirements
- TCP/IP (Winsock compliant) / PPP for dial-up connection.
- Windows 95/NT 4.0 (a Macintosh version is also available). Standards
- TCP/IP multicast support for LAN/WAN conferencing.
- Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) video codec for high-quality video over LANs and ISDN or higher
connections.
- Supports DirectShow (ActiveMovie) and Video for Windows.
- Whiteboard and Chat for multiuser collaboration during conferences.
- H.323 standards-based video codec (H.263), whiteboard (T.120). Optional Hardware
- Video: camera with serial port digitizer; standard analog video camera (such as a
camcorder) with video capture card not using overlay technology; USB camera.
- Audio: speakers or headphones; 16bit sound card and drivers; microphone or headset to
send audio.
INSTALLATION/DOCUMENTATION
Installation for CU-SeeMe was very easy. The software was contained on a single CD-ROM,
and we had no difficulty installing it. We were able to use our USB-compliant Kodak DVC
300 without any difficulty. The documentation for CUSeeMe was excellent. It included a
well-organized table of contents, informative text, and a thorough index, as well as
plenty of screenshots. Our only criticism is that the manual lacked a section describing
how to optimize particular settings to get the best performance.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
Setup
The setup in our home office coincided with CU-SeeMes minimum requirements.
Specifically, our PC had 10 MB of hard disk space, 16 MB of RAM, and a 100 MHz Pentium
processor. Our modem delivered 28.8 Kbps of bandwidth. Trial Videoconference Two of our
CTI engineers participated in a videoconference via the White Pine software. One engineer
was at the Networld + Interop show in Atlanta; the other was in our home office in
Connecticut.
The engineer from Connecticut knew the IP address of the multicast conference. (This
videoconference was being held by White Pine software and CTI magazine at the Hot Spot in
the CommUnity section of Networld + Interop.) The engineer pressed the Call button within
CU-SeeMe and manually entered the IP address. A list of videoconference forums was then
displayed on his screen. He chose the White Pine/CTI forum and entered a password to enter
the forum. (This password capability is an optional feature, which can ensure that only
invited participants can enter the conference forum.) After entering the forum, the
engineer back in Connecticut was able to see his fellow engineer down in Atlanta, as well
as four other participants, onscreen.
The engineer back in Connecticut was a bit jealous that he wasnt at Networld +
Interop checking out the latest CTI products. Just to give the engineer in Connecticut a
hard time, the engineer in Atlanta picked up the camera, panned the show floor, and
provided a running commentary: Now you are here in Atlanta attending the show. Of
course its much nicer here at least 20 degrees warmer outside
Optimizing Performance
At first, the quality and throughput were rather poor. Fortunately, we had White
Pine technicians on hand to assist us. One of the technicians typed into the chat window
some parameter and configuration changes to improve performance. The engineer back in
Connecticut changed to MJPEG 1.01 and reduced the quality setting from 90% to 20%, which
improved performance greatly. (The MJPEG 1.01 codec includes compression which
improved the quality.) After we made these changes, we were able to see some movement. Of
course, the movement was a little jerky, but surprisingly good considering our Internet
dialup was only 28.8 Kbps.
Capturing Screenshots
We didnt capture any screenshots during the videoconference between
Networld + Interop and Connecticut, so we tested the product again by joining the White
Pine Caf�, and joined a videoconference in progress among seven or so conferees. Note that some of the conferees lacked cameras, so not
everyones picture is displayed. Also, conferees can hide their image if they so
desire (an important feature in any videoconferencing product).
Arranging And Joining Conferences
In its latest release, CU-SeeMe offers an improved user-interface, which makes it
very easy to set up or join conferences. CU-SeeMe also features an online directory for
locating other CUSeeMe users as well as a list of public reflector sites for live group
interaction.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Wed like CU-SeeMe to support telephone access via a H.323 gateway, a capability
already available from Microsofts NetMeeting. Also, although CU-SeeMe supports
whiteboarding, it does not allow for the sharing of applications, which is something we
hope White Pine adds to the product.
Call history and reporting (call accounting) would be an important and crucial feature
in any business application. Businesses need to know how long a videoconference lasted and
with whom to prevent abuse, which is why call accounting software is installed in
virtually every business.
Finally, we would like to see the ability to record the videoconference, both video and
chat dialogues, for future reference or review.
CONCLUSION
CU-SeeMe has an advantage over many other desktop videoconferencing products in that it
supports multiple video feeds displayed on-screen to multiple participants using internal
multicasting technology. This is a claim which other popular videoconferencing software,
including Microsofts NetMeeting, cannot make.
CU-SeeMe also has another product called MeetingPoint which is particularly useful in
the corporate environment for videoconferencing. It is H.323 compliant, and features
multicasting, T.120 support, supports multiple operating systems, and works with CUSeeMe
as well as NetMeeting.
MeetingPoint may just help change the way people view CU-SeeMe. CUSeeMe will be viewed
not just as a hobbyists toy, but as a powerful business tool. CU-SeeMe
is a fine product, which has matured greatly since its early days. Look for CU-SeeMe to
make in-roads in the business arena. |