October 1999

The demand for fast, high-quality multimedia communications has brought a transformation to the video conferencing market, and products and services in this space have grown to keep up with changing technology. Traditional ISDN connectivity is gradually being replaced by faster data networks, and equipment must be designed to interface with a variety of networks, while complying with the ever-changing protocols that govern video communications.

The products and services presented below include brand new offerings in this market, as well as established products that have been enhanced to provide a broader array of services. Be sure the visit the following vendors’ Web sites to get a complete overview of their offerings before making a decision about your next video conferencing solution. And read the question-and-answer session with some leading vendors in this space to find out their views on using IP as the medium to transmit video content.

- Laura Guevin

• eVideo Services
• EnVision
• visitalk.com
• MeetingPlace
• V-Gate 4000
• MAC 500
• OCI 1000
• Obvious Media Manager
• VIU-323
• SmartLink 6.1
• VIPswitch 3240
• V-SPAN
• LAN Video Gateway for Token Ring
• VideoStar Digital Video System (DVS)

• MeetingPoint server, version 4.0
• Video Framer
• MGC-100
• Contact
• QuickVideo OnDemand
• MeetingPoint 4.0
• TeamStation
• TrueCircuit
• MSHOW
• AUDC1020-PRO (iSee PRO)
• REALmagic NetStream 2
• Video Gateway
• ViewStation MP
  

eVideo Services
PictureTel Corporation
100 Minuteman Rd.
Andover, MA 01810
Ph: 978-292-5000
www.picturetel.com

• eVideo Streaming Service: Provides visual collaboration services for corporate users, incorporating video conferencing with streamed video. Features high and low bit-rate streaming.
• eVideo Streaming System: Includes four solutions for customers who want to control their systems on their premises using high-bandwidth LANs. Supports multiple bit-rate streams from 28.8 Kbps to MPEG.
• eVideo Consulting Service: Offers the IP-centric ProStart service for network analysis, training, and event management.

EnVision
Sorenson Vision, Inc.
1011 West 400 North
Logan, UT 84321
Ph: 435-792-1100
www.s-vision.com

• Delivers 15 frames of video per second (fps) at 56 Kbps or faster for high-quality video.
• A PCI card with separate processors manages audio and video compression so the host processor may support document sharing and collaborative computing functions.
• H.323-compliant, allows IP and LAN/WAN net-work connections.

visitalk.com
visitalk.com
8936 North Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85020
Ph: 602-850-3360
www.visitalk.com

• The visitalk.com Web site gives each registered member a permanent communications number (PCN), as well as a listing in the Permanent Global Directory.
• Users can conference through a variety of software programs, including Microsoft NetMeeting and CU-SeeMe from White Pine Software, as well as other H.323-compliant programs.

MeetingPlace
Latitude Communications
2121 Tasman Dr.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Ph: 408-988-7500
www.latitude.com

• Offers real-time phone or PC collaboration for voice and data using applications like Microsoft NetMeeting.
• Integrates with common desktop applications for scheduling voice or data conferences.
• Captures information as recorded voice files or documents and archives to a Web site for remote access through a phone or Web browser.
• Easily scalable for the enterprise, the server architecture simplifies deployment for user groups.

V-Gate 4000
FVC.com
3393 Octavius Dr., #102
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Ph: 800-351-8539

• Multi-protocol gateway for video conferencing using H.323, H.320, and H.321 (ATM) standards.
• Provides ATM policing support and security, and is scalable in ISDN-to-IP, ATM-to-ISDN, and ATM-to-ISDN-to-IP configurations.
• Offers an integrated H.323 gatekeeper and fast address resolution for desktop video conferencing.
• Supports up to six 384 Kbps connections, and up to nine additional ISDN or ATM connections, depending on the capacity of the LAN or ISDN connection.

MAC 500
General DataComm, Inc.
1579 Straits Tpk.
Middlebury, CT 06762-1299
Ph: 203-574-1118
www.gdc.com

• Multimedia access concentrator for delivering near-broadcast-quality, MPEG-2 video with Internet access.
• Supports up to three video encoding and multiple encoding streams on a single system.
• Supports end-to-end provisioning of video conferencing services, and concentrates video and IP traffic onto a DS-3 or OC-3c/STM-1 ATM network interface.
• Management enabled through any standard SNMP manager, or through GDC’s ProSphere suite.

OCI 1000
Octave Communications, Inc.
5 Industrial Way
Salem, NH 03079
Ph: 603-894-6110
www.octavecomm.com

• Seamlessly integrates unattended management and Web-based reservation systems.
• Offers conference help, advanced audio messaging, conference record and playback, changing of participant roles, creation of subconferences, and the ability to mute participants.
• Features Octave’s Telephony Processing Engine (TPE), which includes a CompactPCI chassis with an H.110 telephony bus, DSP processor cards, and network interface cards, which support T1, E1, and ISDN connectivity.

Obvious Media Manager
Obvious Technologies
580 Howard St., Ste. 303
San Francisco, CA 94105
Ph: 415-957-9950
www.obvioustech.com

• Enables frame-accurate integration and distribution of digital video with any other media type.
• Creates object-based video interface (OBVI) files, which are network-ready multimedia containers.
• Reduces the cost of digital content management, while speeding up the production process.
• Enables easy and quick access, review, and distribution of video footage and digital content through the Internet, broadband, or a LAN.

VIU-323
RADVision
575 Corporate Dr., Ste. 420
Mahwah, NJ 07430
Ph: 201-529-4300
www.radvision.com

• As a self-contained terminal adapter, the VIU-323 connects H.320 systems to IP multimedia networks.
• Provides transparent connectivity, translating H.323 and H.320-compliant video and audio streams and communication protocols.
• Supports major roll-about systems from other vendors, and offers remote configuration using an RS232 serial interface/modem port.
• Supports conferencing calls at speeds up to 384 Kbps, as well as the H.320, H.323, G.711, G.723.1, G.728, and H.261 conferencing protocols and codecs.

SmartLink 6.1
VTEL Corporation
108 Wild Basin Rd.
Austin, TX, 78746
Ph: 512-437-2700
www.vtel.com

• Enables video conferences over any circuit-switched network, supporting a wide mix of connection speeds.
• New features include compatibility with H.323 end points, as well as H.320 end points.
• The system features increased ATM capacity for up to four 155 Mbps ATM interface cards, and offers enhanced continuous presence for viewing four end points on a single screen — at rates of up to 2 Mbps.
• New version features an extended lecture mode, allowing remote sites to view the presenter site on full screen, while the presenter can view up to four remote sites.

VIPswitch 3240
VIPswitch, Inc.
8 Commerce Place, Ste. 200
Brossard (Montreal), QC J4W 3H2 Canada
Ph: 800-638-2677
www.vipswitch.com

• A QoS Ethernet switch featuring 36 ports of layer 5 connectivity for real-time, multimedia network connections.
• Offers 32 ports at 10 Mbps, and four ports at 100 Mbps, and uplinks can be configured anywhere from 100 to 400 Mbps, in full duplex.
• Non-blocking architecture increases throughput to 100 percent, and plug-and-play ability allows integration with various H.323 gateways and gatekeepers.

V-SPAN
V-SPAN
1100 First Ave., Ste. 400
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Ph: 888-44V-SPAN
www.vspan.com

• The V-SPAN service uses streaming technology for real-time and on-demand conferences over the Internet.
• Testing and developing quality IP-based video over corporate intranets and the public Internet.
• Offers multipoint services, gateway, and gatekeeper services, in addition to firewall management issues.

LAN Video Gateway for Token Ring
Madge Networks
625 Industrial Way
West Eatontown, NJ 07724
Ph: 732-389-5700
www.madge.com

• Enables multimedia communications for token ring networks through interoperability between H.323 video on the LAN and H.320 video conferencing systems.
• Offers dial-on-demand access to WAN bandwidth through ISDN, and provides high-quality LAN/WAN conferencing with a connection to existing video equipment in combination with the Madge AccessSwitch.
• Features easy scalability by adding more units under common control.
• Also offers V.35 and ISDN BRI WAN modules, an integrated gatekeeper, and LAN-to-ISDN connectivity.

VideoStar Digital Video System (DVS)
Lucent Technologies
600 Mountain Ave.
Murray Hill, NJ 07974
888-4-LUCENT

• Transmits MPEG-2 encoded video signals through Lucent’s SDH equipment, for high compression rates, and high-quality audio and video.
• Supports television program distribution, digital cable in wired and wireless networks, direct broadcast satellite, and additional value-added services.
• Offers real-time compression and multiplexing into a single STM-1 for 34/45 Mbps bit rates, and packetizes video signals by standard ATM AAL 5.
• Compression rates of 1.5 Mbps to 45 Mbps, as well as decompression with removal of SDH/SONET overhead bytes and ATM headers. Also offers demultiplexing of signals, and dejittering of MPEG-2 signals.

MeetingPoint server, version 4.0
White Pine Software, Inc.
542 Amherst St.
Nashua, NH 03063
Ph: 603-886-9050
www.wpine.com

• New features in version 4.0 include con-tinuous presence, the ability to view multiple windows simultaneously, and streaming media integration.
• Enables the server to combine four video streams into one split-screen image delivered to participating end points.
• Able to broadcast a live, interactive conference to potentially thousands of users through a media player.
• Also includes an option for an MP-Controller, which lets the end user control video switching, and conference call-out ability.

Video Framer
Memotec Communications Inc.
600 McCaffrey St. Montreal, QC Canada H4T 1N1
Ph: 800-570-MEMO
www.memotec.com

• Enables video conferencing over frame relay networks, and converts bitstream data into frame relay for transport over existing networks.
• When used with Memotec’s CX Series of products, it integrates video conferencing with LAN-to-LAN connectivity, inter-office voice communications, and other traffic — over a single frame relay circuit.
• Features low bandwidth overhead by converting continuous bitstream into frame relay, as well as a front panel status display indicator, and seamless integration with the CX series of switches.

MGC-100
Accord Telecommunications
Atlanta, GA
Ph: 770-641-4400
www.accord.co.il

• A continuous presence video conferencing system with six different split-screen layouts, and the ability to change among layouts during a conference. Layouts include full screen, five plus one, quad split, two-way vertical and horizontal, and nine-way.
• Connects to IP, ATM, and ISDN networks, with full functionality on all ports.
• Front-accessible and hot-swappable, the units also feature load-sharing power supplies.
• Features multi-way transcoding, so that resolution, frame rates, audio algorithms, network speed, and T.120 rates are translated and optimized for all participants.
• Other features include a fully customizable conference welcome screen and audio messages, as well as touch-tone conference management.

Contact
Sony Electronics, Inc.
One Sony Dr.
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
Ph: 800-222-7669
www.sel.sony.com

• A textbook-sized video conferencing system, Contact is H.320 and H.323-ready, in a plug-and-play package.
• Features a dockable pan/tilt/zoom camera with auto-tracking motion detection, auto focus and back-light compensation, and a built-in zoom lens.
• Comes with a remote commander unit for dialing, camera select, and control of volume, microphone, and picture-in-picture.
• Offers SNMP for management of network environments, and features an optional V.35 interface to support dedicated networks.
• • Runs at up to 128 Kbps for 15 fps of video, and is also available as the Contact-U and the Contact-ME for up to 384 Kbps with multipoint functionality.

QuickVideo OnDemand
(QVOD) Version 4.0
InfoValue Computing, Inc.
4 Westchester Plaza
Elmsford, NY 10523
Ph: 914-345-5980
www.infovalue.com

• Software for delivering video streaming to networked users for video-on-demand applications that can serve hundreds of high-quality video streams at once.
• Offers a total stream rate of 480 Mbps for more than 400 MPEG1 or 80 MPEG2 video streams.
• Supports Ethernet, ATM, cable modems, FDDI, token ring, and fast Ethernet connections, as well as any video format.
• Improvements in version 4.0 include using IP packets, and supporting playback at rates of 64 Kbps to 30 Mbps. Customized QVOD servers supporting higher data rates are also available.

MeetingPoint 4.0
VCON, Inc.
10535 Boyer Blvd., Ste. 300
Austin, TX 78758
Ph: 512-583-7700
www.vcon.com

• Features the VCON PacketAssist Architecture for packet ordering and duplication control, IP precedence, jitter correction, and adaptive bandwidth and lip sync adjustment.
• Packet ordering and duplication control, IP precedence through packet header labels, jitter correction, and adaptive bandwidth adjustment to network capacity.
• Other features include 1.5 Mbps connectivity over IP for all desktop systems, interactive multicast for 12 to 15 participants for Win9x systems, and limitless participants for WinNT, as well as Cisco IP/TV interoperability.

TeamStation
Intel Corporation
2200 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8119
Ph: 408-765-8080
www.intel.com

• Combines video conferencing, corporate network access, Internet access, and PC applications in a conference room workstation.
• Includes a complete hardware and software suite for ISDN and LAN video and data conferencing, and runs on Windows NT 4.0.
• Allows calls to be placed through a built-in speaker phone, and multiple locations may be connected through a bridging service provider.
• Features H.323 and H.320-compliant video conferencing, for delivery of up to 30 fps of video at rates of up to 400 Kbps on a LAN.

TrueCircuit
Path 1 Network Technologies, Inc.
3636 Nobel Dr., Ste. 275
San Diego, CA 92122
Ph: 619-450-4220
www.path1.net

• Addresses network efficiency, utilization, and accounting/billing issues through automatic allocation and de-allocation of real-time channels.
• Used for multimedia interfaces and gateways for SOHO networking, as well as video-on-demand, MPEG-2 video broadcasting, Web cameras, and video conferencing for the LAN and MAN.
• Live analog video streams are converted to MJPEG compressed digital video and transported across a TrueCircuit channel, via Ethernet, between two pairs of PCs. Each stream uses about 11 Mbps of channel capacity.

MSHOW
MSHOW
6886 So. Yosemite St., Ste. 270
Englewood, CO 80112
Ph: 888-99MSHOW
www.mshow.com

• Allows businesses to conduct interactive voice and video broadcasts on private IP networks and the public Internet.
• Users can access conferences from any Web browser through a user-friendly interface.
• Features include pre- and post-show reporting, and scalability for hundreds of users to participate in a conference.
• Supports streaming media and animations, as well as one-to-one and one-to-many real-time messaging, and group Web surfing.

AUDC1020-PRO (iSee PRO)
Ariston Technologies
16892 Bolsa Chica St., #204
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Ph: 800-326-5294
www.ariston.com

• This digital camera offers quality motion and still picture saving, capturing, printing, and playing, for multimedia applications like video conferencing, security monitoring, video mail, and Web site enhancement.
• Features isochronous data transfer, real-time color picture preview, and flicker-free capture.
• Power is supplied by a USB port, and no capture card or power adapter is needed.
• Features a capture rate of up to 30 fps and up to 16.8 million true colors, as well as a color CCD sensor interface, and sensor resolution of 510 x 492.�

REALmagic NetStream 2
Sigma Designs, Inc.
355 Fairview Way
Milpitas, CA 95053
Ph: 408-262-9003
www.sigmadesigns.com

• Enables the addition of MPEG-2 video to a computer network through a simple, plug-and-play, PCI architecture.
• Supports streaming, local, and DVD-ROM playback, as well as the DirectShow, ActiveMovie, and MCI programming interfaces.
• Offers VGA and TV playback in 16 million colors.
• Capable of playing broadcast video over Ethernet, ADSL, ATM, or satellite, with playback using an ActiveX control or browser plug-in.
• Provides full 720 x 480 resolution, 30 fps of video playback, and broadcast ability.

VideoGateway
Tektronix, Inc
26600 SW Parkway
Wilsonville, OR 97070
800-TEK-WIDE
www.tek.com

• A specialized video IP router providing connectivity to profile video networks for local and remote facilities.
• Allows WAN and LAN connectivity over IP, ATM, and Ethernet networks, utilizing open protocols and standards with a Web GUI interface.
• Interconnects fiber channel arbitrated loops for redundancy, mirroring, and access to more media within a facility, and transfers audio and video information as data files over ATM.
• Features automatic transfer of video clips and integrates profile APIs for network-based access to setup and control functions.

ViewStation MP
Polycom, Inc.
2584 Junction Ave.
San Jose, CA 95134-1902
Ph: 408-526-9000
www.polycom.com

• Offers video transfer rates of up to 30 fps, at speeds of 384 to 512 Kbps, with support for the H.263 video standard as well as H.320-compatible systems.
• Features voice-activated switching, and a voice-tracking camera and track-to-presets for focus on the speaker, instead of background noise.
• Comes with an embedded Web server for easy connectivity to a PC, and support for Microsoft NetMeeting for data collaboration.
• Provides full-duplex digital audio with noise suppression and echo cancellation, and a proprietary codec architecture for short delays.

What will it take for video conferencing over IP to become broadly accepted in the enterprise?

In order for IP-based video conferencing to become more broadly accepted, organizations of all types and sizes must first realize the benefits that any type of video conferencing — or visual collaboration, as we call it at PictureTel — can bring to the enterprise. The gains in productivity, the savings of time and money on travel, and the ability to work more closely with colleagues, partners, suppliers, customers, and others are all hallmarks of visual collaboration. Visual collaboration also helps enhance interpersonal communications, improve workflow, and boost competitive advantage by bringing together decision-makers and experts to solve problems more quickly.
— Marty Takessian, Senior Product Manager, Internet Multipoint Solutions, PictureTel Corporation

For video conferencing over IP to become accepted, there must exist a quality of service (QoS) guarantee within IP. QoS means the network connection is able to deliver a constant, predictable, guaranteed amount of bandwidth for a particular application. Today, of the non-leased line networking services used to transport video, only ATM offers this capability.
— Lee Rainey, Director of Marketing, the VideoTele.Com unit of Tektronix

Companies today go through great lengths and expense to host teleconferencing services for meetings or group discussions. IP video conferencing makes this easier with the added benefit of face-to-face communication while reducing overall teleconferencing expenses.

Another major factor that impacts wide spread deployment of IP video conferencing technology is ease of use. Many people do not want to open up their PC to install video cards or deal with complicated camera hardware installation. Some PC manufacturers are integrating the camera into the desktop. These trends will certainly make the technology easier to use and thus more broadly accepted.
— Peg Landry, Director of Marketing, White Pine Software

What are the pros/cons of the traditional H.320 protocol vs. H.323 for IP video conferencing?

H.320 calls over ISDN lines are, depending upon the amount of bandwidth in use, very reliable and, in most industrialized parts of the world, readily available. One drawback can be cost. Based upon installation and usage charges, many businesses use ISDN in conference rooms but cannot justify bringing an ISDN line to every desktop.

H.323 IP networks are already installed in virtually every office and conference room, or are readily available through an ISP or NSP. More people today are connected to an IP network, so the available population is greater for H.323 video conferences. Many multimedia applications and services are available on H.323 networks accessed through a Web browser or application that can be leveraged in the collaboration application suite. H.323 networks can take advantage of many different types of networks such as VPNs, xDSL, Ethernet, ATM, and frame relay.
— Marty Takessian, Senior Product Manager, Internet Multipoint Solutions, PictureTel Corporation

H.320 does not scale to make effective use of higher bandwidth. It reaches maximum quality at about 800 Kbps. H.323 continues to offer higher and higher quality as more bandwidth becomes available to it.
— Lee Rainey, Director of Marketing, the VideoTele.Com unit of Tektronix

The advantage to H.320 conferencing is that there is a guaranteed QoS with dedicated ISDN connections. This provides a consistent environment to host the application. Although the environment with H.323 and IP networks is less consistent, there are significant advantages such as access to the application throughout the enterprise. A major advantage to H.323 is the range of new applications which can be brought to the desktop by combining technologies such as data collaboration, Web interaction, and streaming media.
— Peg Landry, Director of Marketing, White Pine Software

What potential do advances in broadband connectivity and increased bandwidth have for IP video conferencing?

The potential is tremendous. Bandwidth and QoS capabilities of a network enable delivery of high-quality, synchronized audio and video in a video conference. Today, large businesses have access to fast intranets and VPNs that support video conferencing. Now, and in the future, local broadband access will provide small businesses and homes cost-effective access to very high-performance WANs. The intent is to drive commerce. For example, video to the home will enable direct communications between vendors and users browsing Web sites. If users have questions, vendors can meet face to face with consumers and build a relationship. Video conferencing inherently includes enough value to drive new applications into the new millennium.
— Marty Takessian, Senior Product Manager, Internet Multipoint Solutions, PictureTel Corporation

Video conferencing today has generally been a disappointment to the organization using it. In the case of narrowband (ISDN) video conferencing, the price point was acceptable, but it has failed to become a key business tool in most adopting organizations because of its notoriously poor video quality and difficulty of use. Broadband conferencing in the current sense (based on ATM, DS-3, etc.) has offered excellent quality suitable for all applications, but the availability of service has been an obstacle. When relatively inexpensive IP bandwidth with QoS becomes widely available, it will offer a very attractive alternative to today’s ATM and will significantly expand the use of video conferencing.
— Lee Rainey, Director of Marketing, the VideoTele.Com unit of Tektronix

Do you think QoS issues with voice over IP (VoIP) have held back IP video conferencing?

No, QoS solutions have emerged as network technology has become fast enough to carry large amounts of data with enough capacity remaining to handle voice. In the past, data was the primary driver for networks. Today, packet networks can be constructed to provide enough capacity to address an organization’s data as well as voice requirements. Video will become mainstream when video devices become as easy to use as telephones and widely distributed over laptop and desktop computers.
— Marty Takessian, Senior Product Manager, Internet Multipoint Solutions, PictureTel Corporation

VoIP has been more accepted in the enterprise because of cell phone technology. People have learned to live with the deficiencies of cell phone technologies knowing that the technology is rapidly improving. The same premise holds for VoIP. However, access to the telephone from the desktop makes it easy to avoid using the newer VoIP technology. White Pine believes that there are significant advantages with group conferencing via VoIP that will help move the technology forward. Using VoIP to make group conferencing calls is actually easier today than setting up a teleconference via an audio bridge.
— Peg Landry, Director of Marketing, White Pine Software