Group members:
MOHD HAKIM bin MOHD AZMI (084602)
AHMAD SHAIRAZIN bin BUNSU(084772)
Visit Web sites of companies that manufacture telepresence products for the Internet. Prepare a report. Differentiate between telepresence products and videoconferencing products.
Telepresence product is a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, at a location other than their true location. Telepresence requires that the senses of the user, or users, are provided with such stimuli as to give the feeling of being in that other location."Life-sized images, eye contact, and spatial sound are examples of the "stimuli" that a telepresence system delivers.
Providing telepresence "stimuli" requires a permanent, dedicated installation. A typical telepresence installation is more of a studio than it is a conference room. Cameras must be positioned in such a way as to present life-sized images of people, while establishing full eye contact between remote participants. Each studio is custom tailored to reduce each video conferencing camera gaze angle. The position of the meeting participants must be precise. It also limits the number of participants physically located in a room.
One of the most important components of a telepresence system is bandwidth. Telepresence requires substantial bandwidth, a minimum of 2 to 3 mbps of up and downlink bandwidth per screen is required for the full immersive effect. Virtually all telepresence studios us dedicated Internet access as any drop below the minimum will result in audio jitter and latency destroying the immersive experience.
Many organizations are intrigued by the capabilities of telepresence systems. However, the initial cost of the conferencing studio and the recurring network fees put these systems out of the reach of all but the largest and wealthiest companies. There are also organizations that do not have the space to dedicate an entire room to telepresence. Or, if they have the space, the rooms may lack the required dimensions.
In terms of actual technology, there are very few differences between a telepresence system and traditional video conferencing. Both systems utilize the same compression, network, echo cancellation and optical technologies. The primary difference between a telepresence system and a traditional video conferencing system is in how the systems are installed and configured.
Telepresence – the new high end
* Description: fixed-Site, complete audio/video studio build-out, requires dedicated, high-bandwidth network routes (DS3+)
* Pricing: extreme, easily $100,000/site and up
* Pros: immersive quality, ideal for specialty, cost-is-no-object applications
* Cons: studio-to-studio only, no ad hoc conferencing
* Examples: Cisco HD Telepresence, HP Halo, LifeSize, and other competitors
Boardroom video conferencing hardware
* Description: fixed site, video conferencing hardware, dedicated network routes
* Pricing: complex, generally $50,000 and up including video MCUs/MUXs and all hardware components required
* Pros: ideal for boardroom video conferencing
* Cons: cost, complexity, conferencing limited to like facilities
* Examples: Tandberg, Polycom, and other alternatives
IP-Based Video Conferencing Software and Online Services
* Description: desktop IP-based video conferencing software
and software-as-a-service
* Pricing: depends on vendor
* Pros: ideal for desktop video conferencing, low cost, uses browsers, desktop PCs and depending on vendor, proprietary or PC-based audio/video peripherals
* Cons: depends on existing networks for video quality; products with peer-to-peer, classroom, and local area network legacy struggle with firewall/proxy traversal (e.g., NetMeeting)
* Examples: Nefsis, see below, others
