I don’t know much about it this camera but it is nice to see more USB PTZ options. It claims to work with built-in OS drivers so nothing to install. It also claims to work with all major web conferencing apps including Skype and Cisco Jabber (Movi).
Posts in category Video Conferencing & TelePresence
New USB PTZ Camera
Do you want an HD Broadcasting Suite? You may already have your very own.
If you have an existing HD videoconferencing room or a Telepresence System, you very likely have the ability to use it as a production facility and connect to places like CNN, CBS and ESPN to participate in interviews or deliver your message.
Getting your company’s spokespersons and brand ambassadors on the right television programs at the right time with the right message can be a major challenge due to physical travel, pre-scheduling and cost constraints.
MASERGY’s Business to Broadcast Exchange (B2BC) gives enterprises the power to easily and seamlessly transform their Telepresence/HD video rooms into insert studios that can be instantly and broadly accessible by any television network or program. The result—no media opportunities missed, and all messages communicated.
FEATURES
- Guaranteed network QoS, delivered through a private, fully secured global IP network
- Ultra-low latency from anywhere in the world
- Seamless interfaces with leading HD media switching centers
BENEFITS
- Leverage existing investment in Telepresence/HD videoconferencing systems
- Enable full HD-quality transmission to any broadcast production studio
- Capitalize on media appearance opportunities on short notice
Additional information can be found here
New Logitech Wi-fi webcam
Pretty cool new wi-fi webcam from Logitech. Techspot.com has a nice write-up on it. There are a lot potential use cases for something like this. At this time it works on the Mac OS and iOS only and Logitech claims it works with Ustream, Skype, iChat, FaceTime, iMovie, Quicktime and Final Cut Pro. If anybody gets one of these please let the DDMC mailing list know what you think of it.
Epson MegaPlex MG-850HD HD 720p All-in-One Projector w/ Apple-Device Dock
OIT-ITS purchased the Epson MG-850HD projector a few months ago with the hopes of using it paired with an Apple iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) to do video conferencing. The projector features a charging dock connector that supports any of the current Apple iOS devices. Unfortunately, after some testing we found out that the projector does not support any kind of mirroring from a connected iOS device. However, it does support the playback of any photos, music and videos that are currently on an iOS device that is plugged into the projector’s dock connector. The playback of the photos, music and videos is done using a basic user controllable interface on the projector.
Since the projector does feature an HDMI connection we decided to throw an Apple TV into the mix so we could mirror our iOS device’s screen to the projector. This worked perfectly mirroring our iOS’s screen to the Apple TV which was connected to the projector via HDMI. This could be done with any projector that has HDMI but we were impressed with the video and audio quality of the Epson. For more specifics on the projector check out the Epson MG-850HD product page.
Election-Year Politics and Skype
Interesting article about video conferencing and interoperability.
Another Contender – Call 15 Friends To Video Chat In High Def
Microsoft’s Skype is the best known among the services that offer free one-to-one video calls on computers and mobile devices but group video chatting services are rare. Now, there’s a new independent service called Zoom.us. WSJ’s Walt Mossberg reviews zoom.us and says he likes it a lot despite a few limitations. Check him out here.
Cisco’s New Video Conferencing System, the SX20
ITS recently received a demo unit of Cisco’s new video conferencing system, the SX20. The SX20 was released early this year and offers a smaller footprint than the c20 but is very comparable otherwise with a few feature differences.
The SX20 does offer a paid upgrade option for multisite which the C20 does not. This allows the SX20 to add three remote participants to a call without the need of any kind of video conferencing bridging services. However, with Duke’s video conferencing infrastructure users have free access to Duke’s virtual conference rooms which offer the same functionality without the need for the paid multisite upgrade.
Both the C20 and SX20 use the same proprietary Cisco microphones but the SX20 has two echo cancelers while the C20 has one. The SX20 uses a proprietary HDMI/RS-232 cable. On the C20 HDMI/RS-232 are separate cables and allow for easier integration into a conferencing room especially when longer cable runs are needed. This will make integrating the SX20 into a conferencing room more difficult.
The SX20 can share content at up to 1080p15 while the C20 supports WXGAp15(1280×768). However, to support sending 1080p resolutions the premium resolution paid upgrade option is required.
The C20 and SX20 are both great video conferencing systems for basic room and office installations, and cart solutions. They even work great as portable room systems. If you have any questions about either of these or any other video conferencing system please contact oit-its-info@duke.edu and we be happy to talk with you about them.
Immersive Content Sharing Using a Cisco EX90 Personal Video Conferencing System
Here are some nice examples of sharing content using a Cisco EX series video conferencing system. Note that the EX60 only has one video input and the EX90 (featured in the video) has two.
Galileo – Smooth Pan and Tilt for iOS devices
Here’s a very cool Kickstarter project for a very affordable pan and tilt accessory for iOS devices.
I think the real interesting part of this is the different ways you can control it, and the possibilities for extension. You can either program something like 1˚/min for a smooth gimbal movement as you film a scene (some demo shots on their page). Or, like in the video at the top of their page, you can control it from another iOS device that is connected (presumably through Facetime, but not sure the mechanics of that interaction…) But what makes this thing really amazing is that there will be an open SDK – meaning anyone can build apps or even other hardware that can interface with the Galileo.
They have already blown past their pledge goal on Kickstarter, so it looks like it’s going to be headed for production.
Maybe one day we’ll be just plugging in our devices into one of these sorts of things and initiating our web conferences via our phones…?
Duke OIT visits Cisco to check out an Active Collaboration Room
A few of us in OIT recently visited Cisco in RTP to check out one of their Active Collaboration Rooms (ACR).
For the demo we visited one of Cisco’s ACRs which was 24′x24′. This room contained the default ACR functionality: SmartBoard, projector, raised seating in the back and a Cisco CTS 1300. One notable change was the use of hanging microphones which Cisco said is something they are now using in ACRs. They feel hanging microphones offer a better audio experience compared to table microphones and we agreed.
We called out to an another ACR room in San Jose which was similar to the room we were in. The San Jose room also featured hanging microphones. Both rooms joined a WebEX meeting where the SmartBoards were shared and both sides annotated simultaneously on a powerpoint slide. It was made clear to everyone that to use the SmartBoard like this (simultaneously) it must be done through a WebEX meeting. The SmartBoard could also be shared via the content channel but this would only show one side at a time.
If you are interested in learning anymore about Cisco ACRs please let me know.
