Video Conferencing Systems Explained

How To Set Up Video Conferencing

Video conferencing systems have evolved. There is one there that can surely fit your budget and specifications.

To help you along the way, here are four of the types that are being used to day by government offices and private corporations.

These are namely telepresence conferencing system, integrated conference room system, set top video conferencing system and desktop conferencing system.

Let us discuss each of them.

The telepresence system literally enables you to be in a meeting with other people located in other places.

There are two types in general use at this time. One is the portable or roll about and the immersion that is room based.

This type of system consists of a high definition codec coupled with flat panel screens and high definition audio. The price tag for those who are interested will be from $60,000 to $300,000 each which depends on the size and capabilities of what you decide to purchase.

Integrated Room Conferencing System

But the most common used is the integrated room conferencing system that is used by offices and in some schools. There is a centralized location for the codec and the associated hardware. It also comes with a main camera, displays and peripheral video sources with multiple features. It is much cheaper than the first one mentioned as this is available from $10,000 to $100,000 each.

Set top video systems are designed to sit on a monitor. They are small and are easy to move around should this be needed in another room when you are conducting a meeting. It is quite affordable given that vendors usually sell these from $3,000 to $20,000 a piece.

The last is the desktop video conferencing system that is the cheapest one around and used by people working at home or keeping in touch with friends and family members. The system is priced between $250 to $400 each and despite its size, you are still able to do voice, video and application sharing.

For those who don't to shell out cash, you can download software like Skype or Yahoo Messenger. You just need to buy the camera that has a built in microphone.

System Vendor Installs

When you buy any of the four types of video conferencing systems mentioned, a technician that works for the vendor will set this up for you. Once installed, it is very easy to operate because it is user friendly so you don't have to worry about anything when this has to be operated.

Videoconferencing systems have a lot of benefits to the user. For one, you don't have to travel anymore if you want to speak to someone face to face when you can have the meeting done in the conference room.

This of course amounts to savings since you don't have to pay for airfare, traveling expenses and you no longer have to deal with the stress associated with travel.

So which video conferencing system should you get? This depends on the size of the room, the number of participants per site, the system or format you will be calling, its data capability and the preferred system integrator to put this all together.

Once you are able to figure that out, it will already be easy for you to shop for the right one that your company will be using for the long term.

Setting Up Video Conferencing

With the rising price of oil in the world market, companies have to cut down on certain expenses in order to show a profit. You can cut down the number of times that an employee travels on business trips and instead have a video conferencing facility setup that accomplishes the same objective.

But how do you setup video conferencing? The easiest way of saying it is simply by buying the equipment, having it installed and letting someone in the office take care of it. But it is not that simple. There are things you have to aware of first so you are able to purchase the right system.

Let's first talk about the devices that are used to make this work. There are three types namely desktop, small group and learn group. Naturally, the prices of each one varies but the common denominator is the fact that they can be used over ISDN or IP.

When you have chosen which of the three you want, the next hurdle is to work on the bandwidth. A T-1 for instance fives you only one line of communication. What if you need to speak with different offices simultaneously? For that you will need a T-3 or higher.

If you are having problems with your IP network since it is not able to handle the additional traffic, the best thing for you to do is to get circuit switched networks or to deploy additional IP bandwidth capacity.

ISDN

Earlier, we mentioned ISDN and IP networks. What is the difference? ISDN stands for integrated services digital network. IP on the other hand stands for Internet protocol.

Video conferencing through ISDN happens as you are able to integrate both analog or voice data together with digital data over the same network. This means you are able to encompass frame relay service for high speed data in large bursts.

This can also be done using your IP network which is very similar to how you are able to browse the web. In the US, more people use IP's compared to ISDN but in Europe, this is the exact opposite because it happens to be much cheaper than IP's.

When you are budgeting how much will be needed for video teleconferencing setup, you have to break down the fixed acquisition costs from the recurring costs. The fixed cost depends largely on how many units you will be ordering. There is also the license that you have to get that is $250 to $40,000 each and if you are a very large company, you might just exceed $100,000 per package since you also have to consider the hardware and software components needed.

Video Conferencing Increases Productivity

Is it worth all that just to have video conferencing? A lot of people say yes because their employees are more productive, decisions are made quickly and the company saves money.

In fact, private companies are not the only one using it as the government, the education and the healthcare sector have also taken advantage of this to conduct hearings, teach children and help patients.

If you want to know more about video teleconferencing setup and how much it will cost, go look for vendors and ask them for an estimate. After comparing the quotes from various companies, surely you can find the right one that fits within your budget.

Video Connferencing Develops into Web 2.0 Star >>

Web video conferencing is here now. 
     Bruce Chandler

Carlos Montenegro and Magdi Mikhail,Instant Video Recording/Conference Studio, contributed to this report.

Video Conferencing Systems Explained