Comments on: HELP ME TEST DESKTOP VIDEOCONFERENCING

By: Terry Frazier

Terry Frazier — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 02:56:07 +0000

I have an on-again/off-again affair with this stuff and have tried, in no certain order and with no certain methodology, all of the free vidconf messengers as well as several paid services. Like you, I am more focused on what can enable small groups, collaborative teams, and other non-corporate initiative setups — e.g small budgets.My experience (with my el-cheapo Logitech webcam because crappy frames have as much data as good ones) is that cpu cycle contention just kills most of the value in vid conf. I can do conference calling via Skype, simultaneous screen sharing via VNC, simultaneious IM via AIM, Y!, Jabber, etc. and all is well until I go to add a live video stream. Then the voice quality and screen updates go all wonky. I suspect this will be cured by the next generation of processors, but for now anything under the 3+ GHz range is probably too slow (I’m guessing). My own box in is in the 2+GHz range with fast drives and GB RAM but still chokes on live vid. Adding a $300-$400 vid card might do the trick, too. But seems an unlikely solution in these days of $699 desktop systems.One tack I’m exploring now (and this is not really P2P) is to setup simple webcam servers using WebcamXP Pro or EvoCam to offload the video recording and output streaming from the local desktop. This would let multiple viewers see the image from a web page w/out affecting my local desktop, but still leaves me struggling to process all the incoming vid streams from their cameras. So far the latter is a show stopper.– twf

By: Dave Pollard

Dave Pollard — Thu, 08 Apr 2004 00:12:08 +0000

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. My camera is up, I spent much of today testing the three IM service video add-ons (and their whiteboard & app sharing functions) plus SightSpeed, and Skype in tandem with webcam broadcast. I’ll test more as time permits. I flagged a bit today because of a bad cold but most days you can reach me between 10am and 6pm Eastern Time (GMT-5).

By: olivier lurquin

olivier lurquin — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 16:13:01 +0000

http://products.datamation.com/e-business/conferencing/index.html

By: olivier lurquin

olivier lurquin — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 16:03:38 +0000

let have have a look on also on the following list:http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2003/0728WebConf-BG-Excel.xls

By: olivier lurquin

olivier lurquin — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 10:13:48 +0000

Do you plan to include globeecom into you test?

By: Flinders

Flinders — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 21:01:56 +0000

MS ConferenceXP looks a most interesting application – pity that the hardware & broadband requirements exclude most (98%?) PC users!

By: Dermot Casey

Dermot Casey — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 12:06:24 +0000

Dave this might be relevant, haven't explored in too much depth but it seems to be along the lines of what you're looking for http://www.conferencexp.net/community/RegardsDermot

By: Flinders

Flinders — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 06:46:24 +0000

Looking forward to your report due soon, ......;-)Today I added GCN & UVC to my list of interesting web pages at http://www.furl.net/members/FlindersBoth these apps have video chat capabilities & show what might be possible in the integration stakes - and they also take two very different approaches with their interface.Regrettably both apps may have issues operating in behind firewalls. Most of these apps seem to have to make trade-offs in their functionality. There may not be a killer app here - users might have to select the tool where the "operational emphasis" suits their particular needs?

By: Flinders

Flinders — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 20:31:31 +0000

It is great that you are re-looking at this area – but there are quite a few options & no one has had a comprehensive look at this space. I have just started putting together a list of relevant website addresses at the above address.There is doubt as a simple communication tool available to the ordinary PC user Skype set the standard. If there is any doubt about this look at the downloads! Skype of course does not have video, is restricted to a couple of Windows platforms & requires broadband to work well. The conferencing option is also limited & some users have found the peer to peer model resource hungry in this situation.Video Chat or your SVP has not captured the imagination of the mass market because most of the offerings are quirky. For example, try as I may I can’t even get the ICQ offering to load. The critera must be ; are they easy/intuitive to install, (even behind firewalls), are they any platform (at least any Win platform) & any bandwith, … and beyond this do they actually work reliably & at a consistent quality.From personal experience there is great resistance to adopting this technology because many users are frightened by what they perceive to be its complexity … & others have been burn’t off by abysmal exeriences in the past.

By: Robin Good

Robin Good — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 14:48:48 +0000

David, would love to participate in your tests and to contribute to elect a “best of breed” according to your SVP criteria.As mentioned by Guy Dickinson Convoq ASAP is the technology that has gotten the most good ideas in place before everyone else. A truly great collaboration framework all built around presence and instant messaging apps.I must also say that Groove has made tremendous inroads into becoming a very competitive real-time collaboration tool, and though it does not yet integrate native video, it does integrate VoIP, has great presence awareness and IM, and with the upcoming Blended Groove version from PoPG, Groove will be for everyone including the Mac. For now, Groove (v3) has smartly added a new direct hook into Microsoft NetMeeting.