"Video Conferencing: The New Generation of Communication": A Project Report ON
"Video Conferencing: The New Generation of Communication": A Project Report ON
PROJECT REPORT
ON
“Video conferencing: The new generation of communication”
SUBMIITTED TO
MAEER’S
MIT SCHOOL OF TELECOM
AND
MANAGEMENT STUDIES
BY
Sadanand Garde
BATCH NO: 2009-2011
•Special Events.
•Conferences (Remote
Attendance).
•Distance Lecturing.
•Remote Monitoring.
•Academic
ContentDistribution
•Student Produced Content Distribution.
Video Streaming:
•Windows Media.
•Real.
•QuickTime.
•MPEG 2/4.
1-Display Systems:
A video conferencing system needs a
display or projection device for maximizing
visual output. Initially, video conferences were
displayed on a TV set or a computer monitor.
Today there are many more choices and often
two or more displays are used for video
conferencing. This could mean a display device
for an instructor, overhead projection for
students, a document camera, PCs, DVD
content, etc.
Bandwidth :
Bandwidth is defined as the capacity a
telecomm-unications channel has to move
information. Many of the standard video
conferencing systems used today operate at
bandwidths ranging from 128 Kbps to 768 Kbps.
These ran-ges have historically been selected to
minimize cost and because additional bandwidth
was not always available.
Camera Designs :
In the past, high definition cameras
have only been available for digital camcorders
or the broadcast television market. Now that
high definition is being used for video con-
ferencing, firms are starting to develop software
and techno-logy to make high resolution
cameras for high definition vid-eo conferencing.
The Types of Videoconferencing:
Compressed videoconferencing can take
place in a point-to-point (2 sites) or multipoint
(3 sites or more) configuration. All sites
participating in a videoconference require a
codec. All sites participating in a multipoint call
must be “bridged” using embedded multipoint
capability or a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU).
Many codecs have embedded capability to
“bridge” up to 4 sites - 3 other sites and their
own. The codec initiating a multipoint call may
also need additional network bandwidth to call
or “host” a multipoint call.
The utilization of an MCU is typically
required for multipoint conferences of 4 or more
sites. An MCU is a hardware solution, which
provides connectivity of multiple sites for video,
audio and even web connectivity. During a
multipoint conference, all participates can hear
one another at all times. What participants see is
dependent upon how your conference is set up
via the MCU:
♦ Voice Activated: Participants see the site that
is currently speaking or last spoke on the
monitor.
♦ Continuous Presence: Participants see all sites
in various window layouts on the monitor.
Equipment Requirements:
♦ Codec.
♦ Display.
♦ Camera.
♦ Microphone.
♦ Speaker.
Codecs:
Codecs provide the primary processing
power connecting your videoconference. Most
features are embedded into the codec and
accessible via a remote control or touch panel.
Codecs are available as a settop (sits directly on
top of adisplay) or in a rackmounted version.
Displays:
Depending on the room size and viewing
requirements, users may choose from avariety of
displays including monitors, plasma screens,
and projectors.
Cameras:
Most settop codecs include a high-end
business-quality 1-chip camera. Rack mounted
codecs require the separate selection of a
camera. Color cameras used in video-
conferences should have full pan/tilt/zoom
capability. For meetings or applications
requiring a higher resolution, 3-chip cameras are
also available. Most codecs also support the use
of 2 or more cameras for larger rooms. Cameras
may be placed facing a speaker/teacher and
participants/class.
Microphones:
There are many microphone options
available including tabletop, ceiling, and
wireless. Most codecs are provided with a single
tabletop microphone, which typically picks up 4-
6
people around a medium-sized table.
Microphones are available in uni, or
multidirectional formats.
Speakers:
Most monitors or plasmas are equipped with
speakers that are sufficient for
videoconferencing. For larger or more complex
requirements, additional speakers sshould be
considered for adequate audio output.
Growing in India
The growth of the overall Asia Pacific
videoconferencing endpoints markets are
expected to be led by the corporate sector,
where converged voice, data, and video
solutions are likely to have their strongest
appeal, primarily as productivity tools for
knowledge workers. The videoconferencing
market in India offers great potential for growth
too. There is a growth explosion expected (30%
for the next two years) in the medium-term,
beyond which growth rates will stabilize at 22%.
Growth is witnessed not only in the large
enterprise segment; but even small and medium
businesses are adopting videoconferencing
solutions, recognizing the vast benefits they
offer. Notable developments in recent months
include prominent mergers and continued
progress in migration from Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN) to Internet Protocol (IP)
Network. In the coming years, factors like cost of
ownership, maintenance of infrastructure, and
general perception that people had about
conferencing as a luxury and a hassle is slowly
dying. "With the introduction of the concept of
high definition, videoconferencing is likely to
gain momentum and we really see this growing
at rapid pace." Minhaj Zia, business
development manager, Unified Communication,
India and SAARC, Cisco.
There is an increased use of videoconferencing
systems for interviewing candidates, interaction
with relatives settled abroad, reviews and
meetings, product launches, press conferences
and auditioning actors. Videoconferencing
promises applications also in healthcare,
education, and government segments, as prices
for hardware and bandwidth reduces and
awareness about the technology spreads in the
market.
Gone are the days of extended travel, waiting in
long airport security lines, travel delays, inflated
travel budgets and lost productivity. As
organizations become more diverse in business
applications, acquisitions and mergers become
more common and multi-national work forces
become the standard, decision makers are
looking for ways to make communicating among
their knowledge workers easy.
Collaborative technologies will enable business
partners to easily switch back and forth from
web, video and audio conferencing to see and
hear each other and to share documents and
information in real time. Today's enterprises are
also looking forward to leading edge technology,
flexible conferences, flexible deployment,
common management suites, highly scalable
solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded
multipoint options and videoconferencing
solutions.
Today, networks are becoming increasingly
scalable and enterprises are realizing the
benefits of having all the applications on the
network. The real impact of videoconferencing
technology can only be realized when the user's
experience is close to natural face-to-face
meeting, and telepresence in this respect has
already started revolutionizing room based
videoconferencing services.
India will be one of the biggest markets
worldwide for videoconferencing solutions. The
enterprise user is getting financially stronger and
as now they care competing globally, they need
to be more productive and lower the costs of
videoconferencing solutions.
Drivers
Availability of bandwidth and their declining
costs
Today various application available on which
enhance the use of hardware and bandwidth
Development in middleware which is able to
help various technology to speak to each
other
Dispersed teams, which are using different
technology to communicate, and their need
to communicate to each other has acted as
a catalyst in the growth of videoconferencing
Lot of technology brands which were
working on any one domain of over all
technology solution have seen the necessity
of moving into this space to grow and
enhance value to their customers.
Challenges
Creating a modern and efficient
telecommunications infrastructure taking
into account the convergence of IT, media
and telecom and consumer electronics
Technical knowledge: separated
communications and conferencing
technologies reside on different networks
and, different platforms, requiring different
management interfaces for support
Communications and collaboration
technologies have become proprietary
platforms that do not integrate with the
existing network infrastructure
Challenges faced by IT managers in
building and managing the IP
infrastructure to guarantee performance
Managing the converged infrastructure, so
that real-time applications such as voice and
video have priority over less time-sensitive
application such as Web surfing and email.
Major Trends
There is strong evidence that stand-alone
videoconferencing solutions will be impacted by
the changing usage dynamics and the
availability of superior technology in the market.
As convergence brings voice, data, and video
onto the same network, new technologies are
rewriting the rules of collaboration. The future is
the sum of several independent innovations
coming together. One network brings all types of
information (voice/data/video) into the home,
office, and industry. Today, networks are
becoming increasingly scalable and enterprises
are realizing the benefits of having all the
applications on the network. The introduction of
high definition technology is one of the trends
witnessing fast response in the market.
Telepresence
The market is moving from vanilla video
conferencing services to high end video
collaboration solutions such as telepresence
since it creates a live, face-to-face meeting
experience. Among enterprise, there is
continued adoption of telepresence solutions to
facilitate communication between their
knowledge workers and increase collaboration
with their customers across the globe. However,
telepresence is an expensive technology and as
yet has seen adoption only by large enterprise.
These are offices in multiple locations,
nationwide, or around the globe, and who find it
easier to justify the RoI of the Telepresence
solutions.
Taken in its broadest sense, Telepresence is the
next generation of Videoconferencing
technology. It is capable of creating the
impression of life-like interactions in real time.
The participants may be in different corners of
the world but the effect is that of a meeting
taking place in one room. The difference
between the vanilla video conferencing services
and telepresence is in terms of the actual
experience. Telepresence requires a complete
high-definition architecture that combines HD
voice, video, and content sharing capabilities
with other elements of HD infrastructure.
Attention is paid to the room setup, including the
acoustics and the lighting. The jitter (variation in
delay) is brought down to zero.
Traditional video conferencing was done in a
conference room equipped with a television-set
type unit, where employees had to use remote
control keypads to set up meetings. Even the
desktop applications had its own limitations in
offering quality of interaction. However, while the
difference in experience between a telepresence
solution and traditional video conferencing can
be dramatically different, the underlying
technologies and concepts are the same - so
that users are able to easily connect, regardless
of the device they are using.
With this in mind, solution providers such as
Tata Communications and Tata Teleservices
Maharashtra Limited have begun to offer TP
services on a pay-per-use basis. With the arrival
of public Telepresence rooms by Indian Hotels,
Marriott International & Starwood Hotels,
customers now have the flexibility to pay on an
hourly basis for these services.
Future Outlook
In India, the adoption of HD videoconferencing is
across the board. Traditionally education and
health verticals are ones that have the potential
to be large drivers of adoption of VC. But quality
is a requirement that every business has. With
HD video conferencing technology becoming
increasingly affordable, its adoption across
industry verticals is visible. Currently, though the
primary sector continued to grow at a steady
rate, there was sudden spurt seen in the
adoption of video conferencing especially in the
government sector.
With the availability of broadband on the
increase, and the growing awareness about the
benefits of video conferencing technology the
video conferencing market is estimated to grow
to a greater extent in the year ahead. However,
certain challenges need to be overcome to
facilitate this growth. Bandwidth issues lead to
critical performance gaps. Wireline networks, a
key requirement for higher bandwidth, are not
available in remote areas. This deprives them of
the opportunity of using video conferencing for
education and business, among other things.
Customers also look for open standards and
equipment compatibility for seamless
integration. Lack of ease-of-use and high
maintenance of the equipment is also an area of
concern. Need for customized and scalable
solutions are also being expressed unanimously
along with the need to justify RoI. Customers
look for the right mix of normal VC,
telepresence, and web conferencing solutions to
meet their communication needs and this
demand is one potential driver for further growth.
Opportunities and Challenges Opportunities and Challenges