Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CITYIS
VIDEO CONFERENCING
GUIDE
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
For more information beyond this guide, visit the Resource Library at
CityIS.com to discover the wide range of applications that video conferencing
could have within your organisation.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
It is important to identify the best solution for your business requirements. There
are different categories of video communications systems and it is crucial to
understand the benefits and limitations of each. How you answer the following
questions, will help you understand your company’s requirements in greater
detail. This in turn will aid your decision on which system is best suited to meet
your needs.
The answers to these questions will help you start to identify which solution best
suits your specific application. The better informed you are about your
requirements, the better a system can be tailored to be most beneficial to you
and your company.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
CALL QUALITY
The main factors contributing to the quality of the image you will see during a
video call are:
Having good audio quality is crucial to the success of your video conference.
The audio system is comprised of different elements; the microphone and echo
canceller for capturing the sound, the balance and maximisation of the available
bandwidth for audio data relative to video data, and the speakers. As with every
other area of video communications, the adherence to international standards is
a must. You will want to not only ensure that you will have superior audio when
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
talking to a similar system, but excellent audio when communicating with every
other standards compliant system.
When selecting your network there are several factors that should be taken into
consideration. The questions you should ask yourself include:
For example, are the sites you plan to call all internal? Do you plan to call other
sites not owned by your company?
Not all networks are available worldwide. Ensure you check which networks are
available in the geographical areas where your company operates.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
Some visual communication systems can be compliant with ITU standards and
be proprietary at the same time. These systems may not support all features
and speeds, or the same quality image in both modes of transmission. It is
important to understand how a system will perform when it is connected to
equipment manufactured by another visual communication company. Below are
explanations of some of the most important standards with regard to network
standards. These are prime considerations since you want to ensure the best
quality call with all types of systems.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network, or ISDN, is an international
communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital
telephone lines or normal telephone wires. It is also known as a Basic Rate
Interface (BRI). ISDN supports data transfer rates at multiples of 64kbps (64,000
bits per second), and is most commonly used by individuals and small
businesses. Each ISDN line consists of two B-channels and one D-channel.
Each B-channel can carry up to 64kbps of data. A Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
is a type of ISDN service designed for larger organisations. A PRI includes 23
B-channels (30 in Europe) and one D-channel.
IP
Internet Protocol, or IP, is a protocol that provides for transmitting blocks of data
between hosts identified by fixed-length addresses. IP is becoming increasingly
popular amongst businesses, with an increasing trend of switching to it from
ISDN. The main drivers behind this include the points that IP delivers higher
quality video and audio, lowers running costs as system usage increases
throughout an organisation and it is easier for IT staff to manage.
H.320
A commonly used video compression standard for video conferencing over
networks that provide fixed communication paths (such as the ISDN phone
network). By defining standardised ways of performing all of the processing that
has to be done by a video conference system, systems from different vendors
can communicate with each other as long as they all comply with the standards.
H.320 references many other standards for specific tasks (such as audio coding
or video coding).
H.323
This is also a top-level standard, like H.320, for video conference systems.
H.323 is a standard for audio, video, and data communication over IP-based
networks, which is becoming more and more prevalent in businesses of all sizes.
It specifically describes how multimedia communication occurs between
terminals, network equipment, services on Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide
Area Networks (WAN), and the Internet.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
The size, layout and decoration of your location can have a big impact on the
quality of your video conferencing experience. This section explains how to
carry out basic adjustments and simple tests to ensure that you send and
receive the best possible image and audio quality during your video meeting.
Volume
The microphone should be placed at the front of the table to ensure that all
speech will be detected. The best position for the microphone is at least 6.5 feet
in front of the video conferencing system, on a plain, flat surface with at least 12
inches of table in front of it.
Peripherals
The document camera should be close to the leader of the meeting, or the
designated controller of the document camera, for ease of use. Remember to
arrange all the peripherals so that one participant can reach each of them to
point, change the display, tape, or to perform other functions during the
conference.
Positioning
Position the video conferencing system in such a way as to avoid the possibility
of someone inadvertently walking into the camera's field of view when entering
the room. Other than the conference participants, there should be no moving
items in the sent image.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
To help ensure the most natural meeting environment, position the camera on
the top centre of the receiving monitor. The camera should point directly at the
meeting participants to guarantee eye contact with those at the far-end.
Lighting
Avoid direct sunlight on the subject matter or camera lens as this will create
harsh contrasts
If light levels are too low, you may need to consider using artificial lighting
When using artificial lighting, "daylight" type lamps will produce the most
effective results. Avoid coloured lighting
Indirect light from shaded sources or reflected light from pale walls often
produces excellent results
Avoid harsh side lighting or strong light from above as this may put part or
all of the subject matter in shadow or cause silhouetting
Background
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
Layout
Try to have the camera pointing in a direction that gives you a calming
background. Avoid movement in the background, as this normally will have
nothing to do with you video meeting
Avoid direct sunlight on the subject matter or camera lens as this will create
harsh contrasts
The video conferencing system should be placed about 60-100cm away
from the person. Depending on screens size and what feels natural. The
key thing is that the user is comfortable
In an open office environment, we recommend a headset for privacy. Using
the loud speaking functionality might disturb your colleagues
The unit should be set to Automatic answer, but with the mic muted
The unit should be a part of your normal day to day tools, and should be
located close to you computer screen. This way you will not need to move
during a video call, allowing you to use your PC and your desktop system at
the same time
If poor lighting in the room, you may need to use artificial lighting
If you have a lot of direct light or spotlight in the room, you might get
shadows in your face, and there might be a good idea to get some kind of
indirect light
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY
EASE OF USE
VALUE
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
What is a codec?
Codec stands for "Coder/Decoder". It is a piece of equipment or software that
both encodes an audio/video signal from an analog source (like a camera or
microphone) and decodes the digital signal for replay as an analog signal (to a
monitor or speakers).
What is a gatekeeper?
In the H.323 world, the gatekeeper provides several important functions. First, it
controls access to the network, allowing or denying calls and controlling the
bandwidth of a call. Second, it helps with address resolution, making possible
email type names for end users, and converting those into the appropriate
network addresses.
What is an MCU?
A multipoint control unit is a device that bridges together multiple inputs so three
or more parties can participate in a video conference and can simultaneously
pass data, voice, or video. The MCU uses fast switching techniques to patch
the presenters to speaker's input to the output ports representing the other
participants.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
What is SIP?
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signalling protocol, used to set up and tear-
down multimedia communication sessions, such as voice and video calls over
IP (Internet Protocol). The text-based protocol incorporates many elements of
HTTP and SMTP allowing for easy inspection by administrators and can be
used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions
consisting of one or several media streams. The modification can involve
changing addresses or ports, inviting more participants, adding or deleting
media streams, etc.
What is VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a term for a group of transmission
technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the
Internet. The basic steps involved in originating an Internet telephone call are
conversion of the analog voice signal to digital format and
compression/translation of the signal into Internet IP packets for transmission
over the Internet; the process is reversed at the receiving end.
What is Teleworking?
Teleworking is a term which refers to substituting telecommunications
technology for any form of work-related travel. Teleworking is facilitated with
tools such as virtual private networks, conference calling, Video conferencing
and voice over IP.
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com
VIDEO CONFERENCING GUIDE
CityIS Ltd.
T: 0844 846 0555 E: sales@cityis.co.uk W: CityIS.com