This informational guide will provide you with answers to commonly asked questions about desktop video conferencing and can help you decide the best solution for you or your company.
Desktop systems are used for personal conferencing and thus, desktop video conferencing offers audio and visual communication at the personal level versus the group level.
Desktop video conferencing provides an audio-visual method of communication with another person at a remote location, therefore saving time and money resulting from unnecessary travel. Using various collaborative tools that are available in desktop video conferencing, you can also improve productivity and efficiency.
The computer is the basis for desktop video conferencing. In addition, you will need a telecom network such as an ISDN or telephone line and a desktop video conferencing package that contains the necessary communication hardware and software.
Unlike group video conferencing systems which only allow you to see and hear a party at a remote location, desktop versions may have the additional benefits of file sharing and exchange, application sharing, and whiteboard sharing. You not only get to communicate and interact with someone at another place, but you also get to work together collaboratively on the computer.
While ISDN systems may offer better quality and frame rates, they are the costly alternative and use a telecom network that may not be readily available. POTS based systems use regular telephone lines which are easily attainable and cost effective. An overseas video conferencing call would incur the same charges as a regular international telephone call, and you don't have to worry if it is linked via an ISDN net.
ShareVision Desktop Video Conferencing System is an add-in kit for the PC or Macintosh. This turnkey solution provides two-way live color video in a window, full-duplex, telephone-quality voice, a data channel for real-time application sharing, interactive whiteboards, and file transfers. The ShareVision product line consists of ShareVision PC3000, ShareVision PC3000 Value Edition, ShareVision Mac3000 and ShareVision Mac3000 Value Edition.
The respective Value Editions contain all of the hardware and software components of the ShareVision PC3000 or ShareVision Mac3000, minus the ShareVision desktop video camera.
ShareVision products are cross-platform. This means a company can use ShareVision Mac3000 to call up a client who has ShareVision PC3000 and enjoy a live video and voice conversation, while presenting new proposals for the client to modify on-line with the interactive whiteboard.
ShareVision products are designed to operate on one standard analog telephone line (POTS), the most affordable and widely installed telecom dial-up service in the world. ShareVision's outstanding compression algorithms result in desktop video conferencing performance over POTS that rivals that of ISDN based systems, with much lower equipment and per-minute connect costs.
Current ShareVision products are designed to work with a regular telephone line, also known as POTS, using the modem that is included. ShareVision's unique compression algorithm delivers desktop video conferencing performance that rivals that of ISDN-based systems, at a much lower cost of installation and per-minute usage, with no extra equipment required.
Creative Labs is a member of H.324 and intends to release PCS-compliant products as specifications become finalized and applicable.
ShareVision PC3000 and ShareVision Mac3000 provide live color video at up to 15 frames per second (fps) at a video window size of 96 x 80 pixels, up to 12 fps at 128 x 96 pixels, and up to 10 fps at the maximum actual resolution of 160 x 112 pixels. Each window can also be "stretched" to double the pixel size, resulting in a much larger window, with some loss of resolution.
Yes. ShareVision PC3000's video hardware comprises 2 types of input: PAL/NTSC composite video and S-video.
Yes. However you will need an additional VGA to video converter such as Creative TV Coder. You can then output your monitor display to a video recorder and document the session.
The specification of the modem is quite high. At present, not many modems meet ShareVision specific standards, therefore it is unlikely that many users will already have suitable modems. We have also undertaken extensive tests in many countries, using defined modems of that country. If we allowed the use of any modem, we could not be sure it would have been fully tested. In time, the list of supported modems will get longer and the number of countries approved for use will also increase.
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