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Fine tuning a videoconferencing system

Problem:  Too many videoconferencing systems fall short. Due to relatively minor problems with the network, the display, with bandwidth or equipment choice, they don’t work smoothly. The result is discomfort and frustration on the part of the users and a collective decision not to utilize the system. So the investment is largely wasted.

The most important thing in a videoconference meeting is to be able to feel as if the people are there with you,” says Dennis Woodhouse, CEO of Conference Technologies, Inc.®  “That’s very attainable now, though a lot of organizations never get to that level.” 

Solution:Fine tuning of your videoconferencing plan and implementation. We’re going to outline the key factors to successful conferencing in this article and try to suggest where bringing in an outside expert might be helpful.

Most organizations install videoconferencing systems with the goal of reducing the need to travel for meetings. Travel certainly has a purpose –there are many situations where face-to-face communications work much better than a phone call, email or conference call. But travel has a price, too, and it’s not just the cost of gas or an airline ticket. It’s the cost of wasted time.  

At a minimum, a videoconference offers better communications than a phone call without the pain of travel. At its best, “videoconferencing provides the highest level of interaction between people and groups without actually being there,” says Woodhouse. “When you use it you feel relaxed and comfortable and not constantly irritated as people often did in the past. Videoconferencing is at a point now where it can be totally satisfactory.”

Here’s what it takes to provide this kind of productive experience in a video environment:

HD versus normal definition conferencers

First, if you’re buying a new videoconferencing system, you’ll want to consider buying high definition equipment. “It’s almost a no-brainer, “ Woodhouse says. “The new systems offer eight times the resolution of legacy systems at little or no extra cost.” The benefit is immediately apparent. Rather than the somewhat blurred, noisy pictures you may be used to, you get crisp, clean images and high fidelity sound where participants can see each others’ facial expressions and hear vocal nuances clearly.  “Of course, the new systems are backwards compatible with the old,” Woodhouse notes. “They will connect to legacy systems and they will provide better images at whatever bandwidth and resolution you run them on.” The fact is, though, that once you see what the new systems are capable of, you’ll want to conference at that quality or get as close as you can within the constraints of the older systems you may connect to.

he biggest barrier to the implementation of HD equipment –and to getting the most out of standard definition systems– is generally not the cost or the setup of the equipment itself, but problems within the user’s internal IP network structure.

Setting up your network

“Latency is a big issue in many videoconferences,” says Woodhouse. “I’m talking about the delay between the time the person at the far end moves or says something and the time that you perceive it.” With an overseas call, the best connection will produce a delay of about 1/4 to 1/2 second, which is barely perceptible. But lower bandwidths and especially internal network problems can cause that delay to increase to one second, two seconds or even longer. “As the delay goes up, the anxiety that you feel on the call increases as well, since you don’t get an instantaneous response from the person in the form of hand movements, eye contact and verbal cues. The more instantaneous the connection, the more engaged and less anxious you will feel.”

Bandwidth can be an issue.  If you’re considering a high definition system, you will need one Mbps or better per video call –that is, one Mbps in excess of whatever additional traffic is on your network at the same time. “Aside from the quality of the picture itself, latency increases at lower bandwidths,” Woodhouse explains. “If the picture is blurry or the delay long, you’re going to feel uncomfortable–only because you’re unsure of how your message is being received.”

One mistake that IT managers can make is to provide only the minimum bandwidth required for the picture quality they seek. “Actually the sweet spot varies somewhat with the setup and the call,” says Woodhouse. “If you don’t want to shortchange the comfort level of your users, it can really help to bring in an expert to help you define what you need.” Optimal bandwidth for an HD call may be as low as one Mbps, but it typically takes 1.5 Mbps or a little more to bring latency under control, he explains.

Firewalls can cause problems.  “Typically video is not a security issue,” says Woodhouse, “but generally all of the firewall ports you’ll use are closed along with the protocol, and you have to change some settings or you won’t get a connection.” Woodhouse says the changes are straightforward, but often the AV integrator doesn’t get to talk directly with the person programming the router, and that causes confusion.  “I’ve had customers stymied by that for days even though I step them through exactly what they have to do. Obviously they’re overlooking something, but unless I can do the programming myself, finding the problem can be a challenge.”

The organization’s network infrastructure can be an issue. “The base network has to be up to date and it has to be tuned so that there are no bottlenecks,” says Woodhouse. Sometimes there can be an older hub or router that’s been forgotten, and sometimes there’s a problem with branch offices that are running an older architecture or protocols.

In general, all cables and switches need to support a minimum of 10 Mbps, with 100Mbps preferred. Cat5e or Cat6 cables should go longer than 300’ (use fiber optics for longer runs) and the architecture should minimize the use of switches. Woodhouse adds that “your network has to support IGMP” (the Internet Group Management Protocol for multicasting) and, in general, all the most recent network protocols. “Video packets must take priority over data, because if you get packets out of sequence, they have to be rebroadcast and that increases latency.”

Choosing a display

The video display is obviously very important in a videoconference, though the optimal type varies with the setup.

Plasma has the best off-axis viewing and the best contrast and color saturation of any of the flat screen technologies, but plasma displays are subject to glare and don’t do well if lighting cannot be kept off the screen. LCD displays are often a better choice, since glare from bright florescent lighting (which is commonly used in conferencing rooms) does not affect their image quality.

For similar reasons, a rear-projection screen will provide much better results than a front screen if you use projection in a large videoconferencing or distance learning room. It’s very difficult to get good contrast and color at a high lighting level with a front-projection setup.

Whatever the type of display, image size is crucial and must be matched to the distance from the display to the conference participants.

“It all depends on whether you’re just trying to talk to another person or if you’re trying to look at a PowerPoint or collaborate on data,” Woodhouse explains. “For video, the distance back to the viewer should not be any greater than five times the vertical height of the screen. For data, it’s more like three times, because you have to be able to read the information clearly.” Turning that around, you can take the distance to the farthest viewer and divide by either five or three to get the height of the screen you need.

Cameras and audio gear

Woodhouse says that your camera choice is usually not difficult, if only because the number of pan-tilt-zoom cameras is limited. The cameras that come from the codec suppliers are generally good, as are third-party cameras, though they tend to be much more expensive.

Audio, however, is a little more tricky.  “You need to be aware of the fidelity that the newer systems are capable of,” says Woodhouse. “You want to preserve that fidelity as much as possible, because audio is one of the most important factors in a videoconference and it needs to be clean and totally natural.”

Good microphones properly placed are a must. Several manufacturers make very good saucer or pod-shaped conferencers, but most of these are limited to use in smaller rooms, because they need to be centered within the group using them. Since videoconferencing rooms typically use a long wedge-shaped table or a u-configuration, a custom-designed microphone system may be necessary.

Woodhouse says it’s important to remember that the latest conferencing systems will support more than one person speaking at the same time. Gated, or automatic mic mixers are not appropriate, since they will cut off one or both speakers when two try to talk at once.

Echo cancellation circuitry is crucial. “The sound from your voice gets transmitted to a loudspeaker on the far end,” explains Woodhouse. “Then of course it’s picked up by the microphones there and can be sent back to you as an echo with a second or a half second delay.” The echo canceller intercepts that signal, processes it and cancels it out. “If you hear something come back, something’s not right.” Any echo that gets through can be very irritating and greatly degrades the conferencing experience.

Presentation systems

A computer input, though sometimes overlooked, is very important in any videoconferencing system. “The computer has become the most versatile presentation medium,” says Woodhouse, “and you want to be able to take advantage of it, whether that’s for PowerPoint, playing video clips off a hard drive or using collaborative software.”

That’s not to say more traditional presentation gear, such as a DVD player, VCR or document camera should be left out. “We offer a wide-XGA document camera that looks beautiful in an HD conference,” says Woodhouse. “The detail and color quality are phenomenal.” Hookup of these peripherals is not difficult, but it’s crucial that you provide the components that your conference participants like to use.

Where a systems integrator comes in

Most often, if you’re trying to optimize the videoconferencing experience, the help and advice of a good systems integrator like Conference Technologies is very worthwhile.

“The value add is right up front in establishing what it’s going to take to get to the level of acceptance that you and your people are after,” says Woodhouse.

“Some organizations are going to need integrated room environments–and that’s an obvious place where our expertise is necessary. Others just want to get basic communications going on between work groups, and some of those are just buying equipment.  But you know what? A company like Conference Technologies is going to be indispensable in helping you put the overall plan together, and getting it so it fits together within an enterprise solution.”

“Honestly, videoconferencing has taken a bad rap in many organizations,” Woodhouse adds. “Some people look at it as just buying another telephone. It isn’t quite at that point yet, and so there is a value to bringing in an expert, at least to establish an initial plan and initial standard that fits the needs of your organization.”

Contact Conference Technologies with questions about videoconferencing.

Conference Technologies Inc.®  ~   Creating A Vision For Technology