Category Archives: TelePresence Solutions
2011
Benefits of Video Conferencing in Government
Video conferencing is a technology that has been making important in-roads into government – both local and national – for many years. In particular, telepresence offers the ability for citizens to gain more direct access to their elected officials, especially as the cost of video conferencing drops and proliferation of this type of communication becomes more common, even in smaller municipalities.
The advantages of video conferencing at the government level extend beyond constituents and office-holders staying in touch. Inter-agency cooperation can be dramatically improved through the use of telepresence to connect offices that may be geographically distant. The reduction of travel for meetings introduces significant cost savings for government officials, particularly where large territories make it difficult to schedule get-togethers at convenient locations.
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2011
Video Conferencing In Academia Post Sparks Interesting Feedback and Discussion
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Last week’s blog post discussing the advantages of video conferencing in academia triggered a wave of response from this blog’s readership, particularly from members of the Video Conferencing Professionals LinkedIn group. Although the original post focused on areas where video conferencing has penetrated outside of the classroom setting, many of the comments tackled the distance learning concept and the effectiveness of using telepresence as a tool for engaging remote students.
2011
Moving Past Distance Learning – Video Conferencing in Academia
Video conferencing technology in the academic setting is often presented as a tool used by teachers to remotely connect with students. While it is true that the capacity for facilitating distance learning is one of the key advantages of video conferencing, telepresence also has many other benefits to offer learning institutions.
Research
Universities and colleges have always performed a crucial role in moving scientific and social development forward through a focus on research. Telepresence increasingly serves as a bridge between colleagues separated by geography who are working on the same project together, facilitating a level of communication and collaboration not possible over email or the telephone. This is especially important for researchers working at smaller schools where access to the same level of resources found at larger urban campuses is simply not available. Connecting rural academics with better-endowed institutions levels the playing field for researchers investigating areas of interest that are heavily dependent on specific equipment or subject matter experts.
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2011
Cisco Connected Justice Program A Boon to State and County Judicial Systems
Cisco TelePresence is increasingly making in-roads when it comes to the court and justice systems on both the state and county level. The Cisco Connected Justice program reflects the changing needs of law enforcement and judicial systems struggling to deal with increased case loads and shrinking budgets. Connected Justice is focused on bringing the technological advantages offered by telepresence communications to this unique arena to help make the most of the funding allocated to courts across the country.
Cisco Connected Justice is intended to create a simplified platform for sharing information across the different components that comprise the judicial system. The basis of the Cisco Connected Justice initiative is a secure data network that protects all sensitive information, communication, and testimony in order to ensure the confidentiality of all involved and protect the rights of litigants and defendants. Video communications technology allows for improved collaboration between members of the court both inside and outside the courthouse, especially when consulting with third-party experts. It also enhances the safety of witnesses when dealing with testimony in sensitive cases, and can help to reduce the cost of travel when working with geographically spread-out participants.
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2011
Use of Video Conferencing Surges Towards Widespread Adoption
A rush of interest in video conferencing over the past several months has in turn led to increased media coverage of telepresence technologies, applications, and potential near-future growth. Video conferencing usage is predicted to rise in the small and medium business sector, while the growth of telepresence in education and research circles has also been tapped to continue its impressive rise.
An article published by AV Interactive (@AVMag) this past month included recent statistics concerning the use of video conferencing in university, continuing education, and research-focused institutions. 86 percent of these types of organizations expected to continue to see “significant” growth in how video conferencing is being used, both internally and when communicating with other companies and academic entities. The financial benefit associated with travel reduction was cited as being the most important positive aspect of adopting the technology.
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2011
Telepresence Adoption Continues to Grow in the Legal Profession
Previously on the KBZ blog, we have touched on the use of telepresence in courtroom situations, but the topic is attracting more attention as the role of video communications in a legal setting continues to expand. Not only is telepresence helping courts to gain access to witnesses without exposing them to the hardship of travel or the risk of harm, but the technology is also starting to reshape the practices of the legal profession itself.
Global competition for elite attorneys has forced many law firms to get creative in attracting and retaining top legal talent. Chief amongst the expectations of lawyers being courted by world class firms is the ability to take advantage of flexible hours in order to achieve a better work-life balance. The reduction in travel time introduced by the adoption of a telepresence solution can go a long way towards achieving this particular perk, especially in the legal professions where consultations have traditionally required extensive time out of the office.
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2011
How Do You Define Telepresence?
During last week’s KBZ online panel discussion about future trends in the telepresence industry, an interesting point was made regarding the exact definition of the term “telepresence.” This is a word that is used quite often throughout the video communications business, but it might surprise you to know that depending on who you are speaking with – or what company’s products you are browsing – you could be operating from one of many different perspectives regarding exactly what “telepresence” means.
It’s not uncommon to come across the opinion that telepresence refers exclusively to immersive, high definition video communications. However, during the course of the KBZ chat it became clear that for many industry professionals, “telepresence” is a much more nuanced concept. One of the main points that was driven home during the discussion had to do with the idea that how a telepresence setup is designed plays a larger role in the quality of the communications that simply the resolution of the video itself.
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2011
Telepresence Industry Professionals Linkedin Group Roundup – July 2011
Most Popular Discussions for July, 2011
There was not a lot of action on display in the Telepresence Industry Professionals group for July, continuing a summer lull. What did go on between members in terms of discussion and posting was interesting, however. Bryan Hellard, president of True View Video (@bryanhellard) asked whether anyone in the group had any solid figures that they could post regarding how many immersive telepresence products had been installed throughout 2010. Hellard was attempting to gauge the popularity of this type of telepresence solution, and several posters volunteered their estimates and opinions. Rutger Zeldenrijk, product manager at Talk & Vision, was particularly helpful, providing numbers derived from Wainhouse Research reports that describe multicodec installations. Robin Raul-Sager, communications director at RADVISION, confirmed Zeldenrijk’s information.
Other chatter in the group included Bharat Bhatt, product head at Airtel Cisco Alliance, asking for a general comparison between telepresence products from Cisco and Polycom, so that he could choose a platform for a specific client. Recommendations from the group included communicating the importance of having client decision makers experience each telepresence room for themselves, as well as ensure that any and all infrastructure questions are answered beforehand. Group manager Howard S. Lichtman, the publisher of Telepresence Options (@TelepresenceVTC), also posted a link to his magazine’s “Best of Show Awards” from InfoComm 2011.
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2011
Cisco TelePresence Allows ESPN to Bring Fans Closer to Their Heroes
Cisco TelePresence already has a high profile in professional sports, with partnerships between Cisco and the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) having borne impressive fruit for both fans and sports insiders alike. Cisco recently decided to expand its telepresence reach into the world of college sports, working together with ESPN in order to create a unique telepresence experience for college basketball and football fans.
“Difference Makers: Life Lessons from Paterno and Krzyzewski” was a televised special that linked two of the most respected names in NCAA coaching with their fans. Mike Krzyzewski has coached the Duke Blue Devils basketball team at Duke University since 1980, leading them to four NCAA Championships along with an impressive list of regular season titles and ACC championships. He has also coached at the Olympic level as both an assistant and a head coach. His counterpart on the ESPN special, Joe Paterno, has had an equally hallowed career as a football coach at Penn State University, having been a part of the team’s staff for an incredible 61 seasons.
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2011
Telepresence and HD Conferencing Users and Professionals Linkedin Group Roundup – June 2011
Most Popular Discussions for June, 2011
The Telepresence and HD Conferencing Users and Professionals group, sponsored by the Interactive Multimedia & Collaborative Communications Alliance (IMCCA) is not one of the most active Linkedin groups in the industry, but it does benefit from an insightful membership as well as thoughtful discussion topics that make it well worth joining.
David Danto, Director of Emerging Technologies at IMCCA, impressed group members with his comprehensive “View From The Road” coverage of the recent InfoComm 2011 conference that took place in Florida this June. Comments were especially complimentary from those who felt that Danto was able to give them an impression of what it was like to have actually attended the event.
Danto kept the conversational ball rolling in the IMCCA group with his “Question of the Week” postings, which in June included discussion as to whether H.265 will actually be better than H.264 High Profile, as well as continuing debate over whether telepresence is an affordable option for small to medium-sized businesses. The latter topic drew considerable participation, with members such as Bryan Hellard of True View Video (@bryanhellard) offering the opinion that truly immersive telepresence remains an expensive choice for most businesses. This was in direct contrast to posts like the one made by Arie Kooi of Rabobank Rotterdamn (@aakooi), who feels that the initial costs of telepresence are more than made up for in long-term savings, making it a viable business decision at many different levels of market capitalization.
Benjamin Hunting
KBZ Blogging Team
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