ReadyTalk Announces Video Conferencing
Video conferencing has been added to ReadyTalk (for some reason I thought they already had it….oh well.)
I like press releases. No work for me….a new blog entry for you. Call me lazy! ;-)
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We are pleased to announce the availability of ReadyTalk video conferencing, enabling you to get the most out of your collaboration experience with fully integrated audio, web and video conferencing.
Video conferencing brings the valuable element of face-to-face engagement to your meetings, making it ideal for collaboration, interviews and small trainings. Here are some details on ReadyTalk video conferencing:
- Four simultaneous video conferencing feeds which can be shared by chairpersons, co-presenters, or participants.
- Included in your existing web conferencing subscription at no extra charge.
- 25 participant capacity for viewing the video feeds.
- Participants viewing feeds can share their video feed when a slot becomes available.
- Chairpersons and co-presenters can actively manage the shared video feeds.
- Video feeds are shared in a film strip next to your web conference content.
Learn more about video conferencing benefits and features.
Ready to get started? Your subscription has access to video conferencing today! If you have any questions regarding your account or this feature, please let me know.
Feel free to contact me or ReadyTalk customer care (800.843.9166 or help@readytalk.com) if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
ReadyTalk
Audio & Web Conferencing, ReadyTalk
(800)843-9166
Blue Jeans Changes Cloud Video Conferencing Again
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- Rich communication experience that you can see, hear and now smell
- Customizable hardware for all occasions
- Various business applications including recruiting benefits
And that’s not all – we’ll soon be adding taste bud and tactile technology to enable our users to really get a sense of the meeting.
With Blue Jeans, you can see, taste, touch and most importantly smell what you’ve been missing.
About Blue Jeans Network
At Blue Jeans Network, our mission is to make video communications as easy and pervasive as audio communications, enabling more effective collaboration at work, at home, and on the road. Our cloud-based conferencing service makes this possible by enabling customers to connect with each other seamlessly any time, anywhere, and from practically any device. The Blue Jeans Network extends high quality video communications beyond the traditional boundaries of specialized conference rooms and into the mainstream, allowing individuals and employees throughout an enterprise to interact more effectively with each other, and with their customers, partners, suppliers, family, and friends. Blue Jeans Network is a private company headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information go to: http://bluejeans.com or follow the company @BlueJeansNet
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Cloud Based Video Conferencing Adds Features
Here is a VERY important announcement from the good folks at Blue Jeans Networks.
******Copy this URL and share it with ALL of your friends and colleagues ****
This is TOO IMPORTANT to ignore!
Whooops!!!! On the ADVICE of my LAWYER…..
(Click here on Monday after 8 AM EST to read the announcement….my bad)
Blue Jeans announces bi-directional HD desktop sharing for Microsoft Lync users
I love cloud-based multipoint videoconferencing, but, you already know that.
Here is a SCOOP from Blue Jeans Network that I just got permission to post.
I was told that Blue Jeans has been interoperating Skype and Lync since 2011 (even though the press release says 2012).
No surprise there. Blue Jeans has been pushing the state-of-the-art in cloud based videoconferencing almost as long as I have (well, just a few years less….). :-)
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Blue Jeans Network First To Offer Microsoft Lync Users Ability to Share Their Desktop Content With Cisco, Polycom, and Other Mobile, Desktop, and Room-based Video Conferencing Solutions
New Capability Enhances Lync Value for More Effective Business to Business,
Business to Consumer, and Intra-company Collaboration
February 20, 2013 — MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Blue Jeans Network, the leader in interoperable video conferencing services, today announced the availability of bi-directional HD desktop sharing for its growing base of Microsoft Lync users.
Since Lync support was first introduced by Blue Jeans in 2012 it has become a popular option for customers looking to connect their Lync users to non-Lync users inside and outside their organization for multi-party video collaboration. This includes colleagues using Cisco or Polycom video conference rooms, as well as remote workers, partners, and customers on the many desktop or mobile video collaboration solutions already supported by Blue Jeans, including any browser, Skype, Cisco Jabber, Google Video Chat, and more.
“Tens of thousands of Lync endpoints have already participated in Blue Jeans meetings,” said Stu Aaron, Chief Commercial Officer at Blue Jeans Network. “Up until now these Lync users could easily join the meetings, to see and be seen, and could receive desktop content shared by other, non-Lync, devices. With this new bi-directional HD desktop sharing feature, Lync users can now also share their own desktop content, including presentations and other documents, the way they are used to, in high definition with other meeting participants.”
Blue Jeans is the first and only vendor offering this multi-party bi-directional content sharing capability between Lync users and non-Lync users without requiring any special on-premise hardware or software to buy, manage, or maintain. The Blue Jeans bi-directional HD desktop screen for Lync functionality is fully implemented in the Blue Jeans cloud and is included with every subscription.
“We use Blue Jeans in order to extend our Lync deployment to easily interoperate with our room-based systems,” according to Andy Brezinsky, Director of Engineering at Milwaukee, WI-based Corvisa Services. ”In addition to across-the-board video conferencing which helps us to improve communication between employees and partners in multiple offices and multiple states, today’s announcement from Blue Jeans will also allow us to extend collaboration by leveraging Blue Jean’s desktop sharing capabilities.”
“Whether it is SMBs trying to integrate room-based video conferencing systems with Microsoft Office 365, or large enterprises looking to have Lync deployments communicate with existing Cisco or Polycom hardware, Blue Jeans acts as a simple, reliable, and scalable solution to allow businesses large and small to benefit from interoperable video conferencing without the headaches of on-premise solutions,” said Neil Setchell, CEO of ExtraTeam a Pleasanton, CA-based technology consulting firm, systems integrator, and Blue Jeans partner.
For more information or to see the new Lync functionality, please visit bluejeans.com/microsoft-lync. To schedule an in-person demonstration at the Lync Conference 2013 on February 20-21 in San Diego, CA, please email lync@bluejeans.com.
About Blue Jeans Network
At Blue Jeans Network, our mission is to make video communications as easy and pervasive as audio communications, enabling more effective collaboration at work, at home, and on the road. Our cloud-based conferencing service makes this possible by enabling customers to connect with each other seamlessly any time, anywhere, and from practically any device. The Blue Jeans Network extends high quality video communications beyond the traditional boundaries of specialized conference rooms and into the mainstream, allowing individuals and employees throughout an enterprise to interact more effectively with each other, and with their customers, partners, suppliers, family, and friends. Blue Jeans Network is a private company headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information go to: http://bluejeans.com or follow the company@BlueJeansNet.
Press Contact
Tim Smith
Element PR
415-350-3019
tsmith@elementpr.com
WebRTC Video Conferencing Test via Vidtel
Video conferencing with myself.
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Got an email from Vidtel a few weeks ago announcing the ability to connect to Vidtel video conferencing using WebRTC on my Chrome browser.
I did a really quick test since I think this technology is awesome and will move video conferencing one step closer to ubiquity.
What I Did
Since my first review of Vidtel, they have left a room on their system for me to test with (thank you Vidtel!!). So using that room (2819) and entering the correct pin, I did the following.
1. Dialed my Vidtel virtual room using Chrome.
Figure 1: Connected to room need to enter PIN
2. Entered the correct pin to connect to my room.
Figure 2: Connected to the meeting room, waiting for participants.
3. Dialed my Vidtel “MeetMe” room using Google Chat on my Smartphone.
Figure 3: Android smartphone video conferencing participant entered the meeting
Once connected, I changed the layout (figure 4) and then added the keyboard (figure 5).
Figure 4: Changed the layout and moved me.
Figure 5: Popped up the keypad
There is so much more you can do…give it a try!
Conclusion
Using WebRTC to connect to a video conference is one more, albeit it major, step to bringing video conferencing to the masses.
Using your browser makes connecting to a video conference super easy. Once connected, the audio and video quality are excellent.
I love to see companies move the technology forward. Bravo Vidtel! :-)
Geek Christmas Gifts 2012
Assuming we make it to Christmas this year….think Mayan calendar…here are some cool GEEK gifts to buy your favorite NERD for Christmas. :-)
Thanks to former AltamontCowork coworkers Tom and Dave, the Gardner twins, for helping pick geeky additions to this list.
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What nerd would not want these?
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For our 21 year old at college who cannot seem to get up in the morning!
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Hey…it’s new. Geeks like new. Besides the TV commercial is kinda cool.
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For the rich geek in your life. Or poor one like me who would love it! :-)
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Big Bang Theory DVDs (hey…are DVDs old technology?)
If you love the gang….get it on DVD before DVDs are obsolete.
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Harry would be proud!
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I have plenty of targets at work…
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Dr. Who Gifts (geologically slow web site….)
I never watched Dr. Who. Apparently I am not geeky enough.
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I want one! Just imagine the various uses….
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Get your GEEK on for The Hobbit” movie in December. I re-read the book just to refresh my memory of the adventures of Bilbo and his 13 friends.
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What geek would not like these. Books, games, video, Internet all in glorious HD. GEEK ON!
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Old Fashioned Telephone Handset for your Smartphone
I found site wandering around the Internet…I may add more from it later.
Google Chat on Motorola Atrix Smartphone
In the process of evaluating the ZTE ZXV10 T700 (I will post the entire product review by weeks end…I hope), I went ahead and made a three way video conferencing call using our friends at cloud-based video conferencing service provider Vidtel.
The picture above shows a Google Chat connection via my Toshiba Laptop computer (middle), the ZTE using H.323 (top), and my Motorola Atrix smartphone again using Google Chat (bottom right).
On the phone, I can change the camera, mute the mic, and send text chats. In fact, Vidtel recognizes some of the text chats as commands…..very cool!
The moral of the story is this:
You are no longer tied to a conference room to participate in a video conference! Anytime, anyplace, anywhere is here……NOW!
More to follow….
Telepresence vs VideoConferencing
I suspect it is about time I chimed in on this definition thing on this blog.
I had an unfortunate “job” interview yesterday and it got me to re-evaluating a lot of things. The job was to install “telepresence”. After a few seconds of questioning I realized that it was not “telepresence” they wanted, but, plain old vanilla “video conferencing”. Unfortunately, I was told I was “not qualified” to install it….thus, the re-evaluation. Getting old really does suck…avoid it all costs!
But, with age comes wisdom…and also the lack of fear to express my opinion, now more than ever….
One thing I need to do (now I can check this off my bucket list) is to give you MY definition of the difference between telepresence and video conferencing. (The pictures shown below are totally random….so don’t get all upset about what vendors are being shown…:-))
Telepresence: A very expensive room with a wonderful “experience”
Video Conferencing: Everything else from mobile to conference rooms
You get the idea….
Bryan Hellard Reviews: Fuzebox
According to the salesman, FuzeBox licenses from Vidyo its SVC (which he called Scalable Video Codec not coding) but uses something different for audio. That was immediately apparent because there were no audio issues during the call and I used my webcam’s microphone and desktop speakers.
Ease of use
Unfortunately, I was not given Host rights so I was just a user connecting to a meeting hosted by the salesman. I connected via an email link and that took me to Fuze’s website for an 8mb download. Note that once the Fuze Meeting program was installed, it was not automatically put in my computer’s startup routine. That’s always appreciated, especially if you are dealing with not-so-power users. Connection via iPad required downloading the app and input of a meeting number and user name. That’s it.
Quality of product
Due to SVC (as I was told), there is no ability to change bandwidth based on connection speed or quality. This absolutely wasn’t needed though as the video and audio quality was both excellent over the 30 minute call. There were no lip sync issues, even on the iPad. Nor was there lag between the image on the iPad and the image on my desktop. If there is significant lag on any of the devices, there is always the problem of people talking over one another. Not an issue here with my setup.
Pricing
FuzeBox has a couple of versions of FuzeMeeting listed on their website. The website www.fuzebox.com/pricing also has pricing listed for each version. Anything above Pro would be overkill for me as I wouldn’t see myself in meeting with more than four people on video. At $49/month it is about the right pricepoint. I was told by the salesman that it is not sold monthly though, only yearly and that’s a bummer. The host is only required to have a license so you can email invites out for meetings and the other parties only need to perform the install and they are ready to go. The Business version allows for twelve people on video and adds a couple other features not available on the Pro version as well as a couple of enhancements.
Conclusion
One item of note: Salesmen frustrate me. Typically, I like talking to support staff, engineers or owners because they understand that I am looking at products both subjectively and objectively and won’t buy a product because of (insert marketing speak here). He automatically assumed his product was the best out there because it is the most used and even compared the product to Cisco, Polycom and Lifesize hardware endpoints. When I first got connected to the call (I was early, salesman was late) the salesman said “You have 10 minutes!”. I thought; “Seriously?” and went about the demo. Sales tactics aside, their product is top notch in both video, audio and data sharing. I would recommend it.
Polycom Announces Cloud Based Videoconferencing Option
Polycom…are you serious?
THIS was the GAME CHANGING announcement you promised???
This was in my email last week:
“REMINDER
We’re About to Make History
You don’t want to miss this game-changing announcement.”
Really?? I wonder if the others who have been there for years are shaking in their boots??
To be fair….maybe I am missing something….comments below for those who can set me straight. I will continue searching for the historic announcement….
Until then….
Yawn
By the way: The ViewStation was a game changer….the PVX was a game changer…..purchasing Accord was a near game changer…..
