re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?Good post & good observations. We have an imposed 150ms 'camera to glass' SLA requirement in order to eliminate talk-over that you normally see with traditional Video Conferencing. Additionally, our Video runs at full motion 1080p resolution.
I am an old PictureTel guy, and can tell you that what makes our solution really stand out is it's ease of use. Scheduling the room is accomplished through normal Outlook (or Notes) calendaring, so I invite the room to the meeting just like I invite an individual. Once the room has accepted, it integrates with the phone to provide a speed dial on the desk phone in the room. In other words, this is CEO-Proof.
Telepresence is not about technology, it is exactly the opposite. It is about removing Technology as a consideration in the meeting. I take place in Telepresence meetings on a regular basis and by the time the meeting concludes you often forget you are in another state/country/timezone.
I can't comment on the Polycom solution but you hit the nail on the head. As an OEM product it will always lack the ease of use and level of support that an integrated single vendor solution would provide.
I still have not heard from the author of the arcticle.
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?Good post metroman. I do feel this whole area is something that will eventually explode, it's just not clear how it will or if any of these products will participate. For managed service, I agree that some new business models need to emerge. I do believe large corporations will build their own network of these systems...at least one at every major location. There is just too much travel these days and clearly some meetings get delayed to long due to the travel lead time. This type of capability goes a long way toward helping with that issue.
Thinking through it a little more though, I guess Cisco does have an advantage in that their call manager infrastructure is probably more ubiquitous than the other players offering, which might help companies favor their version. It's not clear how Nortel's system ties into their IP telephony strategy, though...especially if the system is an OEM of Polycom. It could be a positive for them as well. I'm sure all of this stuff is rooted in standards of some kind, but Cisco may have the advantage on that front in the enterprise.
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?For the Nortel solution, even if the rear-projection high-def screens are very nice to look at, having such a long latency does not help to the "tele-presence" experience.
I find unacceptable to have a bit less than 1 second between NY and Toronto... unless the SLAs in the network that Nortel used were flawed...
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?Looking at the setup, it looks very similar to the "Video Window" concept developed at Bellcore (now Telcordia) tying together various Bellcore locations in New Jersey back in the mid '90s. Of course the underlying transport mechanisms are different (PVCs vs packets) but the immersive, interactive experience looks exactly the same.
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco? HD video cameras, HD screens, spatial sound, and room consistency features of a future OS? I'm unclear whether you are part of the discussion or simply bored. SIP is nothing special, it's there now. In face, Cisco uses call manager for that piece which is nothing new to Telepresence. It's the other pieces that are the product.
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?Telepresence? Hot or Flop?
A conference call with a TV! So let's look at the "ins and the outs" of this product!
Ins - - No more airfares for staff - that'll save us a few quid. - No more planes, trains and automobiles - That mean we get green points too. Yippeee!
- It makes a "compelling business case" to the boss he'll love us because we saved him some cash.
- Hold on a minute if we flog Telepresence it'll create more bandwidth ohhh lovely let's do an Optical and a Packet Upsell too.
Outs -
- The girl on screen number three she's fit but oh bugger we can't fly anymore the b****s gave us Telepresence instead midlle management,I'm leaving all the fun's gone out this game.
- You can't talk to your pal, who you've known for years, at the water fountain or over a bacon buttie about the football game last night and the bird you were chatting up whilst in a drunken stupor the night before because nobody is travelling anymore.
- The aerospace industry aren't going to be very happy as nobody's is flying and they ain't generating any revenue.
Conclusion:
12 month Hot then it'll be a flop, back on the plane.
re: Nortel Trumps Cisco?Telepresence? Hot or Flop?
A conference call with a TV! So let's look at the "ins and the outs" of this product!
Ins - - No more airfares for staff - that'll save us a few quid. - No more planes, trains and automobiles - That mean we get green points too. Yippeee!
- It makes a "compelling business case" to the boss he'll love us because we saved him some cash.
- Hold on a minute if we flog Telepresence it'll create more bandwidth ohhh lovely let's do an Optical and Upsell too.
Outs -
- The girl on screen number three she's fit but oh shit we can't fly anymore the bastards gave us Telepresence instead I fucking hate midlle management, fuck it I'm leaving all the fun's gone out this game.
- You can't talk to your pal, who you've known for years, at the water fountain or over a bacon buttie about the football game last night and the bird you shagged whilst in a drunken stupor the night before because nobody is travelling anymore.
- The aerospace industry aren't going to be very happy as nobody's is flying and they ain't generating any revenue.
Conclusion:
12 month Hot then it'll be a flop, back on the plane.
I am an old PictureTel guy, and can tell you that what makes our solution really stand out is it's ease of use. Scheduling the room is accomplished through normal Outlook (or Notes) calendaring, so I invite the room to the meeting just like I invite an individual. Once the room has accepted, it integrates with the phone to provide a speed dial on the desk phone in the room. In other words, this is CEO-Proof.
Telepresence is not about technology, it is exactly the opposite. It is about removing Technology as a consideration in the meeting. I take place in Telepresence meetings on a regular basis and by the time the meeting concludes you often forget you are in another state/country/timezone.
I can't comment on the Polycom solution but you hit the nail on the head. As an OEM product it will always lack the ease of use and level of support that an integrated single vendor solution would provide.
I still have not heard from the author of the arcticle.
Ray, I have created a temporary email address of
[email protected]
Please send me an email and I will make sure you are put in touch with the appropriate people at Cisco.