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Home > Broadband Money Makers > Tools and Applications Grid > Video-based applications

Videoconferencing

1 Overview

Videoconferencing hardware and service costs have fallen during the last five years, making this option available to smaller companies for the first time. Videoconferencing is rapidly moving from ISDN to IP as the primary way of connecting different sites (or endpoints). Organisations are also making increasing use of virtual teams, with members in different geographical locations working together using software designed for collaboration. Video is becoming more widely used in a variety of applications, including Web applications These four factors are all driving the uptake of videoconferencing, although growth continues to be steady rather than spectacular.

Videoconferencing means providing real-time video and audio connections between two or more sites, in order to let the participants see who they are talking to. At the high end of videoconferencing systems, this allows a much higher level of interactivity than an audio-only phone conference, since body language and facial expressions are visible. Facial nuances are harder to see with simpler systems, but these usually also include a data stream which allows participants to share and work on documents together, or to draw diagrams on a ‘white board’. Dedicated equipment in conference or board rooms give the best results in terms of audio and video quality, although the quality of desk top systems, normally used for more ad-hoc video conversations, is improving. As video becomes increasingly common in PC and Web applications, user acceptance of video telephony and video conferencing will continue to increase.

Key issues

IP replacement of ISDN is accelerating

Since the last version of this report in 2006, IP has continued to replace ISDN as a means of connecting videoconferencing endpoints. Browser-based conferencing applications are also more common. These developments reduce costs of both implementation and ongoing operation.

Reliability

Conferencing service providers need to work hard to overcome perceptions that videoconferencing can be very tricky to set-up and unreliable once in operation. This is especially true among smaller organisations that have little or no in-house expertise.

Wide range of options for both cost and quality

Users can now set up a ‘Web video’ quality conference for very little money. Browser-based conferencing software is available for free, with a bandwidth requirement of 1 Mbps. The mid-tier conferencing market remains, with dedicated equipment and service packages costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. At the high end of the market is ‘telepresence’, using specially prepared studio rooms costing hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, but delivering very high definition sound and pictures.

Penetration

Videoconferencing is not ubiquitous, even in North America. This restriction on the user base may deter organisations, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from investing in conferencing technology, although the primary use of these systems is for internal meetings or training.

New profile content

This profile has been updated. The profile features new information about customer appeal in 2.2, plus more on telepresence.. Section 3.1 now includes an updated overview of the value of the videoconferencing market to end-2006, plus data from Point Topic’s October 2007 business broadband survey. Section 3.2 has revised pricing information and section 6 has updated supplier information and financial results.

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