Videoconference Options

Experts say video is of particular value in online communication when some emotion needs to be conveyed, when trust needs to be established, or when visual demonstration can speed learning or understanding.

Among the hottest things in group systems is what’s known as telepresence, an arrangement that creates an “in person” meeting experience with life-sized, high-definition panoramic video images. Typically employing multiple high-def cameras and three large, co-joined screens set on one side of a conference table, telepresence allows an executive in Minneapolis to feel as though she’s sitting at the same table as employees in London.

“It’s for those meetings where people really want that immersive, ‘across the table’ feel,” says Michael Werch, president of Video Guidance, a full-service videoconferencing firm in Eden Prairie.

Because full-blown telepresence systems start at $200,000, budget-conscious companies often seek a telepresence-like effect without the high price tag, Werch says. Some of his clients have turned, for example, to LifeSize, a Texas-based videoconferencing company, for more affordable high-definition systems in the $5,000 to $15,000 range, a purchase which typically includes fewer or smaller HD screens but still creates impressive in-person effects. “Instead of buying one major telepresence system, people are thinking they can outfit a dozen rooms for the same price tag,” Werch says.

Joe Baer, a regional vice president with AVI Systems, a videoconferencing company in Eden Prairie, agrees that companies are cost conscious. They’re doing things like buying and pairing dual 60-inch plasma screens “to make a videoconference look as life size as possible and using high-definition cameras,” Baer says.

Rental Options

At the Minneapolis Videoconferencing Center, office manager Val Travers says she’s seeing more executive recruiters and law firms using the center for conducting employment interviews and taking depositions from distant witnesses. These organizations often prefer the rental option to avoid purchasing equipment or installing ISDN lines they may use only on a quarterly or semi-regular basis.

The center has a 12-seat videoconferencing suite with a high-definition camera and both IP and ISDN transmission options. The suite also includes a document camera to send and view documents, charts, or photographs, and digital and VHS recording services for later review of videoconferences.