Videoconference Options

Rental of videoconferencing equipment and services at Avex, a St Louis Park–based audio-visual technology firm, has ticked up during the difficult economy, says owner and president David Throldahl. Avex rents codecs—essentially the brains of a videoconferencing system—in addition to cameras, screens, and microphones. The company’s sales and installations, however, have slid as fewer new facilities are built or boardrooms customized for conferencing. “We do a lot of rentals for things like quarterly meetings, because companies weigh the cost of purchase against how often they use the videoconferencing equipment throughout the year,” Thordahl says.

He also is seeing greater use of Web video streaming, where employees can, for example, view an event broadcast from a remote location. “A company might hold a main meeting in Minneapolis, and a satellite branch in Chicago can see it streamed live into its conference room,” Thordahl says. These events typically are taped and archived as well for later viewing.

Solutions for Shrinking Budgets

In response to the recession and company cost-cutting, AVI Systems has created custom-built carts for customers that make videoconferencing systems more versatile. Rather than installing equipment in specific rooms, clients can wheel the 50- or 65-inch panel screens, cameras, and microphones from room to room. “A larger company might have four or five regular meeting rooms but not want the cost of outfitting each of the rooms, so they might buy two of the cart systems,” Baer says.

The bread and butter business for MSpace, an audiovisual systems provider in Minnetonka, has long been turnkey system design and integration services for the corporate and government markets. For example, the company recently upgraded a videoconferencing system in the boardroom of Ryan Companies, the Minneapolis-based commercial real estate firm. Ryan had been relying on a roll-about system and using its existing projector screen only for local presentations. MSpace installed a system to improve communication between remote offices over a beefed-up IP network.

MSpace has also added a lower-cost desktop videoconferencing system to its product line. Using a new standard known as scalable video coding, the product provides HD-quality videoconferencing over IP networks, including the public Internet, says Rebecca Trainor, marketing coordinator at MSpace. Rather than an upfront capital expense, companies pay for the service with an annual subscription. “Companies still want videoconferencing, but with budgets being frozen or cut, many are looking for lower-cost desktop solutions, especially smaller businesses,” Trainor says.

Video Guidance is offering a bundled service that combines HD video, voice, Web, and streaming services. The incrementally billed service is designed to take the burden of owning, supporting, and troubleshooting technology off of customers, Werch says.