Telepresence Perspectives and Interoperability · 2009-04-25 · Telepresence Interoperability •...
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Telepresence Perspectives and Interoperability Bob Dixon, OARnet and Ohio State University and a distinguished cast of thousands Internet2 Conference April 28, 2009 Arlington, VA
Transcript of Telepresence Perspectives and Interoperability · 2009-04-25 · Telepresence Interoperability •...
Telepresence Perspectives and Interoperability
Bob Dixon, OARnet and Ohio State University and a distinguished cast of thousands
Internet2 Conference April 28, 2009 Arlington, VA
The Distinguished Cast of Thousands • Steve Gage, Teliris • Charles Ganzhorn, Cisco • Paul Jones, Chair of the H.323 Standards Committee • Stefan Karapetkov, Polycom • Mike LaHaye, Internet2 • David Morrison, LifeSize • Gabe Moulton, The Ohio State University • John Stewart, Iformata • Nicholas Thompson, The Ohio State University • Scott Wilcoxen, Tandberg • HP and Telanetix invited, did not respond.
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Agenda: Telepresence Interoperability • Introductions/Perspectives Bob Dixon 10 min. • Interoperability Demo John Stewart 5 min. • Relevant Standards Paul Jones 5 min • The Role of Internet2 Mike LaHaye 5 min. • Cisco Charles Ganzhorn 11 min. • LifeSize David Morrison 11 min. • Polycom Stefan Karapetkov 11 min. • Tandberg Scott Wilcoxen 11 min. • Teliris Steven Gage 11 min. • Questions/Discussion 10 min.
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Disclaimers and other Weasel Words • My opinions are mine and not necessarily those of
Internet2 or anyone else. • I will speak mostly in generalities; there are exceptions
to anything. • The vendors will have an opportunity to update or
disagree with anything I say.
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• Web Conferencing – PC and small camera – Collaboration tools such as Skype, Elluminate.... – Fair quality
• Standard H.323 Video Conferencing – Most common type today – Good quality
• High-Definition H.323 Video Conferencing – Like HDTV – Excellent quality
• Telepresence – HD, plus appearance of being in the same room
*Note there are a few other systems that do not fit into these categories
Levels of Videoconferencing
Telepresence Systems Generalities
• Most telepresence systems are expensive. – Typically $250K and up.
• Some are proprietary or do not use the standard H.323 protocol, and hence are incompatible with all others.
– HP, Cisco.
• Some require special or vendor-managed networks. • Some are H.323 standards-based and can become
fully interoperable. – Polycom – Tandberg – LifeSize
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• For reasons of brevity, I will illustrate only one typical model of telepresence equipment from each vendor.
– They all have other models also.
• Photos are from the company web sites.
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Typical Telepresence Systems
Tandberg Telepresence
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Tandberg Telepresence Server
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Cisco Telepresence
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Polycom Telepresence
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LifeSize Telepresence
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Teliris Telepresence
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Teliris Touch Table
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Teliris Easel
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Who Uses Telepresence?
• Typically corporate execs, for whom cost is less important. • Rarely used in education. A recent poll shows <10 in USA. • Reasons for little education use:
– High cost, including purchase, installation and operation. – Typically not suitable for more than a few people at once. – May be incompatible with existing video conf equipment. – Will not dedicate a room to something that is rarely used. – High bandwidth and network quality required. – Requires multiple rooms.
• Standard high-definition video conferencing can do most things that telepresence does, at much less cost and complexity.
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Telepresence Interoperability
• Only one telepresence vendor (Teliris) claims interoperability with any other telepresence vendor.
• Some telepresence vendors are natively H.323 compatible (e.g. - LifeSize, Polycom, Tandberg), making full telepresence interoperability possible in the future.
– Full VC interoperability exists now. • A few non-H.323 vendors have limited interoperability gateways to non-telepresence standard VCsystems (e.g. - Cisco, HP).
• Telepresence systems typically use special, dedicated MCUs. • Telepresence systems typically do not use gatekeepers; hence they can call only via IP address.
– No Global Dialing System. • Telepresence systems typically use proprietary control systems, to simplify operation (e.g. - Crestron, AMX).
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Conceptual Telepresence System
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Proprietary Control System
Proprietary Control System
Location A Location B
HD VC Endpoint
HD VC Endpoint
HD VC Endpoint
HD VC Endpoint
HD VC Endpoint
HD VC Endpoint
Interoperable Telepresence System
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MCU
Gatekeeper
Bypassed or Modified Proprietary
Control System
Location A Location B
Bypassed or Modified Proprietary
Control System
Codec
Codec
Codec
Codec
Codec
Codec
Telepresence Interoperability!
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