Connect. Any Way You Want. Application Briefs by Polycom®

Polycom Video Communications Collaboration Solutions

Video Conferencing and Streaming Convergence

Video Conferencing and Streaming Convergence

For most audiences, well-produced rich media experiences that integrate audio, video and personal computer content are more enjoyable, captivating, better retained and more flexible than text-only or audio-only communications. However, the creation of these experiences usually involves the use of a video production studio. The process of traditional video production is more costly, and can take longer to set up and plan for, involve more potential risk than the now familiar telephone conference or audio recording. As a result, the impact of recording a short video message for use in a rich media presentation that has limited shelf life may not merit a large investment of time and studio resources. There is a place outside the traditional video production framework for the creation of rapid fire content or content that needs to be captured but does not need to be produced and polished into a commercial video segment. For example, imagine a meeting (over video or in a conference room) that could be streamed out to remote participants who can’t attend in person. Alternatively, a participant who cannot attend a meeting due to a scheduling conflict, personal emergency or by someone who was not originally planned for the meeting but after the fact needs to see how decisions were made can view a conference recording at a later time. In these circumstances, a streaming media producer or subject matter expert can leverage technologies already widely deployed in enterprises and familiar to many information workers today: Polycom videoconferencing solutions.

Applications for converged video conferencing and streaming technologies Videoconferencing users and streaming media content providers are more frequently combining their skills and technologies to address enterprise communications needs. One reason these two communities are working together is that each technology system provides benefits not found in the other system. For example, group videoconferencing systems arelatively easy for end users to operate to establish connections between remote locations. A handheld remote control helps the user to navigate to an entry in a directory and, with the selection highlighted; the call is one click away. But, when in a call, these distributed team members are limited to conferencing with standard-compliant devices and can only establish calls with locations pre-populated in a corporate conferencing directory. On the other hand, streaming media content creation is considered the domain of video production specialists. Streaming media viewing is very “desktop focused” and in most implementations, the audience lacks the ability to respond to something another person has said or shown as part of a streaming session.

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Videoconferencing between rooms offers interactivity and, by way of pre-integrated tools for document sharing, application viewing and synchronized surfing, a very feature-rich collaborative environment. When conferencing and streaming systems share a common network, there are many opportunities for leveraging the two technologies. Streaming media offers a way for the users of videoconferencing systems to expand the reach and increase the impact of their meetings without compromising the quality of the audio and video in a conference. Streaming media capabilities are widely supported on enterprise PCs. This means that while the desktop computer user is not necessarily an equal participant or initiator of a real time conference, the user of a desktop computer on a corporate network can watch a conference stream or meeting archive with very little effort on the part of the IT group or the user. The reach of a conference or event is extended beyond the domain of dedicated video conference systems to include virtually all Windows PCs.

Creating Streaming Media with Polycom videoconferencing solutions Videoconferencing and streaming media may have a lot in common (use of common networks, transmit live images with video and audio) but until recently, it was difficult to implement a solution that permits a videoconferencing user to capture an event in streaming media format or to make a live conference available to anyone with a personal computer. With Polycom People+Content ™Streaming, customers can now use their standard-compliant Polycom iPower ™ videoconferencing device to capture video, synchronized content or webcast a conference. Specifically, the integration allows users to:

• capture or stream locally-generated video and present synchronized content while not in a live videoconference

• capture a point to point or multipoint conference with content during the conference for review (effectively creating an accurate archive of a conference), and

• at the same time or without capturing the conference, stream a videoconference with video and content integrated in a common viewing window live to a remote audience during the session

These capabilities are now inherent to the iPower product family running 5.0 software release. Directly out of the iPower system and without additional external equipment, a videoconferencing system user can elect to record or stream a conference by selecting “Stream to Web” from the Options menu. The iPower system user will be prompted to enter a name and password (optional) for the conference or local video and content to begin streaming. In the same screen, if a conference is in progress, radio dials permit the person originating the stream to choose which site’s video to stream from the iPower system. If an instructor is teaching a class, he or she can set the server to always stream the instructor’s video and content. Viewers on the stream will see the instructor even when other videoconferencing-enabled participants may be asking questions. A voice activated switching option is also available to

produce the full meeting dynamic. To permit the audience to see both participating locations in a two way call at the same time, the user setting up the streaming source can select Picture-in-Picture (PIP). The intelligent iPower streaming server will show the video in full screen format, if slides or a document (the Content) is not presented. As soon as supporting information is introduced into the videoconference, the web interface resizes the People video to the top left corner of the window and dedicates a larger area for Content (generally higher resolution graphics). Since the Content is captured at the display resolution (SVGA or XGA) of the iPower system, streaming audiences can zoom in or out of the content graphic using the zoom control buttons on the web interface. In addition, the video window can be detached from the streaming media window and repositioned at the viewer’s discretion. Once detached, both the People and the Content windows can be sized independently of one another and be placed anywhere on the user’s screen. For live events that may have audiences exceeding the maximum of five permissible on a single iPower, each iPower system in a videoconference could start streaming. For an even larger audience, such as an employee meeting or distant learning application, the iPower system can utilize remote streaming servers to host streams and re-broadcast to the network without loosing the audio, video and content synchronization of the event or the settings selected by the originating stream source. Recording local content or a live videoconference for on demand viewing is also easily controlled from within the iPower 5.0 user interface. When recording is selected, the server captures the entire experience of the conference including video as well as any content introduced into the conference by participants. An archive can be written locally (to the iPower system’s hard disk) or remotely (to a network drive). A recording can be accessed like any other file stored locally or on the network. The recording is saved as a self-contained unit in a folder that contains web (html format) pages that provide the People+Content synchronization. Navigating the content of a conference archive is also intuitive in the playback user interface. A viewer may pause, stop, or move the slider to a different point in the session. After a conference is recorded, People+Content video files can be edited on a separate dedicated video editing system using software available from one of many third party providers.

Conclusion There are as many applications for videoconferencing as there are reasons for people to meet in real time with one another. Now, with Polycom iPower People+Content Streaming, existing group videoconferencing systems can be leveraged, extending the investment by making the same technology the origination point for complete rich media events or archives, or simple video streams. Polycom iPower 5.0 software offers an easy way for subject matter experts to create content that needs to be distributed immediately to a wider audience, or to archive a live meeting. Using Polycom video communications solutions, streaming media professionals have an opportunity to broaden the type and sources of content introduced into a network. By using industry standard formats,

Polycom is also making the iPower 5.0 generated content very easy to integrate with existing content publishing, management and delivery systems. With Polycom iPower 5.0 systems in the enterprise capturing content, streaming media professionals can focus their energies outside the studio, reducing costs of video content development without compromising quality or increasing user support overhead. With integrated video, audio, data, and Web capabilities, The Polycom Office is the only solution that offers an easy way to connect, conference, and collaborate any way you want. iPower streaming and recording tools are the Polycom commitment to making distance communications as natural and interactive as being there. Work faster, smarter, and better with iPower streaming and recording tools and The Polycom Office. Polycom, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets a full range of high-quality, easy-to-use and affordable voice and video communication endpoints, video management software, web collaboration software, multi-network gateways, and multi-point conferencing and network access solutions. Its fully integrated end-to-end solution, The Polycom Office, is supported by the Polycom Accelerated Communications Architecture, and enables business users to immediately realize the benefits of integrated video, voice data and web collaboration over rapidly growing converged networks. For additional information, call 1-800-POLYCOM (765-9266) or +1-408-526-9000, or visit the Polycom web site at www.polycom.com. Polycom, the Polycom logo and ViewStation are registered trademarks and iPower, Pro Motion, Siren 14, People+Content, ImageShare, and The Polycom Office are trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2002, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.