Video Conferencing - A Checklist

Comprehensive list of questions to be addressed before embarking on using or installing video conferencing equipment.

What do you wish to achieve?

• Point to Point – two locations only at any one time
• Broadcast Live – from one site to many – watch and listen
• Broadcast pre-recorded – from one site to many – watch & listen
• Multipoint – three or more sites with Q&A between any, relayed to all
• Multipoint - three or more – plus broadcast from any to satellite sub-groups as a watch and listen.
• Live with session taped for future edit and distribution
• Person to person/s with video & audio & data manipulation across participants – e.g. sharing documents, drawings with or without live edit and audit of changes made.

  With whom do you wish to communicate by videoconferencing?

• Only inside your company
• From your company to sister/ contractor/ supplier companies
• With your customers
• With your prospects

  Frequency of system use

• Ad hoc
• Estimated use per annum (min/max)
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly

  Installation type

• Custom built static installation – i.e. a designated room
• Desktop location/s – i.e. from the office desktop PC
• Mobile “roll-about” system -
• Off-site facilities required – going to a dedicated videoconference facility

  Options required

• Record, Edit & Distribute by hardcopy (CD/DVD)
• Record, Edit & Distribute by softcopy (Web cast)
• Broadcast live via direct links to named recipients/ groups
• Broadcast pre-recorded across one or more time zones
• Log who watched and listened and when
• Multiple persons at One or Two (group to group videoconferencing – e.g. design teams, board to local management)
• Multiple participants at Three or more sites

  What are your current IT capabilities?

• ISDN 1
• ISDN 2
• ISDN 30
• LAN – Cat5/ Cat5e/ Cat6
• LAN – Fibre
• LAN – wireless – type?
• WAN – bandwidth?
• VPN – bandwidth?
• Internet access, dial-up 56k
• Internet access , Dial-up 128K
• Internet access , Broadband 1Mb
• Internet access , Broadband 2Mb
• Internet access , Broadband 4 Mb
• Internet access , Satellite link
• Internet access , permanent fibre/ cable link
• T1 / T2 / T3 / T4 (aka DS-1/ DS-2/ DS-3/ DS-4)
• OC-1 / OC-3 / OC-12 / OC-38

  Impact on your system – to be considered

• Bandwidth load
• Current capacity used & unused & reserved (max/ min for each)
• Planned bandwidth use – excluding video conferencing
• Contention ratio
• Speed
• Video quality – predominantly static (talking head – Yes/No)
• Hardware at point of display
• Hardware at point of transmission
• Hardware at point of distribution

  Points to consider

• Budget
• What do you spend currently on flights/ travel/ accommodation per annum?
• Write-off period for cap ex
• Leasing options
• IT infrastructure
• Cost and timescale of increased capacity and hardware -if required

  James Hunter works for Edric Audio Visual, a premier provider of video conferencing solutions in the UK.

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