Evolution of videoconferencing: towards a virtual business model that reaches all types of companies

Alessandro Marcello, product manager of Sony Professional Solutions Europe analyzes what are the new trends in videoconferencing. A technology that thanks to the improvement of access to high-speed broadband Internet, WiFi networks and 4G has become a tool within reach of organizations of all kinds of sizes and shapes.

Until a few years ago, videoconferencing tended to fit into one of these two areas: Fortune companies 500 with large budgets that had large specialized conference rooms, reminiscent of small dissemination studios; and smaller organizations that had to look for more cost-effective solutions that affected image and audio quality. In both cases, shortcomings in ease of use and reliability led to frequent phone calls to the IT team for assistance.

One of the clear culprits during this first generation of video conferencing solutions was the Internet connection., since those who had a bad connection had to decipher the irregular dialogues with the blurred vision of those who spoke. With these restrictions in mind, it was intended to get calls that were good enough; After all, the purpose was to save costs by eliminating the need to travel for face-to-face meetings.

Today, high-quality video conferencing is not within the reach of a few, but of a few many. Improving high-speed broadband Internet access, Wi-Fi networks and 4G have favored the creation of consumer services such as Skype and Google Hangouts, while budget constraints have further intensified the need for a 'virtual' business model for organizations of all sizes and shapes..

All this represents a change of vision for a new generation of professional products and applications. The focus now is on adapting the usability we all instinctively acquire from consumer applications., while improving them in terms of reliability, security and flexibility.

specifically, there are five trends that limit the design of the latest video conferencing solutions:

The role of multimedia content as a catalyst for more productive meetings. Current meetings don't usually involve simple one-way dialogues or presentations.. Instead, the richness of content tends to act as a reference point to stimulate fruitful and lively conversations. Sony's PCS-XC1 system allows you to draw on videos and images using an Xperia Tablet and a wireless pen and, below, share them with participants remotely, which makes video another means of getting new ideas from different teams with which you usually collaborate.

Meetings that go further. The recreation of face-to-face meetings between two or more people at the same time is just one of the benefits that videoconferencing can offer. Organizations are looking with greater interest for a multi-purpose tool to maximize productivity and efficiency in how their employees communicate.. For example, today's solutions can stream and record simultaneously, so you can get the most out of, For example, an internal town hall meeting or client webinar.

Connectivity everywhere between people… and products. Whether it was large-scale equipment from large-scale companies or the webcams of smaller companies., video conferencing a few years ago tended to take place in a fixed corporate meeting room. now, However, can overcome physical limitations to connect construction zones, laboratories, theatre halls, conference rooms, Judged, classrooms and even places of worship. Wireless units can be picked up and taken anywhere, while solutions such as the SRG-300SE camera are accessible and can be controlled remotely from anywhere with an enterprise network.

Exceeding the standard for consumer image quality… Consumer applications have not only intensified expectations of video connectivity; many take as a gift the smooth transmission of images with HD quality thanks to YouTube, Netflix and the proliferation of on-demand news services. This makes grainy or fuzzy images not good enough.. In fact, Sony video conferencing products improve image quality using technology called Visibility Enhancer, that optimizes the brightness and color reproduction of the image pixel by pixel.

Meeting automatic installation expectations. Technology in home homes has democratized to the point that we expect products that are ready to use and work perfectly with all our devices.. The same goes for today's video conferencing products, that can be used from a smartphone just by running an app, and without the need to resort to technical service.

The SRG-300SE is a multi-purpose HD visual imaging camera, capable of synchronizing audio and video, while transmitting images over IP and, simultaneously, sends them to a video recorder. The PCS-XC1 is capable of providing video calls up to 1080p, combining the portability and ease of use of consumer applications with image quality, security and reliability of a true H.323 videoconferencing system.

These two products are the main examples of a new generation of video conferencing: one where organizations of all kinds can count on a good experience and where good enough is not enough.

 

Alessandro Marcello

Product manager of Sony Professional Solutions Europe

 

 

 

 

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