Video Tools for IP Schools
It isn't just business enterprises that are capitalizing on the advantages of voice over IP (VoIP) networks. Many public school systems have also made the move to VoIP, and they've been realizing the same cost savings as big companies. And they've also begun to take advantage of their IP networks' additional ability to stream video (a perk that comes along with VoIP).
During the past year, school districts all across the country have discovered that by consolidating their independent networks—data, voice, and video—into one IP network, they save money and time, because they now need to manage and support just one robust network instead of several. IP also is driving new software applications that take advantage of the consolidation of voice, video, and data. For example, an IP network enables teachers to use online collaboration tools at the same time it makes it easy to integrate videoconferencing with telephony, laying the foundation for enhanced productivity and future educational applications.
As one of the leading providers of IP network infrastructure components, as well as one of the market leaders in VoIP, Cisco has been pursuing the K-12 market actively. And the company has begun to offer teachers and administrators some interesting new technologies for improving education and the management of educational resources through the use of video telephony and videoconferencing.
The advantages of VT Advantage
One new technology available to any Cisco VoIP network owner is Cisco's VT Advantage video telephony solution. It is something short of true videoconferencing, but simpler and cheaper. More like a videophone solution, VT Advantage allows any VoIP user to sync his or her Cisco IP phone with their IP-networked PC to add video to phone conversations. The voice portion of the communication is handled by the phone, while the video is handled by the PC. The solution consists of small USB cameras (Cisco VT Cameras) that sit atop the users' monitors, Cisco IP Phones, and the VT Advantage software.
With VT Advantage, video telephone calls are handled much like regular phone calls. You even get the same sort of functionality for video that everyone is used to getting from voice-only phones—features like call forward, transfer, conference, and hold. And everything is initiated through a single device, the IP phone. In school settings, IP telephony and IP video telephony are delivered to all personnel over a single Cisco IP communications infrastructure, with a unified dial plan and a common directory through Cisco's CallManager.
Because CallManager completely controls VT Advantage’s video codec and bandwidth selection, the user needs no special experience or knowledge about video capabilities or settings. And users no longer need to predetermine if the other end of the call is a video terminal or a phone.
This video telephony solution uses the H.263 video codec at bitrates of 128Kbps to 1.5Mbps. Video can be up to 30 frames per second in windows up to 352x388.
The Tandberg Connection
For schools that would like to step up to full-fledged videoconferencing, Cisco is offering the Cisco IP Videoconferencing Solution, which combines Cisco hardware and software with Tandberg's Educator MXP Series product line.
New from Tandberg, the Educator products are based on the Tandberg 6000 MXP codec technology. The Educator MXP is a rather complex system that comes in different configurations, but the standard model is rather large and bulky (with a 50-inch SXGA plasma screen at its heart), and requires a cart to move it around.
The Educator MXP features improved video quality through H.264 support for high-quality video on lower bandwidth, which allows the sharing of rich media while maintaining face-to-face interaction. The system's digital audio technology provides "true CD-quality sound and the dynamic experience of stereo," Tandberg boasts. And the Educator MXP embraces the MPEG-4 AAC-LD standard adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It also features an expanded embedded multipoint capability that enables up to eleven audio and video participants in a single call; all participants can link to the call at the highest quality supported by their video systems.
Other Educator MXP system features include "PC Presenter," which allows a presenter to plug a PC directly into the system so he/she can show any application to all the participants in the video call; "VCR Record," which captures the voice and activated video and audio from all participating sites; and "Duo Video," which allows two content sources to be sent, thus enabling the instructor and his presentation to be viewed at the same time on different monitors.
Also, according to Tandberg, the system's "streaming" feature allows you to "stream your presentation live anytime—even during a point-to-point videoconference call—to reach a larger audience."