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HD Video Conferencing |
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Improving On The Image
HD stands for "High Definition" and is the technology that is taking over the simple low definition video monitors or display systems the world over. Of late there has been a lot of discussion about HD video conferencing from renowned vendors such as Cisco systems and Tanberg. Some companies were rumored to be doing some HD demonstrations in their part of the world and they are supposed to be giving the world a really cost effective HD video conferencing system later this year.
One would be taken aback with the advanced systems that companies such as Tanberg have to offer as far as HD video conferencing systems are concerned. Their live demo displaying video images on large LCD monitors at 1280 by 720 pixels at 30 progressive frames per second was breath taking. It was surprising that the image of a person moving around on the screen was actually being displayed through the wide area network all the way across the country from Austin Texas. This HD video conferencing demonstration was transmitted over a 1 megabit per second wide area network connection which is very feasible for most corporations. Not to mention that the viewers of this demo were equally well received at the other end in real time too. Needless to mention that these demonstrations were carried out with the best researched, tried and tested, studio lighting but if HD video conferencing is anything close to what was displayed then every businessman who saw it will want the system.
If you were to view a High Definition and a Standard Definition video screen side by side you will find it odd that you will not find any difference in the picture quality when viewing it from a close distance, this is besides the fact that HD fills the whole screen. This is despite the fact that a 720p image has three times the pixels a 480p stream has. Move a little distance away from both the screens and you will notice the difference between HD and SD technology. You will see a lot more detail in the HD image than you will be able to in the SD image. This may not be a very useful factor while taking part in an HD video conferencing system as mostly all the participants are just a few feet away from the screens in the room.
The ultimate analysis is that HD video conferencing is definitely superior to SD video conferencing even when both of them are given the same bit rate and you display both on an up sampling display. The really big question is if you should buy it. As it turns out, the price tag is much less than what you will spend on traveling. And with the extra quality in sound and video that HD video conferencing has to offer, it makes video conferencing a lot closer to a face to face meeting so it may end up saving you a lot of travel expenses.
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