15th February 2011:

 

 

Our Annual Awards for Achievements in the calendar year 2010 made in January 2011

15th February 2011

Corporate Awards for Industry Achievements in 2009

We start our Editor’s Choice Awards for the Best Achievements of the Year 2010 with the corporate category. The Editor is looking for innovation, products that disrupt the market, affordable prices, and success in the market place. The six corporate award winners for the year 2010 are:

1. The Telepresence Company of the Year 2010 – Teliris. Teliris, the most innovative company in the industry, promoted its 6th generation 6G Telepresence, an affordable client-server platform that enables superb Telepresence anywhere in the world by reducing bandwidth and related costs.

 2. The High Definition Videoconferencing Company of the Year 2010 - LifeSize, a division of Logitech. LifeSize shares the Logitech vision that HD Video should be available to anyone, anywhere. In 2010, LifeSize ensured that all of its endpoints and infrastructure products can handle 1080p Full High Definition video.

 3.  Industry Leader of the Year 2010 - Ofer Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of Vidyo. Ofer Shapiro was a co-founder of Vidyo, Inc. in April 2005 and its first CEO. By early 2008, Vidyo began to market products as Vidyoconferencing™ that enables endpoints to interoperate seamlessly between HD room systems, PCs and laptops using the Internet instead of dedicated networks.

4. The Video-enabled Unified Communications Company of the Year 2010 – RADVISION.

RADVISION further improved its core infrastructure product range for Unified Communications in 2010. The SCOPIA Elite MCU now enables Telepresence interoperability between the systems of Cisco/TANDBERG, Logitech/LifeSize and Polycom as well as with all videoconferencing endpoints. This is an exceptional technical achievement

5. The Videoconferencing Peripheral Equipment Company of the Year 2010 – Vaddio. In 2010, Vaddio added to its leading range of robotic PTZ cameras and high-end camera control systems with the launch of two new product lines: furniture for housing Telepresence and videoconferencing solutions, and video whiteboards.

6. The Most Innovative Videoconferencing Product of the Year 2010 - The new Vidyo HD videoconferencing architecture called VidyoConferencing. When IP network video started, it was difficult to use it on the Internet and general purpose IP networks because of packet loss, reductions in available bandwidth and latency issues. Vidyo has developed the neatest and most original solution to overcome these issues, one which does not need an MCU for multiparty videoconferencing.

Awards for the Best Telepresence Solutions launched in 2010

Telepresence is the top-of-the-range solution in visual communications and demand was strong throughout 2010. (See review for 2010 in the segment “Our Annual Surveys”.)

There were three significant developments. First, working interoperability between Telepresence systems of different vendors was achieved. Second, Telepresence systems on the networks of different telecom providers were connected when these telecom providers linked their Video Exchanges. Third, some leading travel agents provided a reservation platform to arrange a Telepresence meeting as an alternative to travel on their web portals where flights and hotels can be booked.

To select the best Telepresence solutions of 2010, the Editor looked for innovation, products that disrupt the market, affordable prices, and success in the market place. The 10 Best Telepresence Solutions of 2010 are (in alphabetical order):

1. Business Octane CollaboratorTURBOMAX Immersive Telepresence Suite

2. Cisco Telepresence System 3210 for 12-18 persons

3. Cisco Telepresence System EX90 for Personal Telepresence

4. DVE Telepresence 3D Immersion Room 

5. Huawei Telepresence System TP3006 for 6 persons

6.  LifeSize Conference 200 Telepresence development kit 

7.  Magor TeleCollaboration HDWorkPlace Duo with 1080p video

8. Polycom ATX 300 with High Profile AVC and touch screen control

9. Teliris 3D Telepresence with 1, 2 or 3 large screens

10. Teliris NanoEX Telepresence™ with a curved, panoramic display for the desk top

We discussed each of these 10 Telepresence systems within the context of each company and its entire range of Telepresence systems.. In this way we gave the reader an overview of the Telepresence offerings of the industry’s major suppliers at the end of 2010.

 

Awards for the Best HD Videoconferencing Systems launched in 2010

24 January 2011

There were many new or enhanced releases of HD Videoconferencing Systems in 2010 and some useful modifications and enhancements were introduced as explained in the review of this part of the industry (See the segment “Our Annual Surveys”.).

In selecting the Best High-Definition Videoconferencing solutions launched or improved in 2010, the Editor is looking for innovation, products that disrupt the market, affordable prices, and success in the market place.

The 16 Best High-Definition Videoconferencing Solutions of 2010 (in alphabetical order) are:

High-Definition Videoconferencing systems for small and large rooms

1. Avaya top of the range 1040 and 1050 videoconferencing systems for large rooms with dual-screens to enable content sharing and an embedded MCU for connecting multiple sites.

2. Ecolab (now CeeLab) Arrow 300, a 1080i/60fps system powered by a Sony PCS-XG80 codec ensures that the face and eyes are always clear – even when streamed from rooms with less than ideal light conditions.

3. HP Visual Collaboration Room 100 and Room 220 integrate High-Definition video into multipurpose conference rooms, offering low total cost of ownership with Vidyo technology

4. RADVISION SCOPIA XT1000 High-Definition videoconferencing room system based on the award-winning Aethra Xtreme 300 series with an optional embedded 4-site or 9-site MCU

5. VidyoRoom HD-220 for “Personal Telepresence” supports dual 1080p/30 screens; the VidyoRoom HD 220 is based on Intel Core i7 microprocessor and uses a software-only codec

High-Definition Videoconferencing systems for the office desktop

6. Adobe® Connect™ 8.0 software integrated with the Vidyo multiparty video communications application for online education; Adobe Connect is Adobe’s eLearning and collaboration solution

7. Avaya Desktop Video Device with the Avaya Flare™ Experience provides cost-effective SIP-based High-Definition video on a touch-screen tablet that can accompany the desktop PC

8. HP Visual Collaboration Desktop software client can be deployed easily by all users on their PCs and notebooks; it is ideal for using 720p/60 visual collaboration by dispersed teams

9. HP Visual Collaboration Executive Desktop features an HP TouchSmart 600 Quad with touch screen loaded with HP Visual Collaboration software for HD videoconferencing

10. LG Executive HD video conferencing system for the desktop powered by a LifeSize codec provides collaboration on a dual-purpose 24-inch HD monitor manufactured by LG Electronics

11. LifeSize Communicator offers 720p/30 video at 1.1Mbps on the Microsoft Lynx (previously Microsoft OCS) unified communications platform with access to an 8-party LifeSize software MCU

12. Microsoft Lync 2010 Server and Client, the improved Microsoft Unified Communications solution previously known as Microsoft Communications Server, offers peer-to-peer video at 720p

13. Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X supports high quality video and voice communication and interoperability with CMA Desktop for Windows and all standards-based TP and VC systems

14.  RADVISION SCOPIA Desktop 7.0 combined with the RADVISION SCOPIA XT1000 with a 4-site or 9-site embedded MCU extends the HD videoconferencing experience to users on their Macs, PCs or laptops

15. Cisco Telepresence Movi 4.0 for HD Videoconferencing on Macs and Windows PCs with software to initiate multiway calls and ClearPath for improved packet loss robustness

High-Definition Videoconferencing systems for smart phones and tablets

16. RADVISION SCOPIA Mobile V2, the first conferencing application for the Apple® iPhone® and iPad™ that enables a video conferences with standards-based audio and H.239 data collaboration

We discussed each of these 16 HD Videoconferencing systems within the context of each company and its entire range of HD Videoconferencing systems. In this way we gave the reader an overview of the HD Videoconferencing offerings of most of the industry’s major suppliers at the end of 2010.

 

*  *  *

 

The 16 Best Video Network Infrastructure Solutions of 2010

 

7 February 2011

 

In 2010, there were few completely new innovative Video Network Infrastructure solutions ... mainly enhancements to the new solutions of the two previous years. In January 2010, Cisco created an open standard - the Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) - and offered to license it royalty free; later it was given to the International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium (IMTC) to own and manage. The industry began to implement TIP in 2010.

 

In selecting the Best Video Network Infrastructure Solutions launched or improved in 2010, the Editor is looking for innovation, products that disrupt the market, affordable prices, and success in the market place.

 

The 15 Best Video Network Infrastructure Solutions of 2010 in alphabetical order) are:

 

1. Cisco TelePresence Server 7010 links together Telepresence, HD and SD video conferencing endpoints

 

2. Cisco TelePresence Video Communication Server supports video on Telepresence, VC and UC endpoints

 

3. Cisco Telepresence Exchange System software - a Telepresence hosted service-creation platform

 

4. Cisco TelePresence Directory helps users find and dial up other Telepresence facilities worldwide

 

5. Compunetix new line of EVERGREEN™ video Multipoint Control Units (MCUs)

 

6. LifeSize Transit™ Server+ LifeSize Transit™ Client - a complete NAT/firewall traversal solution

 

7. LifeSize Transit Client for deploying a firewall/NAT traversal solution virtually in a server farm

 

8. LifeSize Video Center to instantly stream, record and auto-publish 720p HD video

 

9. LifeSize Bridge 2200 - modular, 16-port MCU for Full 1080p HD video which scales intelligently

 

10. Polycom video content platform for HD video recording, streaming, production and distribution

 

11. Polycom SharePoint Server Solution to create high-quality video content for the VMC 1000

 

12. RADVISION SCOPIA Elite MCU with SCOPIA v.7.5 links all vendors' Telepresence systems

 

13. RADVISION SCOPIA Elite MCU with Mobile V2 for data sharing on Apple® iPhone and iPad™

 

14. Siemens OpenScape Unified Communications 2011 suite video-enables iPhones and iPads

 

15. VideoCentric Video Firewall Traversal Server (FTS) is a low-cost firewall traversal solution.

 

*  *  *

 

The 6 Best Managed Conferencing Services Providers of 2010

 

14 February 2011.

 

More and more companies and organisations in 2010 outsourced running their video network to Managed Conferencing Services Providers rather than run their own internal service. The most-often-quoted reasons are given in our review of this part of the industry under the segment “Our Annual Surveys”.

 

In selecting the best of 2010, the Editor takes the side of the user and looks for innovation, reliability, ease of use and price-performance. The provider must offer a global service and 24/7 support. We only look at their offering of services for Telepresence and videoconferencing; their offering of audio and web conferencing is not considered. We look for satisfied customers, excellent service and recognition by others in the form of Awards or certification.

 

We recognise customers like a provider with HQ or at least an office located in the same country, even though the provider can be located anywhere in the world and give the same service remotely. So the need to provide a wide geographical reaxh has influenced our choice.

 

We recognise that many telcos are Managed Conferencing Service Providers.  They have their own telecom network with a global reach and are experienced in providing voice and data services as well as video services to multinational companies. In the our list of 15 telcos below, we have gone for a wide geographical spread of providers rather than a complete and full list.

 

A T & T (United States), BT (UK), Cable and Wireless Worldwide (UK), Global Crossing (United States), KPN  (The Netherlands), Masergy (United States), NTT (Japan), Orange Business Services (France), Tata Communications (India), Telefonica (Spain), Telstra (Australia), Telemerge (Canada),  Telmex (Mexico), Verizon Business (United States), Virtela (United States).

 

Also Cisco, HP Halo and Teliris run their own Telepresence network which can be offered as a service to customers who purchase their Telepresence equipment.

 

There are also a huge number of Managed Service Providers who concentrate on audio and web conferencing and have not developed the infrastructure specialist skills to deal with HD videoconferencing and Telepresence. These include companies like Intercall (perhaps the largest).

 

We also considered Managed Conferencing Service Providers that are niche players who specialise in providing Telepresence and Videooconferencing services to multinationals and other customers. Most of them purchase capacity from telecom carriers. Some businesses believe they get a more personalised service from such smaller, niche players.

 

 We have selected 4 niche players and 2 players within a telco as the Best Managed Conferencing Service Providers of the Year 2010.

 

The 6 Best Managed Conferencing Services Providers of 2010 (in alphabetical order) are:

 

1. Aethra.net (Italy)

2. BCS Global (UK and Canada)

3. Glowpoint (United States)

4. IVCi (United States)

5. Talk and Vision - KPN (Netherlands)

6. Tata Communications (India)

 

We discussed each of these 6 Providers and their range of services in detail in the Award citations.In this way we gave the reader an overview of some of the industry’s major suppliers at the end of 2010.

 

*  *  *