Being Here is Being There

As convergence brings voice, data, and video onto the same network, new technologies are rewriting the rules about collaboration, and not a moment too soon.

Globalization increases the need for communication among colleagues and partners. Business discussions encompass not only multiple people but also multiple locations.

While today's meeting and collaboration tools provide a significant productivity boost, they are not a substitute for in-person meetings. Videoconferences, in particular, are often difficult to set up, challenging to use, and do not adequately replicate the benefits of face-to-face interaction.

To improve this situation, Cisco TelePresence creates an "in-person" meeting experience over the converged network. Cisco TelePresence delivers real-time, face-to-face interactions between people and places in their work and personal lives using advanced visual, audio, and collaboration technologies. These technologies transmit life-size, high-definition images and spatial discrete audio. Now it's easier than ever to discern facial expressions for crucial business discussions and negotiations across the "virtual table."

Audio/Visual Technology

Cisco TelePresence incorporates the latest standards and technologies to offer the best audio and visual results:

• H.264 video codecs to offer the highest quality and lowest bit rate
• Session Initiation Protocol
• Native 720p and 1080p high-definition cameras
• Native 720p and 1080p high-definition encoding/decoding
• Low-latency architecture and low bandwidth utilization
• Wideband advanced audio coding with low delay (AAC LD)
• Multichannel spatial audio with echo cancellation and interference filters to eliminate feedback from mobile devices
• Optimized environmental conditioning to provide the best audio and video and overall user experience

Network

Cisco TelePresence uses the standard IP technology deployed in corporations today and runs on an integrated voice, video, and data network. The system supports high-quality, real-time voice and video communications with branch offices using broadband connections.

It offers capabilities for ensuring quality of service (QoS), security, reliability, and high availability for high-bandwidth applications such as video — particularly high-definition video, which can require 1 Mbps to 5 Mbps, depending on the resolution.

Hardware-Optimized Environment

The system includes purpose-built office furniture that incorporates cameras and displays, lighting, speakers, microphones, and projection capability into a specially designed table for larger rooms, or, in smaller configurations, into existing office furniture.

Software Applications

Cisco TelePresence applications incorporate a variety of new and existing standards-based software for accommodating converged voice and video transmissions, including:

• IP telephony — Cisco TelePresence works with IP-based phones. This can simplify launching calls because it uses a telephone instead of a complicated remote control.
• Groupware — Integration with enterprise groupware solutions (such as Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes) accommodates easy scheduling of meetings and access to corporate information.
• Services — Cisco TelePresence enables easy scheduling, management, reporting, billing, and metrics applications to ensure proper tracking and bill-back of activity on the system, as well as real-time support services.