Blurring the lines between video and web conferencing
I have been selling and implementing video and web communications for clients since 1996 and I can honestly say until recently there was NO comparison. Now more than ever though there’s been a ‘blurring’ between web conferencing and video conferencing …especially when it comes to quality. Video conferencing traditionally has been thought of as group or room based product that allows video and audio to be shared simultaneously utilizing a data connection between locations. Web conferencing has traditionally been see as a desktop or single user application that you run on your computer allowing audio, content and sometimes video. The marriage between the two has for most seemed lukewarm at best, sleeping in separate beds if you. It appears that marriage is about to heat up.
For over a decade web conferencing has been the “less than equal” and often times loathed form of communications to include audio, video and content. Although video conferencing has had its up’s and down’s these past decades it has always been a cut above web conferencing. At least on the video part until now. With the advent of HD web conferencing things have gotten good… and when I say good, I mean this video is good. We are all familiar with the bigger ‘brands’ of web conferencing (Go-To-Meeting, WebEx, Live Meeting) but did you know the race is on to improve the quality of the video inside some products to make them as good or comparable to video conferencing. I know what you’re thinking “no way” I’ve heard, I’ve seen, I’ve lived it and it’s better without the video then with it. Well stay tuned folks because the push for a ‘seamless’ integration of video and web conferencing is on the horizon.
Cisco seems to be leading the way with their previous integration of the Telepresence product with WebEx …then along came the Tandberg acquisition. These room and desktop based products round out the video portfolio for Cisco and the ‘complaints’ about WebEx or web conferencing Vs. video conferencing has not fallen on deaf ears. If you want to know more about how web or video conference are heating up and want to see or hear more PEI can help. Think of us as your ‘marriage counselor’ for web and video communications.
-Jennifer Smith, PEI
