Videoconferencing for the masses

9 January 2010

Cisco Systems, Panasonic, LG, Skype and other companies used the Consumer Electronics Show this week to show off their vision for video calls using an HD television. The companies are poised to take what was primarily a PC experience to a more comfortable environment for communication.
It also represents the further maturation of the TV beyond a passive display for broadcasting and video content. With Internet connectivity coming to the TV directly or through other devices, the living room display is taking on new Internet apps and giving consumers much more interactivity.
Cisco said it will be conducting a trial of a new home TelePresence product with Verizon this spring that will allow users to conduct HD video calls over a broadband connection. Cisco CEO John Chambers said the timing is ripe now for video conferencing in the living room. He said one-third of U.S. homes have the necessary broadband connections and half the homes have high-definition televisions.
IBM and Polycom also showed off a home teleconferencing set-up at CES as did LifeSize, a company that was recently purchased by Logitech. Prices on most of the systems have not been announced.
Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner, said home video conferencing brings a very rich and visual experience to the home. But it still faces challenges with Internet service providers, who may worry about video calls clogging their networks.
"It's a very compelling experience but it takes a whole lot of bandwidth," said Baker. "The question is how do you bring that down."

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