By Joe Scotti
Before we begin, a quick history lesson.
H.323 is an umbrella recommendation from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that sets standards for multimedia communications over Local Area Networks (LANs) that do not provide a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). The H.323 standard provides a foundation for audio, video, and data communications across IP-based networks, including the Internet. This standard allows multimedia products and applications from multiple vendors to interoperate, allowing users to communicate without concern for compatibility. H.323 is the keystone for LAN-based products for consumer, business, entertainment, and professional applications.
It is very important to understand why H.323 (or IP) Video teleconferencing will take the industry by storm.
Okay, now that you have been able to utilize this new, low cost video technology, how do you communicate with the outside world? This is where the Gateway comes into play.
The Gateway is an optional element of an H.323 video teleconferencing network. Gateways provide many services, the most common being a translation function between H.323 conferencing endpoints and other video systems.
A Gateway can accomplish the following:
Always remember that free “transportation” on the technology highway does not come without some sort of cost and management. If you begin to utilize H.323 video applications on your network you must provide bandwidth management or you will have congestion everywhere!
Processing video and audio traffic is bandwidth-intensive and could clog the corporate network. H.323 addresses this issue by providing bandwidth management. A network manager (I hope you have one) can limit the number of simultaneous H.323 connections within their network or the amount of bandwidth available to H.323 applications. These limits ensure that critical traffic, like your data, will not be disrupted.
Ok enough of the techno-babble and on to the big question--how much does this stuff cost? One of the reasons for the enormous interest in IP Video teleconferencing is because of the “affordable” price associated with the hardware.
Direct your browser to http://www.polycom.com/products/viavideo.html and check out the ViaVideo system. It retails for $599.00 per unit. It is a self-contained camera that connects to the USB port of your PC and comes with a built-in microphone and a simple-to-use software interface.
For less than $200.00 you can purchase CUseeMe Pro from CuseeMe Networks at http://www.cuseeme.com/software/hf_pro.htm. This is a software application and it requires you to purchase a camera and have a multi-media ready PC. In addition, there are about a dozen other companies that provide both low and high-end IP Video technologies.
I must apologize for the technical slant to this article, but it is difficult to avoid with a subject like IP Video. For your reference, I have included a short glossary of terms.
Glossary of Terms
ITU - International Telecommunications Union
Ethernet - Ethernet is the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technology. Specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3, Ethernet was originally developed by Xerox and then developed further by Xerox, DEC, and Intel. An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps
QoS – Quality of Services
Mbps – Megabits per second
Gigabit – 1000 megabits per second
DVD – Digital Video Disk
ISDN – Integrated Service Digital Network
Public Switched Network – Traditional way telephone, fax and data calls are switched
IP – Internet Protocol