How to get the most out of your LifeSize Video Conferencing
The LifeSize product range is based around the room size – from the LifeSize Desktop model for home and mobile users, through to the LifeSize Room for large corporate conference room. Like all technology purchase decisions, for maximum ROI, it’s important to work out the scope of the project. Here’s a list of questions, we’ll need to ask when preparing your VC solution:
- How many rooms will be used for VC?
- What are the size of the rooms
- Which room will be the main host room? – ie usually the boardroom headquarters.
- List the maximum number of likely participants.
- How many remote or mobile workers will be required to attend VC meetings?
- List main types of meetings that will be held at each of the rooms?
- List any other data display requirements – ie a document camera may be mandatory for offices which have to share views of hard-copy documents.
Evotec can install the best LifeSize solution, but there are a number of things you can do to improve the impact of your Video Conferencing.
Prepare your rooms – tidy up each room in your VC network: place a branded background behind each speaker and/or a name card in front– ideally with their name, role and location. This might seem like overkill for an internal meeting, but it helps participants know who they are talking to and looks more professional.
Invest in improved lighting in your VC rooms. Evotec can supply and install additional VC-optimised lighting which will deliver vastly improved images.
Customise your LifeSize home page background with your own corporate branding and internal messaging. Take advantage of Evotec’s offer to include a free customised background with each new LifeSize installation of LifeSize.
Train your teams – Make sure your key admin staff attend the Evotec LifeSize training session after installation. The more people who know how to use VC, the better. Make sure your Evotec VC Quickstart Guide is placed in each room. While LifeSize is easy and intuitive to use, having the instructions handy will improve user acceptance.
Appoint an internal staff member to be your LifeSize VC Expert – to save the day for busy managers who don’t have time to read the guide.
Establish some internal guidelines on VC participation. See the Evotec Guide to VC Participation.
Glossary
Adaptive Motion Control – adjusts image motion quality to match the available bandwidth. In times of packet loss, AMC reduce bandwidth requirements and returns it to optimal when more bandwidth is available.
Automatic Bandwidth Adjustment – as per Adaptive Motion Control, this optimises picture quality to meet changes in bandwidth.
Continuous Presence – this means everyone can see and hear everyone else.
Beamforming – is a signal processing technique using an array of microphones (LifeSize Phone as 16 always-on microphones) to improve audio from the source of the sound and reduce the background noise from other areas in the room..
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video and audio interface standard for transmitting video between a source device, like a personal computer, and a display device.
HDMI – High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency (RF) coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA.
MCU – Multipoint Control Unit – this refers to the LifeSize “box”which contains the Codecs and all the peripherals plug into.
VC – Video Conferencing
VGA – Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. The 15-pin VGA connector is found on many video cards, computer monitors, and some high definition television sets
Virtual Multiway – Each LifeSize device can re-scale and arrange the images of meeting participants to ensure the meeting host, the current speaker and the most recent speakers are visible on all participants’ screens. This is a key advantage of LifeSize – it replicates the way we communicate in person – people look at the most recent speaker.
Voice-Activated Switching – this means that when someone starts to talk, their image appears on the screen as they are the most current speaker.
720P – refers to 720 pixels high x 1280 wide at 30 frames per second.
1080P – 1080 pixels high
The “P” stands for Progressive, which gives better picture motion quality than “I”, which stands for “interlacing”.
It is the motion handling that sets LifeSize apart from its competitors.