Face To Face, But Miles Apart

摘要

When viable videoconferencing technology arrived on the scene some eight years ago, vendors heralded "the end of business travel." That didn't happen, mainly because poor audio and video performance combined with high prices made early conferencing systems poor substitutes for face-to-face meetings. But now, as rising energy prices hike travel costs and cut into the bottom line, companies are taking another look at videoconferencing, and many are liking what they see. New codecs, which enable high-definition video to be sent even over limited broadband connections, have greatly improved the quality of videoconferencing systems. Even better news, particularly for small and midsize enterprises, is that high-definition videoconferencing systems have become increasingly affordable. Previously, HD videoconferencing, or telepresence, was possible only with room-based systems from companies such as Cisco and Hewlett-Packard. These cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, putting them well out of reach of most SMEs.