2. Introduction of Video Telephony
Video Telephony is a new model for video usage is emerging that is mainstream, user-oriented, ad hoc, on demand, desktop-based, and integrated into the daily workflow. Video telephony provides desktop video devices the same call control functionality usually found in voice telephony solutions, including call transfer, call hold, call forward, mute, and conference. Because video telephony integrates into the voice telephony infrastructure and network, placing a call with video becomes as easy and reliable as making a phone call.
a. Video Telephony as Opposed to Videoconferencing
The deployment and usage model for video telephony as compared to traditional videoconferencing is significantly different.
b. The Group Videoconferencing Usage Model
When using group or room videoconferencing, participants go to a specially equipped video conference room at a time scheduled well in advance. Because of the expense required to build a quality group videoconferencing environment, where the microphone and speaker placement, lighting, and camera locations are important, many conference rooms are not outfitted with Videoconferencing capability.
Although many group videoconferences are now done using IP, a majority of these conferences still use ISDN, particularly when people from different companies meet using video. ISDN is usage-based, meaning that the more an organization uses ISDN videoconferencing, the more it costs because ISDN is usually billed on a per minute basis. Broad and frequent usage of ISDN video conferencing is fiscally and psychologically discouraged because ISDN lines are only run to a few conference rooms in a given location and because of the linearly increasing time dependent cost of holding meeting. Usually a technician is also required in order to start the video conferencing.
c. The Video Telephony Model
In contrast to the highly scheduled, high-cost manner in which group videoconferencing has typically been deployed, video telephony is ad hoc, on demand, and generally inexpensive. Users receive the benefits video can bring with the ease and reliability of placing a phone call.
In a video telephony system, video devices are tied to the Hosted PBX in Enterprise Network or Network Switching Equipment located at Telco’s Network just as a telephone handset is. Moreover, like audio telephony, video telephony typically revolves around a person’s individual workspace with video being displayed on a user’s PC screen, on a dedicated desktop video appliance/phone.
d. Video telephony is self service
There are no technicians helping people place video calls. In most Implementations, video telephony users simply dial an extension, much like they would when dialing any office telephone. The SIP servers in the network cloud do the translation from the digits dialed to an IP address and make sure the audio and video are properly routed to the called
party’s video device.
Because the video devices are connected to the hosted PBX, video telephony users have access to use all of the call control features they are familiar with for audio calls including video hold, video transfer, video mute, and multiparty conference. Some video telephony systems are being built so that when the called party does not answer, the person calling can leave a video message, much like they would when leaving a telephone voicemail message.
3. Inexpensive Broadband
The Internet bubble of the late 90’s and into the early years of the 21st century sparked huge Over investment in fiber optic on a global basis. Although this over investment was a boon doggle to the network carriers and the shareholders who invested in them, it has become a boon to enterprises and consumers worldwide. It has caused the cost of global telecommunications to drop by an order of magnitude.
As an example, within the USA DSL service has recently become available for less than the cost of a dial-up connection with SBC’s one-year promotion to offer DSL service for $14.95. Inexpensive broadband is helping fuel the rapid growth of IP telephony, and by extension, demand for IP video telephony, among enterprises and consumers.
4. New Standards for Video Communication
The most common standards for video compression are H.263 and H.264. While both require significant processing power, H.264 is able to provide an image equivalent to H.263 but at roughly half the bandwidth. To achieve this level of compression, H.264 requires more processing power than does H.263. PCs are now available that can perform the processing needed to compress H.264 video streams.
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) has had a profound impact on the voice world, and it is beginning to influence the video world as well. SIP provides signaling and call control means that are especially designed for the delivery of ‘advanced’ features such as IM, multimedia sessions (voice, video, IM, web conference…), and presence. The premise behind SIP is that because it is an open standard, devices from any vendor supporting SIP voice or video will be able to
interoperate with SIP-based devices from any other vendor. SIP interoperability promises to reduce the cost of telecommunication products and services as these devices and services promulgate from the realm of the vendors into products and services used by enterprises and consumers.
5. Leveraging Existing Infrastructure and Support Mechanisms
With the worldwide migration to IP communications, many organizations will transition their voice systems to IP telephony in the coming years. Video telephony will ride over the same infrastructure, use the same hosted PBX services, and rely on the same monitoring, control, and support mechanisms that the IP telephony system uses.
6. Market Momentum
The video telephony market is seeing momentum on every hand by a large number of market makers and shakers. All of the major PBX vendors and many of the hosted IP application server providers have video telephony products, and they are pushing them vigorously as part of an overall IP communications strategy; these vendors include Cisco, Nortel, Avaya, Siemens, 3Com, Alcatel, Mitel, Inter-Tel, BroadSoft and many others.
7. VIVA VT Video Telephony Deployment Options
A video telephony solution rides on top of the voice telephony a required infrastructure component. Given the distributed nature of IP communications, the hosted PBX can reside either on the customer premises or somewhere in the WAN network cloud. The hosted PBX can be located entirely within the enterprise firewall, or a service provider can host it. What is important is that the call signaling passes through the hosted PBX (the actual voice and video media streams flow directly between the devices involved in the call). Directing the call control signaling flow through the server allows video telephony systems to provide standard call control functions like hold, transfer, mute, and invited third-party conference calling.
VIVAVT platform. VIVAVT is a SIP-based application platform sold to carriers and service providers that provides a comprehensive range of applications including hosted PBX, IP Centrex, residential broadband voice, enhanced networking, conferencing, mobile PBX, and video telephony. Using BroadSoft’s standards-based VIVAVT software, the service provider offers hosted PBX functionality in the carrier cloud. Enterprise or consumer users rely on the
service provider’s network for connecting to the VIVAVT platform as illustrated in the figure below.
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