IT cost reduction ideas: HD Video Conferencing

Posted by Gareth Everson on 11th January, 2010. Communications & IT.

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In the ‘IT Cost Reduction Ideas’ series, I want to explore the impact that High-Definition Video Conferencing is likely to have on business in the next few years.

Last week, VoIP firm Skype announced a new deal which will see video chat functions on HDTV sets. The company says LG Electronics and Panasonic are both working on a new line of HDTVs. These sets will allow users to videoconference in HD over a traditional IP connection when connected to the net. These TV sets will be able to use the traditional Skype VoIP voice calling and videoconferencing services.

Skype hopes that HD chat will give the service a popularity boost as users increasingly turn to high-resolution cameras and more powerful PC hardware. For anybody who has experienced both the difference between HD television and digital or analog television and has also endured the occasional frustration of internet-based video or teleconferencing, high-definition video conferencing represents a huge step up in quality and potential.

Skype’s move follows moves over the last few years from more business-oriented players Tandberg and Polycom and is likely to result in a consumer-led increase in the technology’s use. High-definition video conferencing players will look at how the iPhone and social networking have ballooned in business usage following wider adoption first by consumers.

For some companies, there are question marks over the openness of Skype’s security protocols, but undoubtedly, when Skype makes a move, the rest of the market waits for the impact. Skype is responsible for 8% of global international calling minutes. In the third quarter of 2009, Skype users made 27.7 billion minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls, and over a third of these were video calls.

Unlike video conference systems of old, high definition video conferencing does not need a significant investment in equipment and space. Videoconferencing can be extremely easy to use. With video conferencing there is no wasted travel time and no hotel expenses to pay for as there would be for actual meetings.

Video conferencing is gaining momentum and broadband adoption and advances in technology make it much more attractive than the stamp-sized images, out-of-synch video audio, and poor image quality of first generation video and web-based systems like WebEx.

Using video conferencing is an effective halfway house between phone conversations and face-to-face meetings. High definition video conferencing is a communication technology that provides the ability to conduct two-way, interactive, video and audio meetings. No longer a high cost solution to implement, it is now one in which merging technology (i.e., audio, video and data) seems clearer and surer as world standards are followed and hardware price reductions become a reality.

With very little downward shift change in travel budgets across Europe, time is more valuable than ever. High definition video conferencing is getting better and more affordable. Expect this decade to be the one that sees wider adoption of video conferencing, led probably by the consumer end of the market.

HD Video Conferencing This blog article seems well-timed. With transport still hampered by snow and ice, clients and colleagues have spent the last week making alternative arrangements on travelling to meetings. In this edition of the ’IT Cost Reduction Ideas’ series, I will be exploring the impact that High-Definition Video Conferencing is likely to have on business in the next few years and how one consumer-led player could create the ‘tipping point’ for widespread adoption of the technology.

Last week, VoIP firm Skype announced a new deal which will see video chat functions on HDTV sets. The company says LG Electronics and Panasonic are both working on a new line of HDTVs. These sets will allow users to videoconference in HD over a traditional IP connection when connected to the net. Skype hopes that HD chat will give the service a popularity boost as users increasingly turn to high-resolution cameras and more powerful PC hardware.

For anybody who has experienced both the difference between HD television and digital or analog television but who has also endured the occasional frustration of internet-based video or teleconferencing, high-definition video conferencing represents a huge step up in quality and potential.

Skype’s move follows moves over the last few years from more business-oriented players Tandberg and Polycom and is likely to result in a consumer-led increase in the technology’s use. These high-definition video conferencing players will look at how the iPhone and social networking have ballooned in business usage following wider adoption first by consumers and will be watching Skype’s move carefully. When Skype makes a move, the rest of the market waits for the impact. Skype is responsible for 8% of global international calling minutes. In the third quarter of 2009, Skype users made 27.7 billion minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls, and over a third of these were video calls.

Video conferencing is gaining momentum and broadband adoption and advances in technology make it much more attractive than the stamp-sized images, out-of-synch video audio, and poor image quality of first generation video and web-based systems. With video conferencing there is no wasted travel time and no hotel expenses to pay for as there would be for actual meetings. With very little downward shift change in travel budgets across Europe, using video conferencing may be an effective halfway house between phone conversations and face-to-face meetings. High definition video conferencing is getting better and more affordable. Expect this decade to be the one that sees wider adoption of video conferencing, probably led by the consumer market changing business attitudes to its use.