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Microsoft transfers RoundTable camera to Polycom | |
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| Time: 15:39 EST/20:39 GMT | News Source: News.com | Posted By: Andre Da Costa | ||
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Microsoft's RoundTable has found a white knight. The software maker will stop selling the Microsoft Research-developed panoramic video camera. Instead, Microsoft said this week, it will license the Webcam technology to teleconference gear maker Polycom, which will take over sales of the device. | ||
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| #1 By 23275 (24.196.4.141) at 3/31/2009 10:27:45 PM |
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Yuk.. and Polycom has already stated the price will go up by 1500 USD!
RoundTable works really well, by the way. Terrific "innovation" (that was for you, Latch). Works very well with Live Meeting. |
| #2 By 54556 (68.35.10.96) at 4/1/2009 9:08:45 AM |
| Polycom has always set the standard in videoconferencing equipment. |
| #3 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/1/2009 9:42:13 AM |
| #1: Sounds great. Where is the innovation though? Panoramic video cameras have been around for years, as have webcams. Sony was doing PV back in 2004. Physical Optics Corp has a number of patents related to PV from 2005. The MS unit looks very nice and probably has a slick interface and, no doubt, integrates well with various MS communication services & products. |
| #4 By 54556 (68.35.10.96) at 4/1/2009 9:57:09 AM |
| I remember doing telemedicine applications years ago with Polycom equipment, as well as administrattive and management confereneces where the camera automatically tracked the speaker (a much better solution than panoramic, who sees in panoramic view!), and whiteboarding, document, application, and desktop sharing. I also remember back then MS was pushing NetMeeting, complete (;->) with its <i>lack</i> of scalabililty, bandwidth control, and global addressing capabilities; MS could not even get echo cancellation right. The only significant issue with Polycom's solutions back then was cost, but ten years ago every advanced (professional) technology was expensive. |
| #5 By 23275 (24.196.4.141) at 4/1/2009 10:16:56 AM |
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Yes, notme, Polycom's brand is ok. I've used a lot of VC solutions for many years and RoundTable on Live Meeting set a new standard for both performance and ease of use. It is very well integrated to the Live Meeting and MOC/LCS clients and add-ons for Outlook made its use extremely easy - literally one button click and add a few addresses. The audio and video quality are stunning.
I think this is entirely about branding and nothing else. Like Microsoft's universal messaging solutions, which really are excellent (Response Point - which RoundTable integrates with extremely well and easily and may use third party company cloud based gateways (we partner with and use Packet8)), there is too little by way of effective marketing. It's a bummer, too. There is a lot of value here and even small companies benefit greatly. One small example is a series of small banks we manage. Previously, they had to drive a great deal to hold their board meetings. With RoundTable, they no longer do and with the other messaging technologies in and around Exchange 2007, Sharepoint, etc... they are very productive. 306 degree views of branch bank board rooms help connect people and it saves times and a lot of fuel - jet, car and otherwise. |
| #6 By 23275 (24.196.4.141) at 4/1/2009 10:30:07 AM |
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#4, If you had used RoundTable, you'd know that it tracks the speaker and places their video in the center of a strip. There are a series of microphones around the base - two per each zone and two included extensions, which cover the ends of a typical meeting/board table.
The view is not panoramic, but 360 degress and the imagery is not distorted - aspect is maintained, so perspective is consistent. Beyond the great integration is the ease of use and set up. Cost is another huge issue, where Polycom's site already reflects a big increase in price. RoundTable, despite being very advanced, was affordable. There were few distributors that would sell direct, which was important for us - we did not need or want a channel partner to cause increases in costs. As good as Polycom has been over the years, I'm not too happy about this. Aside from a Polycom sticker, I don't know what I'd be getting for the added 1500 bucks. |
| #7 By 9589 (68.17.52.2) at 4/1/2009 5:18:48 PM |
| We use three types of remote conferences: Live Meeting with a land line or cell phone for voice, Round Table and Cisco Systems Telepresence. Telepresence is great, but at $350k per side plus a 20Mbs feed its is quite expesive. Round table really hits the sweet spot in its category. |
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