Industry Commentary: High Definition (HD) Video Conferencing, 720p & 1080i

The following Commentary is provided by WiredRed Software regarding the new buzz phrase HD conferencing. In business-to-business video conferencing, HD is a core component of high-end telepresence offerings. It is also finding its way into traditional boardroom systems, and – this is the interesting part – now available in desktop video conferencing too!

As far as up-to-date software and online services are concerned, HD is a function of hardware. Good HD solutions like WiredRed's e/pop software need not lock customers into 1950s era FAX machine limits like connecting to same brand hardware only. e/pop supports widely available PC-based peripherals and allows mixed-speed and mixed-device conferencing connections. High bandwidth is certainly required for the full HD experience, but high definition conferencing might be a lot easier and more affordable than you think, details below.

What is HD?

It is a variation of the term high definition television, also referred to as HDTV. Current HDTV standards are defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in terms of screen resolution, frame rate, and audio format.

Or more loosely to anything – cinematic film, movies, trailers, shorts, streaming media, Windows media and photographs – capable of such sharp display or better.

In the context of business-to-business (B2B) video conferencing, the term HD generally refers to 720p or better. The audio component is often vague since most of the time only human voice is relevant, unlike consumer applications where sound and music are obviously very important in movies and broadcast TV. Indeed, many business conferencing systems specifically filter out anything too high or too low to be human voice, this includes background traffic, air conditioners, PC fans, etc. Notable exceptions are HD telepresence studios such as HP Halo, Cisco Telepresence, Tandberg Experia and others, which adhere to the complete HDTV specification and encode the full human-audible frequency spectrum and use physically rebuilt conference rooms to achieve high spatial quality and a "fully immersive" conferencing experience.

You Already Have High Def at Work!

While the consumer world and broadcast TV receivers migrate from analog to digital video, back at the office computer graphic displays have been digital all along, and many desktops are already at high def standards or better.

More specifically, PC monitors at WXGA (1280 x 800) and SXGA (1280x1024) already exceed HD 720p specifications; and WUXGA (1290x1200) or better monitors are a superset of HD 1080i in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. In other words, a WUXGA monitor can display HD video and still have room left over to display the system tray and perhaps other application controls. For comparison charts, click computer display standards and common resolutions.

HD is a Function of the Hardware

So most likely, you already have a 720p or better high-definition monitor right on your desktop and you can certainly buy a high-quality flat panel display for your conference room. But what about HD video capture and transmission?

Transmission

Let us take the easy one first, transmission. Today, virtually all business video communication is digital via TCP/IP-based networks and the public Internet. The only major variables are connection quality (bandwidth, latency, internal QoS, etc.) and whether or not Internet access goes over a shared or dedicated route. Of course, telepresence studios use dedicated routes, usually DS-3 (44 mbits/second) or better, at each site, and often with strict quality of service agreements in place. Conference rooms, once strictly the domain of dedicated routes, are increasingly using a mix of dedicated and shared network connections. In particular, small- to medium-sized businesses usually opt for shared connections as the expense and idle-time of dedicated routes do not pencil out. Desktop video conferencing products and services use standard (shared) network connections. As an example, WiredRed’s e/pop software was designed to support mixed-speed connections and auto-adjusts video on a per user basis, achieving excellent results over typical networks. It should be noted e/pop works perfectly well over dedicated routes too, at which point the video component can be compared “apples to apples” with pure hardware-based end-points (usually costing many times the price of e/pop and PC-based video peripherals).

As a practical matter, HD video a great deal of bandwidth, in the range of several mbits per second, per participant! So as HD creeps into conference rooms and desktops, by today’s standards it is best enjoyed using dedicated routes – or shared connections with exceptionally high-bandwidth throughout the entire network route.

In summary, whether dedicated or shared network routes are used, the transmission media is still overwhelmingly TCP/IP.

Video Capture

Another dynamic in the conferencing industry is the movement toward PC-based peripherals. Stand-alone audio/visual systems are increasingly becoming available as peripheral devices for modern PCs. Whether USB or PCI bus, so long as new peripherals have device drivers, software vendors such as WiredRed can use these new components via standardized APIs and leverage their availability, low-cost and consumer-driven hi def quality.

For example, let’s look at the following devices that are now available worldwide:

Sony® EVI-HD1

Effective Pixel Elements: Approximately 2m effective pixels
Signal System: 1080/59.94i, 1080/50i, 1080/29.97p, 1080/25p, 720/59.94p, 720/50p, 720/29.97p, 720/25p, NTSC, PAL

Sony EVI cameras are a popular choice for conference room applications. The EVI-D70 has a large installed base, and it is commonly used with e/pop for full-screen (640x0480), full motion (30 fps) video conferencing. The HD1 is an exciting new addition to the Sony product line with true HD capabilities. High definition is by no means cheap, at roughly $4,000 street price, the HD1 is four times the cost of the D70, which is widely available for roughly $1,000 (USD).

To use the newer HD1 at high def quality levels requires a PCI bus video capture card that supports HD signaling and frame rates, plus an available DirectX device driver. At the present time, WiredRed is aware of several new capture cards that meet these requirements, and are actively testing new cards as they become available. Please contact WiredRed for details.

Screenshots:
e/pop Screenshot - High Definition Sony EVI-HD1
e/pop Screenshot - Multiparty Video Conferencing Sony EVI-HD1
e/pop Screenshot - Floating Videos Sony EVI-HD1
Note: To reduce file size, these are JPEG compressed images. The floating HD videos in these screen shots are normally displayed full-screen on a second conference room monitor. TIP: To maximize your browser, type F11 to get the best view of these images.

Logitech®

Logitech Quickcam® Ultra Vision™
Sensor: True 1.3 megapixel sensor with RightLight™ 2 Technology
Live video: up to 640 x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second
Still image capture: True 1280 x 960; Up to 4 megapixels

Logitech Quickcam Pro™ 5000
Sensor: High quality VGA
Video Capture: VGA (640 x 480 pixels) up to 30 frames per second
Still image capture: native resolution 640 x 480, up to 1.3 megapixels (software enhanced).

The Logitech Quickcam Pro 5000 and the new Ultra Vision, list price $79 (USD) and $129 respectively, are both capable of full screen (640x480), full-motion (30 fps) video conferencing. They are very popular, found throughout the world, and often used with e/pop for multiparty, desktop video conferencing.

In particular, the newer Ultra Vision is a remarkable device. It is capable of very high resolution, 1280 x 960, which e/pop can use for all conferencing applications. But the universal serial bus (USB 2.0) is a bottleneck and cannot transfer video at these resolutions at 30 frames per second. As such, it is considered an Enhanced Definition (ED) device (not true HD). For B2B, desktop conferencing purposes, the video quality is outstanding. It is far superior to broadcast TV and imminently usable for business applications.

Screenshots:
e/pop Screenshot - Logitech Ultra Vision
e/pop Screenshot - Multipoint Video Conferencing Logitech Fusion
Note: The "floating" video is normally on a second monitor, displayed full-screen.

Summary

The new Logitech Ultra Vision USB webcam produces stunning video quality for a desktop device, it is better than broadcast TV and squarely in enhanced definition territory. The Sony HD1 conference room camera is a true high def device, and it works beautifully with the first 720p capable video capture card tested with e/pop software. Testing with several more HD capture cards just now hitting the market is pending.

The trend is clear: between Logitech, Sony, and the industry at large, consumer-driven high def technology will soon find its way into widely available PC peripherals at far more affordable pricing than previous generations of boardroom systems and current HD end-points. As these PC peripherals become available, they can be used by advanced software and online services such as e/pop for HD video conferencing between boardrooms, conference rooms and desktops without locking customers into proprietary systems.

As a practical matter, high def uses a lot more bandwidth than standard video conferencing, so in the short term HD will most likely remain limited to conference rooms and specialized applications where ample bandwidth permits.

Summary chart showing e/pop, high definition (HD) cameras & bandwidth.

See For Yourself – Schedule a Live Demo Right Now!

Click here to schedule a LIVE DEMO and see e/pop multiparty video conferencing for yourself, right from your own desktop when convenient for you. We can easily demonstrate the Logitech Ultra Vision, Fusion, Sony D70, HD1, and other devices all with desktop sharing, live collaboration and multiple participants. You might be surprised by how easy it is to take advantage of the latest video peripherals to enhance your online meetings, presentations and training.