Video Conferencing – A Checklist

What do you wish to achieve?

  • Point to Point two locations only at any one time
  • Broadcast Live from one site to many watch and listen
  • Broadcast pre-recorded from one site to many watch & listen
  • Multipoint three or more sites with Q&A between any, relayed to all
  • Multipoint – three or more plus broadcast from any to satellite sub-groups as a watch and listen.
  • Live with session taped for future edit and distribution
  • Person to person/s with video & audio & data manipulation across participants e.g. sharing documents, drawings with or without live edit and audit of changes made.

With whom do you wish to communicate by videoconferencing?

  • Only inside your company
  • From your company to sister/ contractor/ supplier companies
  • With your customers
  • With your prospects

Frequency of system use

  • Ad hoc
  • Estimated use per annum (min/max)
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly

Installation type

  • Custom built static installation i.e. a designated room
  • Desktop location/s i.e. from the office desktop PC
  • Mobile “roll-about” system -
  • Off-site facilities required going to a dedicated videoconference facility

Options required

  • Record, Edit & Distribute by hardcopy (CD/DVD)
  • Record, Edit & Distribute by softcopy (Web cast)
  • Broadcast live via direct links to named recipients/ groups
  • Broadcast pre-recorded across one or more time zones
  • Log who watched and listened and when
  • Multiple persons at One or Two (group to group videoconferencing e.g. design teams, board to local management)
  • Multiple participants at Three or more sites

What are your current IT capabilities?

  • ISDN 1
  • ISDN 2
  • ISDN 30
  • LAN Cat5/ Cat5e/ Cat6
  • LAN Fibre
  • LAN wireless type?
  • WAN bandwidth?
  • VPN bandwidth?
  • Internet access, dial-up 56k
  • Internet access , Dial-up 128K
  • Internet access , Broadband 1Mb
  • Internet access , Broadband 2Mb
  • Internet access , Broadband 4 Mb
  • Internet access , Satellite link
  • Internet access , permanent fibre/ cable link
  • T1 / T2 / T3 / T4 (aka DS-1/ DS-2/ DS-3/ DS-4)
  • OC-1 / OC-3 / OC-12 / OC-38

Impact on your system to be considered

  • Bandwidth load
  • Current capacity used & unused & reserved (max/ min for each)
  • Planned bandwidth use excluding video conferencing
  • Contention ratio
  • Speed
  • Video quality predominantly static (talking head Yes/No)
  • Hardware at point of display
  • Hardware at point of transmission
  • Hardware at point of distribution

Points to consider

  • Budget
  • What do you spend currently on flights/ travel/ accommodation per annum?
  • Write-off period for cap ex
  • Leasing options
  • IT infrastructure
  • Cost and timescale of increased capacity and hardware -if required