Video conferencing has typically involved a complicated process of setting up video capture and display devices and establishing a link between them, but a local networking vendor aims to change that in SA soon.
Early next month, D-Link South Africa is to introduce the DVC-1000 i2eye VideoPhone, which requires only a fast broadband Internet connection and a display device such as an ordinary television.
"It`s a standalone unit, so you don`t even need a computer to conduct real-time video conferencing over the Internet," says D-Link brand manager Attie Pienaar. "You don`t even need two i2eye units because the DVC-1000 easily connects to a PC with a Webcam."
The unit appears extremely easy to use and with a data projector, it is possible to increase the display area significantly. At a recent demonstration in Johannesburg, D-Link was able to show the ease of the on-screen set-up using a variety of wizards and the relatively smooth 30-frames-per second display. The i2eye video phone supports two screen formats. The first is a picture-in-picture mode that shows the outbound video in a smaller window with the incoming video display. The second is full screen mode for the incoming video.
The i2eye video phone will not have the same target market in SA as in the US where many more people have access to fast broadband Internet connections.
Locally, only those with a minimum of 128K ISDN or ADSL Internet connection will be able to make use of the product and it is therefore aimed at the business rather than the domestic market.
"A typical application of the product would be communicating with company branches and conducting internal training programmes," says Pienaar. "At the height of the SARS flu epidemic in Asia, i2eye units were used to communicate with patients."
Pienaar says although the DVC-1000 provides only point-to-point communication, it will be competitively priced at under R5 000. He says high-end video conferencing systems may be able to offer a multi-point facility, but they also cost about 30 times more. "The DVC-1000 provides a cost-effective solution that`s easy to use."
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