Plenty of small, geographically dispersed teams within large organizations can benefit from telepresence. The same holds true for small and midsized businesses. However, the technology may seem impractical for these scenarios, due to its notoriously high price.
Whereas higher-end telepresence products do come with large price tag, some vendors also offer alternatives that deliver a similar, if not identical, face-to-face experience -- far more affordably. You won't get all the bells and whistles of a dedicated telepresence suite, but you may find these types of solutions can put a big dent in your travel budget while boosting productivity.
[ Learn more about the lay of the telepresence landscape. | How do these midrange telepresence systems compare to a managed alternative from Cisco? ]
I had a chance to test two affordable telepresence solutions, the Polycom QDX 6000 and the LifeSize Express 200. They both offer small, power-saving desktop hardware, television-like remote controls for simple operation, plus quality audio and video. For the lower price, Polycom's video is standard definition (wide screen), while LifeSize provides true high-definition pictures. On the flip side, Polycom works over marginal Internet connections and lets you connect more audio and video sources -- the main reason we rated it just slightly higher.
Polycom QDX 6000: Best value and performance at low bandwidths
The Polycom QDX 6000 does not deliver high-definition video; that's reserved for the company's pricier HDX Series. Nevertheless, the system's wide-screen, DVD-quality (480p) images look great on large monitors.
Four more attributes make this system enticing: It's easy to set up and use; the $3,000 street price puts several units within buying reach; it's based on industry video standards (H.264, H.263, and H.261), so you can connect with partners that might have other vendors' hardware; and Polycom's own Lost Packet Recovery (LPR) algorithm delivers smooth video over slow or congested connections (as low as 256 Kbps).
I successfully tested a QDX 6000 by dialing in to an identical unit at Polycom (a cross-country hop over a relatively slow cable modem). Setup was simple, yet there are enough video and audio inputs and outputs to accommodate media-heavy meetings.
Read more about hardware in InfoWorld's Hardware Channel.
| Test Center Scorecard | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 10% | 10% | ||
| Polycom QDX 6000 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
8.9
Very Good
|
| 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 10% | 10% | ||
| LifeSize Express 200 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
8.8
Very Good
|
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Communication/Collaboration Resource Alerts
42 Recommendations
