V-tel galaxy...does anyone remember how to fix problems with this

[Marc82307]

System is fixed. They should use it as a boat anchor. lol.

[robertk]

Why not start at www.vtel.com

//Robert

[carolyn]

I left VTEL shortly after they came out with the Galaxy....prior to that series..I really like the products...think I refused to learn them inside and out for servicing..the whole system turned me off..from its look to its software...now look where VTEL is..shame

[robertk]

The fact that Vtel never made a product that the customers wanted was their big fall.

If Vtel had made the iPower, then Vtel would still be a player. But they are still, afaik, not making native XGA/SVGA/Whatever resolutions on th Galaxys. And thats what everyone was asking for, that and NT/2000/XP support :)

//Robert

[trapehzoid]

The fact that Vtel never made a product that the customers wanted was their big fall.

If Vtel had made the iPower, then Vtel would still be a player. But they are still, afaik, not making native XGA/SVGA/Whatever resolutions on th Galaxys. And thats what everyone was asking for, that and NT/2000/XP support :)

//Robert

vtel was just a codec riding on a PC. Anyone telling you that you could do PC work on it AND Video was blowing smoke up your butt. iPower was at least a semi-PC usable outside of VTC. Then you just had all the problems about where you would put your PC vs your VTC on the network, and upgradability, performance, etc that you would expect from a PC.

Reality was Galaxy wasn't much more then the old stuff, just a newer GUI, and some VTC-specific feature catchup. It didn't move the VTC concept forward at all.

I personally never liked the ipower (except for its video quality), but if you've ever used Vtels.. ipower is what you aspired to be.

[Skylark]

Well there is one thing I realy like about Vtel and that is the contol borad you can get with the Galaxy.

[edspag2000]

i just like the overall interface and yes the control board. makes everything easier =]

[copelandjr]

I wanted to make an open invitation to anyone that has any questions about VTEL now or in the future! My name is John Copeland and I can be reached at john_copeland@vtel.com or at 281-675-0189.
VTEL is a whole new company now. We are employee owned, still headquartered in Austin and we are going strong!
One of the first things we did after taking over the company was to go back and fix a lot of the shortcomings of Galaxy. Version 2.2 is actually very reliable and robust. If you are not running version 2.2 of Galaxy software, you really need to consider upgrading.
Our new product, Vista, is Windows XP/2000 compatible and the price is very affordable! We are having great success with our new platform and I encourage everyone to check out our website @ www.vtel.com. We still support the graphics control table, Parkervision Cameras, Sony Cameras and Canon Cameras and we also support the Smartboard using Smart Technologies latest software. We also support USB which allows users to utilize a variety of USB devices with our systems. Wireless Lan Adaptors, USB Microscopes (as seen on CSI), USB Hard Drives, Finger/Thumb Print security devices and more. Our Vista EZ is $4500, supports H.323 and comes with a PTZ Camera, Microphone and a remote control and it supports LAN speeds up to 2mb! We also offer simple codec swap kits that allow you to utilize all of your existing peripherals. To upgrade an existing VTEL system with either an ESA (TC series or LC series) or Galaxy, the upgrade takes less than 30 minutes and no additional hardware is required!
Feel free to contact me at any time for any reason and don't forget to give VTEL a look for your next project.

[AceVid]

[B]If you post something specific, I can probably help.

[AceVid]

John...John..John... Least you lead the board members astray. Vtel is a completely dysfunctional company. The CODEC's offered by Vtel even back to ESA were a failure from conception. Trying to stuff a VC CODEC into a PC is a fool's errand. Considering that the PC was running Win 95, or 98 makes the situation worse. I've installed over 125 Vtel endpoints and supported countless more since 1999...I'm surprised I still have any hair left. I think I still have an internal email leaked from Vtel admitting Galaxy was failure.

Now on to Vista. Vista (up to 3.2) is nothing more that Galaxy with new logo screens. If you watch a Vista 3.2 load carefully you will see the software describe itself several times as "Galaxy" Most end-users are at loss to notice or describe the difference between Galaxy and Vista (This always proved an interesting conversation when "upgrading" someone from Galaxy 2.2 to Vista 3.2)

During a major upgrade of 100's of endpoints the out-of-box failure rate of Vista PC's (Because that's what this box is, it's not a real VC/Multimedia endpoint) was horrifying.

....Trust me folks, you want a Polycom or Tandberg..they are what they are and they do what they do. Who wants another Windows PC to support? Not me...not when I'm buying a VC endpoint.

I've got tons of fun Vtel stories and insights from an Integrator perspective for anyone interested.

[Rexen]

But Ace you could explain the higher res output of the Vista class if you tried one. And if you install many pcs you know sometimes cables come loose, etc in shipping a pc. We have been VTEL at my university, EKU for 10 years and have gotten great performance out of the units. Out of 20 units we have lost one sound card, creative labs and easily fixed. And one mb bios chip, harder to get but also an easy fix. Of my division's 4 Polycom FX units, two have completely failed and these babies get sent back to the factory for a while to be repaired. Or faculty love the VTEL tablet and can't stand the Polycom remote which I mentioned to the Polycom rep about 2 years ago. I am not trying to be anti polycom but our faculty raise cane if they find they are going to have to teach in a Polycom room. I suppose it's what you get used to and what each user finds works best for them. Like choosing cars or women if you know what I mean;-)