Tandberg Endpoint Suggestions

[rob1971]

Firstly apologies if there's already a similar thread, but I've done a couple of searches and not been able to find one.

I thought it might be a useful thread to have to provide feedback to Tandberg and suggest ways in which the endpoints could be improved and made more flexible.

Suggestion/question:

Would it be possible to include an option to show the unit name encoded in the outgoing video?

More detail:

The unit name could be displayed in white text on a black (semi-translucent?) background near the bottom of the screen, thus making it readable regardless of the content of video layer 'below' it.

The option could be enabled/disabled as required using a radio-button in either the Video or General settings screens.

Ideally the name would only be displayed on camera sources, thus avoiding potential interference with PC, DVD and video sources.

Reason for request:

We have quite a large VC network (~70 endpoints), with many units being desktop based, or roll-about, which makes installing signage to identify the locations almost impossible.

Having the option to do this electronically would greatly improve the end user experience, as it would clearly identify which sites were communicating, thus avoiding confusion.

[rob1971]

Suggestion/question:

Could Web Snapshot be updated with an additional option to include any current on-screen menus?

Reason for request:

I'm sure we're not alone in making use of Web Snapshot to assist users who're having difficulty with their conferences.

Frequently it would be helpful to both parties if it were possible to see the current location within the menu structure to help talk the user through resolving their issue, rather than trying to do it 'blind'.

[GTC]

Rob1971, why don't you just connect cable at your system from monitor out to Aux input then place call to remote party and select your Aux input. Then just go through to menus locally on your screen, that way you can walk a remote party through all menus and they can see all the configs they require as their recieved video source.........
I have been doing this for years providing remote training and troubleshooting to users.

[Sean Lessman]

I thought it might be a useful thread to have to provide feedback to Tandberg and suggest ways in which the endpoints could be improved and made more flexible.

Please do. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Sean

[rob1971]

"..just connect cable at your system from monitor out to Aux input..."



I love it - very devious! :devious:

[VCT]

I would like to see a "Help" button on Tandberg Remote controller. When this button pressed, you will see an on-screen message showing the help information, and of course you should be able to find some where in the control panel that allow you to enter the help message or info.

[Sean Lessman]

I would like to see a "Help" button on Tandberg Remote controller. When this button pressed, you will see an on-screen message showing the help information, and of course you should be able to find some where in the control panel that allow you to enter the help message or info.

You can get this information if programmed into TMS through Menu>Services>External Services>System Contact Information.

Sean

[VCT]

The reason to have the help button is when the user need help, by pressing the button, they can see my company name, helpdesk number, video helpdesk number, service contract start and end date etc....we have tried paste sticker almost everywhere, but it don't work and some customer complaint why we paste helpdesk sticker on the display, remote controller, codec etc..!!!! strange that when they need help, they can't see the sticker?

[robertk]

I would like to see a "Help" button on Tandberg Remote controller. When this button pressed, you will see an on-screen message showing the help information, and of course you should be able to find some where in the control panel that allow you to enter the help message or info.



You can buy the optional TRC4 remote control, it has the HELP button:

http://www.tandberg.com/media/photo_gallery/Vertical%20Remote%20TRC%204%20LoRes.jpg


However, I agree with you that the text that comes up when pressing help should be able to be editable from TMS!?
(I actually submitted this as a feture request to TANDBERG CAI when the TRC4 was first released... the ticket is still open since 2006-09-26 :^)

//Robert

[VCT]

Sean,

I am not able to find "Menu>Services>External Services>System Contact Information" in my TMS, I only able to see "Administrative Tools> Configuration>General Settings>System Contact Name"?

[DRI]

Sean,

I am not able to find "Menu>Services>External Services>System Contact Information" in my TMS, I only able to see "Administrative Tools> Configuration>General Settings>System Contact Name"?

He's talking about on the EP itself...not in TMS. However, in TMS, you can select the EP and then select Settings>Edit Settings>General and enter a System Contact here.

[bba01]

thanks it very informative and i always love to hear everyone reviews and replies:)

[WIZBANG]

A couple suggestions for the MXP880/990:
We have 37 MXP CODECs, mostly 990s that were purchased 2005.

1) Have the ability to completely disable DuoVideo/H.239 functionality without having to remove the option key. Our operation runs 60+ hours of video events per week with many different customers. Many of them get "lost" when trying to navigate what is on each screen and how to do presets accordingly. Customers and presenters brought in by those customers are often nervous already about being on video, we would consider a simpler user interface option to be a very good thing.

2) Find a better way to do far-end camera control. Just to get to far-end camera control takes a minimum of 8 (eight) button presses through non-intuitive menus. Why the near/far button was left off the standard remote is a mystery to myself and others in this field. Yes, I know there is an optional remote than can be bought. Maybe offer amnesty on the remote that shipped with the system and find a way to not make someone purchase something that really should have been there to begin with.

3) Have "black screen" as an option on screen savers for the DVI out. Some displays do not have the ability to go into sleep mode when there is no longer a signal being detected. The end result is Video 1 being burned into the screen if you are not very careful about turning off the display when not in use.

[jpowell79]

Firstly apologies if there's already a similar thread, but I've done a couple of searches and not been able to find one.

I thought it might be a useful thread to have to provide feedback to Tandberg and suggest ways in which the endpoints could be improved and made more flexible.

Suggestion/question:

Would it be possible to include an option to show the unit name encoded in the outgoing video?

More detail:

The unit name could be displayed in white text on a black (semi-translucent?) background near the bottom of the screen, thus making it readable regardless of the content of video layer 'below' it.

The option could be enabled/disabled as required using a radio-button in either the Video or General settings screens.

Ideally the name would only be displayed on camera sources, thus avoiding potential interference with PC, DVD and video sources.

Reason for request:

We have quite a large VC network (~70 endpoints), with many units being desktop based, or roll-about, which makes installing signage to identify the locations almost impossible.

Having the option to do this electronically would greatly improve the end user experience, as it would clearly identify which sites were communicating, thus avoiding confusion.


If you purchase a codian unit for multisite (basically upgrading your MCU/MPS) then the names of each endpoint can be displayed at the bottom of the screen.

We stock them if you're interested :happy:

[robertk]

If you purchase a codian unit for multisite (basically upgrading your MCU/MPS) then the names of each endpoint can be displayed at the bottom of the screen.

We stock them if you're interested :happy:

This function is available in the MPS already :^)

//Robert

[rob1971]

If you purchase a codian unit for multisite (basically upgrading your MCU/MPS) then the names of each endpoint can be displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Unfortunately our bridging facilities are provided by a third-party who do not have this functionality enabled :depressed

There are times when it would be useful to have the names displayed even in point-to-point calls however, so I still think it would be a useful endpoint option.

[rob1971]

Suggestion/question:

Can predictive text (T9) be included in a future software release?

Reason for request:

Predicative text would make searches and phone book entries far easier.

It's not something we do often directly on the endpoints, but I'm sure many people would find this simplifies text entry for them.

[Sean Lessman]

Suggestion/question:

Can predictive text (T9) be included in a future software release?

Reason for request:

Predicative text would make searches and phone book entries far easier.

It's not something we do often directly on the endpoints, but I'm sure many people would find this simplifies text entry for them.


I have added this to the wishlist.

Sean

[JFCOMEngineer]

Unfortunately our bridging facilities are provided by a third-party who do not have this functionality enabled :depressed

There are times when it would be useful to have the names displayed even in point-to-point calls however, so I still think it would be a useful endpoint option.

Not sure who is providing your bridging services, but so far all of the companies I have worked with have been happy to display ID information for us. Sometimes I have had to call and ask around a bit to find the person who understands what I am asking for, a lot of organizations depend on one or two "smart" people and have most of their work force following scripts.

Regards,

Wes

[rob1971]

I will be having a word with our colleagues who run the bridge the next time we speak and will see what they can do.

It's not just multi-site calls where this feature is useful though, I can think of several instances where it would be handy for point-to-point calls.

I notice that this function is now available on the endpoints under the guise of "Conference Video Text" on MultiSite capable units running F7.0, but only for MultiSite calls.

[JFCOMEngineer]

I'd have sworn there was a command to have the ID of the incoming call displayed on the system, but for the life of me I can't find it in the reference right now. Perhaps in a bit, when I've quit looking for it, it will come to me.

Regards,

Wes

[Sean Lessman]

I notice that this function is now available on the endpoints under the guise of "Conference Video Text" on MultiSite capable units running F7.0, but only for MultiSite calls.

The TANDBERG endpoints have always supported H.243 Site Naming in external MCUs. This is a new feature that supports it in the internal MCU.

If you cannot get it to work with an external MCU, chances are it is a setup in the MCU or it doesn't support it.

Sean

[rob1971]

Suggestion/question:

Would it be possible to include buttons to position the camera from within the Overview section of the endpoint web interface?

More detail:

In addition to the Camera Preset drop-down box it would be very helpful to have 6 buttons on the Overview page of the web interface to allow movement of the camera up, down, left and right and also zoom in and zoom out.

It may also be helpful to have some form of indicator(s) showing the current camera position.

Reason for request:

We frequently have users placing calls who've not yet been trained in video conferencing, or are not comfortable moving the camera to obtain an optimum picture, thus resulting in a poor impression of the technology.

It would be very helpful to have camera controls available from the web interface so that we could assist them by moving the camera to provide the best quality image whilst also viewing the web snapshots.

At the moment, if we wish to do this, we have to view the web snapshots whilst controlling the camera from the CLI via Telnet, which is far from ideal, as it's basically a case of trial and error.

[DRI]

Suggestion/question:

Would it be possible to include buttons to position the camera from within the Overview section of the endpoint web interface?

More detail:

In addition to the Camera Preset drop-down box it would be very helpful to have 6 buttons on the Overview page of the web interface to allow movement of the camera up, down, left and right and also zoom in and zoom out.

It may also be helpful to have some form of indicator(s) showing the current camera position.

Reason for request:

We frequently have users placing calls who've not yet been trained in video conferencing, or are not comfortable moving the camera to obtain an optimum picture, thus resulting in a poor impression of the technology.

It would be very helpful to have camera controls available from the web interface so that we could assist them by moving the camera to provide the best quality image whilst also viewing the web snapshots.

At the moment, if we wish to do this, we have to view the web snapshots whilst controlling the camera from the CLI via Telnet, which is far from ideal, as it's basically a case of trial and error.

Alternatively you could 'dial into' the EP and take Far End camera control and make these adjustments appropriately :)

[rob1971]

Alternatively you could 'dial into' the EP and take Far End camera control and make these adjustments appropriately :)

Agreed, but not when they're actually in a call to a third-party, which is normally when the problem manifests itself - there's no accounting for end-users and where they choose to sit ;)

[rob1971]

Suggestion/question:

Would it be possible to include an option to force the source to the main camera on placing (or receiving) a call?

More detail:

Could we have an option in the Control Panel settings to force the endpoints to start all calls with the Main Camera as the selected source?

The option could be enhanced to allow any video source to be used as the initial view during a call, although obviously Main Camera makes sense for the majority of systems.

Ideally this option could be toggled on or off, as required for individual endpoints.

Reason for request:

We find that a lot of users take advantage of the fact that our endpoints are connected to large screens, this enables them to show PowerPoint presentations etc by hooking a laptop up to the PC input of the Tandberg.

Unfortunately they always forget to turn off Presentation mode when they're finished, meaning that the next group to place or receive a video call invariably ends up sending a black screen to the far end, as they always forget to check that the main camera is the active source.

Obviously this would be less of an issue if we used Selfview as the startup screen, however we use custom screens to provide helpdesk contact information, which we feel is more useful overall.

[DRI]

You should forward your request for change or enhancements to Tandberg :)

[RT808]

Is there a way to push an entire directory to multiple codecs remotely, and at the same time, without using TMS? I need to load new directories into 50 codecs. please help, thanks!

[Sean Lessman]

Is there a way to push an entire directory to multiple codecs remotely, and at the same time, without using TMS? I need to load new directories into 50 codecs. please help, thanks!

You can use FTP to get a directory off of one codec and the FTP to the others. I suppose the question is: do you have software that will FTP to multiple servers at the same time.

Sean

[rob1971]

You should forward your request for change or enhancements to Tandberg :)

I'd love to, only I don't have appropriate contact details for them :disappoin

I've got my fingers crossed that Sean is passing the requests along though :)

[Shawn Jones]

I have done this to the endpoing that I have, I just can't bloody remember how I did it, through the API or TMS...I have been meaning to figure it out, as I want to do it to all my endpoints.

From the API: StartupVideoSource: <0/1/2/3/4/5/6>

Defines the video source the system will use as default after a reboot, and after the system goes out from screensaver mode.
If set to 0, the system will use the video source that was selected before reboot.

[Sean Lessman]

I'd love to, only I don't have appropriate contact details for them :disappoin

You can enter your product feature ideas directly into the system through our feedback page on the corporate website at http://www.tandberg.com/products/feedback.jsp . The feedback goes directly to product management.

Sean

[rob1971]

I have done this to the endpoing that I have, I just can't bloody remember how I did it, through the API or TMS...I have been meaning to figure it out, as I want to do it to all my endpoints.

From the API: StartupVideoSource: <0/1/2/3/4/5/6>

Defines the video source the system will use as default after a reboot, and after the system goes out from screensaver mode.
If set to 0, the system will use the video source that was selected before reboot.

Hi Shawn

Does that definintely work if the endpoint has been left with PC as the selected source?

I'm pretty certain that they don't go into screensaver/sleep mode if PC is selected, which obviously means that they cannot then wake up and reset the video source.

Rob