vidconfguy
06-26-2008, 03:12 PM
I often have to travel to classrooms in order to do videoconferences. For the past year, I've been using a Polycom ViaVideoII attached to the top of a projector screen, and the ViaVideoII has been able to capture all 30 or so students on-camera at once (so long as I arrange their seating in a triangle). When a student needs to be seen up close, s/he merely comes up to the camera. The folks on the other side have always reported to me that the image they receive is just fine for their purposes.
But the ViaVideoII requires a computer, which makes setup and teardown more time-consuming than I can afford in some situations. So, I'm thinking of getting a Polycom V500 camera instead. The idea of just plugging it into a TV is very appealing, but I wonder whether I'll be able to capture an entire classroom of students as I do with my ViaVideoII. I know the V500 isn't made for whole-room videoconferences, but neither is the ViaVideoII.
Is the camera viewing range at least as good as the V500? Are there any other problems with the V500 camera? Has anyone used the V500 for a similar purpose? Any advice would be appreciated.
But the ViaVideoII requires a computer, which makes setup and teardown more time-consuming than I can afford in some situations. So, I'm thinking of getting a Polycom V500 camera instead. The idea of just plugging it into a TV is very appealing, but I wonder whether I'll be able to capture an entire classroom of students as I do with my ViaVideoII. I know the V500 isn't made for whole-room videoconferences, but neither is the ViaVideoII.
Is the camera viewing range at least as good as the V500? Are there any other problems with the V500 camera? Has anyone used the V500 for a similar purpose? Any advice would be appreciated.