New MCU

[pbraatelien]

To all,
Having been in the video world a long time, I am always looking for good competition for Bridging products. I have always felt that there is an artificial lock on pricing due to the lack of competition. With that said, go look at---

www.codian.com

They are producing an MCU (IP only at this point) that demos great and they have set up an online capability to use it as well as control it!!

Give it a try--I will be writing a review on it as soon as I can.

[Kevin]

Hi pbraatelien

Pleased you like the look of our product! We certainly are very excited by the reception it is getting.

For anyone who wants to take a Codian MCU4210 for a test drive, take a look at www.codian.com/demo

This gives you information of how to dial into one of our demo units and how to create and/or join conferences using far-end camera control or DTMFs, and also how you can use far-end camera controls to control the layout you are viewing (every participant in a conference can view their own unique layout).

It also gives you information about how you can browse to the MCU's web interface in order to watch an ongoing conference via web streaming, as well as have full control of the configuration of the conferences and the MCU.

If anyone has any other questions about how to use the demo unit, or if you like the look at it and want me to create an account for you on it in order that you can have greater access to the web features, feel free to contact me.

Kevin

[George]

Good stuff. I'm gonna check it out this week when I get a chance. We're fiddling with IP here so the 4200 is something we'll look at for a simple bridging solution.

Thanks,

George

[JoeAggie]

I did not seem to have a lot of luck with this device. I attempted to to connect two Polycom FX units into an existing conference.

Initially I tried to just dial the IP address to the demo bridge from the FX. I just got a Cordian logo that appeared that it should be turning but was not. I attempted to use the FEEC but got no feedback from the MCU.

I then accessed the web interface and tried to build a conference from there and have the Cordian dial out to my endpoint. One would connect ok but the other appeared to "hang" a little at first. All I could get was frozen video and the Network Stats on the Polycom indicated a fair amount of packet loss.

Has anyone else had better results?

[seifran]

I just finished connecting to the demo conference on this site with a Polycom VS4000 and a Tandberg 1000. Both worked very well and had no packet loss at all. I was able to use the FECC to change layouts and change to some kind of lecture mode which I didn't quite understand. The only problem I had was with the initial menu prompt voice, which indicated choosing the desired conference by number - I just scrolled to it using my remote.

I also changed layouts and controlled cameras from the web interface successfully, and was able to view (and hear) a streamed version of the conference on my laptop. This was delayed by about 5 seconds, but the quality was surprisingly good.

Both codecs were directly connected to the Internet on DSL lines - no firewalls or routers involved. The laptop was connected to the "hub" on the Polycom.

It will be interesting to see how Tandberg and Polycom/Accord respond to this product, considering it's price and functionality.

[Kevin]

Hi Joe

What type of connection/network were you connecting over? Where are you based? What bitrate?

Here's a couple of things to try:

1. Make sure you have the latest software available for the Fx's - we have seen that older versions are rather buggy...

2. Try calling into the Demo unit at a lower bitrate - if you call at too high a bitrate (ie too high for the network connection you are calling on) there will be high packet loss. Our MCU will notice this and send flow control messages to the Polycom to tell it to lower its bitrate. Also - if the Polycom notices that there is packet loss, it too should send flow control messages that we will respond to. However, while this is happening video will be frozen - and FECC packets may be lost so the MCU may not respond. Also - older Polycom Software may well not do flow control correctly in which cae video will stay frozen.

3. You could also try calling out from the MCU at a lower bitrate - after clicking the add h323 button, in the "new h323 endpoint" section set "preferred bandwdth from MCU" and "preferred bandwidth to MCU" to something sensible for you connection (for example 384 from the MCU, and 128 to it if you are on DSL).

I hope these suggestions help - if you need any more help feel free to contact me either through this message board or directly and we'll get you up and running!

[Kevin]

Hi seifran

To answer your queries:

  to some kind of lecture mode which I didn't quite understand.

I guess here you are talking about using FECC to change the view you are seeing.

If you are in a conference and you have set your endpoint to FECC mode the behavoiur is:

up/down to cycle through the different layouts - Up to 7 selectable by the remote (over 40 are available on the web page).

left/right to cycle through who the main participant visible in the largest pane (for views where this is applicable). I guess the "lecture mode" you are reffering to is actually "active speaker mode", where the main participant is voice switched. (Also please note that every participant in a conference sees their own individual layout - any tweaking you do to the layout you are viewing does not affect anyone else).

The only problem I had was with the initial menu prompt voice, which indicated choosing the desired conference by number - I just scrolled to it using my remote.

When in the "Initial Menu" (Referred to in our product as the "Auto attendant") you have the choice of using FECC to select what conference to join, or you can use DTMF's for endpoints that do not support FECC. For some endpoints (eg Polycoms) you have to hit the # Key ( * on Sony's) to be able to enter DTMFs.

  streamed version of the conference on my laptop. This was delayed by about 5 seconds, 

Any delay is actaully caused by the buffering done by the player softare on your PC - if this is a problem (though its not usually for a one way stream.. :) ) you can usually adjust this within the player.

[bms2004]

JoeAggie,

Did you get the help you needed with the Codian bridge. We would be happy to help if you are still interested in testing the device's capabilities.

Best Regards,

BMS

[Laurence@msu.edu]

I am interested in your original statement in this posting i.e. "To all,
Having been in the video world a long time, I am always looking for good competition for Bridging products. I have always felt that there is an artificial lock on pricing due to the lack of competition."

I heard a Polycom engineer express the same concern at Networld/Interop 2005 and I wondered if the sense that MCU's have their prices held artificially high is a common one. What do others think?

[trapehzoid]

MCU = smaller market.. less volume.. high cost to develop

So of course the pricing is going to be high margin, high dollar. This isn't unique to VC at all.

Why are there software packages that cost $200,000 dollars? Same reasons.

[Laurence@msu.edu]

Yes but you could argue that for the CD or Memory chip markets and yet both have recently been subject to record fines in the USA for price fixing.

[trapehzoid]

Price fixing has nothing to do with what a company charges for a product on its own. Price fixing is when componies work together to try to control the market prices.

[trapehzoid]

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What is price fixing?

Most state statutes provide that fixing the price of a product or service in agreement with another individual or business is illegal. The general rule provides that a vendor may not in combination with another vendor agree to set a certain price thereby creating a fixed price within a certain market. A business acting on its own and not in concert with another may use legitimate efforts to obtain the best price they can, including their ability to raise prices to the detriment of the general public. Also, conformity of prices within a given product is not illegal unless such conformity was created by a combination of vendors agreeing on a set price. For example, where competitors agree to sell their goods or services at a specified price, minimum price or maximum price and they receive profits from such an agreement, they are in violation of price fixing. Additionally, setting a price to be charged only within a certain area in order to get rid of competition or to create a monopoly is generally illegal under most state laws. A majority of states have also enacted a "Below-Sales-Cost" law wherein businesses may not sell goods below cost if they do so with anti-competitive intent or effect.
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