I have a love-hate relationship with buffets – I love the multitude of options but I hate having to choose between them. There's the main courses, the desserts, the fresh bread choices, a seemingly never-ending salad bar with dressing names don’t even recognize. Still, by the time I get back to the table, I notice others enjoying delicious foods that I didn't even see in the buffet.
It’s the same way with video conferencing systems. It's great that the configurations out there are flexible enough to meet individual goals, budgets, physical location specs, etc. – but it always seems there are more good options.
So which features are must-have main courses and which are empty calories? Main course decisions by most buyers start with HD vs. Standard Def systems, and Multi-point vs. Point-to-Point units. The side dishes are numerous, but a couple I like the most are:
Recording: Some systems allow you to record a video call locally right onto a memory stick, which can playback later on a computer, allowing users to dissect that "aha moment" from the meeting, archive the training for future attendees, or just to replay your bosses nervous tic over and over again
Web Streaming: A system that allows for simultaneous video conferencing and multicast/unicast streaming to the web takes collaboration to a whole new level. You can have one way communication of the video conference broadcast out over the internet.
Annotation: One of my personal favorites is the live annotation, a feature that lets you draw and reference objects on the screen like John Madden does on Monday Night Football.
Whether you need to completely integrate your conference room with multiple monitors, custom lighting, and multi-directional microphones or just join a video conference meeting from the road on your laptop, (Skype can’t call into conferencing systems), it's a good idea to figure out what you really need before getting in line for the buffet.
-Jeremy
P.S. Another way cameras and buffets are alike: they both add 10 pounds…
