Video Conf. Task Force (fwd)

[Rick Stevens]

Do we have specs on these MPEG-2 systems ?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 11:36:11 -0500
From: "W. R. Wing" <wrw at cosmail1.ctd.ornl.gov>
To: escc at es.net
Cc: ESSC at es.net, wrw at ornl.gov
Subject: Video Conf. Task Force

I like to put out a call for interested volunteers who could 
contribute time (and potentially direct some local equipment dollars) 
to exploring the current generation of video conferencing gear.

We are all aware (painfully aware) of the capabilities of H.320 based 
video conferencing solutions.  The limitations are real, substantial, 
and frequently impede the conduct of business.

In the meanwhile, a new generation of gear from companies like 
Minerva and Polycom is arriving on the scene.  These boxes are able 
to generate very high quality video (MPEG-2 quality in the case of 
the Minerva) in real time, packetize this stream into IP (point to 
point or multicast) and potentially serve as a relief valve for some 
of the travel restrictions we all find ourselves dealing with.

Some of these systems can chew up a lot of network bandwidth (up to 8 
Mbs in each direction) but in the context of ESnet3, this may be less 
of a problem than in the past.

If you are interested, and particularly if your site is interested, 
please let me know.


			Bill


William R. Wing    wrw at ornl.gov     423-574-8839
Network Architect for the Oak Ridge National Lab