[AG-TECH] echo-cancellation on the cheap?

Fri Feb 1 11:05:11 CST 2002

> It might also be useful for a company like Gentner to know they need to 
> make a product in the sub $1000 for this type of application. They must 
> know that companies like Microsoft and others are looking for software 
> solutions for this problem. Competition is key to driving prices down.

> (Take the recent shakedown in voice recognition for example.)

I would expect that Gentner are aware.  We have a GT 724 from them
(ancient gear now) with line in, line out, 3 mics in, speaker out,
and MUCH less sophistication than the AP800 - which we also have -
and if they still make something like the 724 it ought to be
sub-$1000.

I'll have a browse of their web site.

Cheers

Chris OSland

____________________________________________________________________
Chris Osland                         Office tel: +44 (0) 1235 446565
Digital Media and Access Grid      Medialab tel: +44 (0) 1235 446459
BIT Department             Access Grid room tel: +44 (0) 1235 445666
e-mail:   C.D.Osland at rl.ac.uk               Fax: +44 (0) 1235 445597

CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Bldg. R18)
Chilton, DIDCOT, Oxon OX11 0QX, UK

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-----Original Message-----
From: richardc at cs.utah.edu [mailto:richardc at cs.utah.edu]
Sent: 01 February 2002 16:33
To: Bob Riddle
Cc: ag-tech at mcs.anl.gov
Subject: Re: [AG-TECH] echo-cancellation on the cheap?

Hi all,

It seems to me that this thread goes more along the lines of an entirely 
different specification. I know there's a lot of work out there on 
mini-AG nodes, or low cost AG's. Why don't we call these something other 
than Access Grid nodes, and write a different spec? I'd be happy to 
co-organize a BOF or a panel at the Access Grid Retreat in March on 
whipping together the different spec's.

I'm just completing work on a reduced-AG node that should come in around 
30K. It will be slightly portable. (If you consider 100-150 Lbs racks 
(with gear) with wheels portable. ;-)

I have a few questions about the Polycom setup. Have you tested running 
the Polycom's in conjunction with Gentner's? Do they play well together?

Cheers,
Richard C.
SCI Institute
University of Utah
http://www.sci.utah.edu/

On Friday, February 1, 2002, at 08:34 AM, Bob Riddle wrote:

> I'm not so sure that such a "small version" is too far out of that 
> $10K-20K range given the faster hardware & the work done by Insors & 
> being done by Microsoft to reduce the number of machines required to 
> support the AG software.
>
> One could speculate that you might be able to run all necessary 
> processes on one computer (say a fast SMP) using table top 
> echo-cancellation mics (no Gentner need) and inexpensive projectors 
> (don't need 2000 lumens for  a conference room) .... I think you're 
> close to that dollar amount.
> I've wondered if you could point multiple vrm/arm-eventlistener's to 
> the same DRM on the AG display machine.  We actually use some cheap 
> baluns to sometimes move our video signals through cat5 cable - I could 
> image having 4 different offices each having a "camera" and a RAT 
> participating in the conference .... I realize this abuses the notion 
> of sharing "meeting rooms" but I think it might help drive devlopment 
> toward more affodable nodes.  I also would like to have every meeting 
> room so equipped.
>
> Have you tried using the VRVS AG support for receiving an AG seminar of 
> interest?
>
> David E. Bernholdt wrote:
>
>> While Gurcharan raises a valid issue, from my point of view it is a
>> matter of "ease" of deployment.
>> We have a single AG node at ORNL right now, and for a combination of
>> practical and political reasons, its located 10 min walk from my
>> office (even though I built it), and at least that far from the
>> majority of prospective users.  That means usage of the AG node
>> requires conscious intent.
>>
>> I'd like to be able to have an AG in every conference room in our
>> Division, and looking further forward, I'd even like to have "personal
>> AG" capabilities in each office -- maybe not the full AG, but enough
>> to have reasonable meetings with 1-2 people at each of a couple sites,
>> or to receive an AG-cast seminar.  I think this level of accessibility
>> to the facilities would do a lot to promote the Access Grid.
>>
>> So if each node costs $70k, it is a lot harder to get people to spring
>> for lots of them.  I don't know exactly where the thresholds are (and
>> they'll vary by institution), but I would guess that if you could do a
>> small conference room AG node for say $10-20k, people would happily do
>> it.  And say at $5k, a personal AG node in every office is not
>> unreasonable.
>>
>> Cost is not the only thing inhibiting wider deployment, but it is a
>> significant one for most organizations.
>> --
>> David E. Bernholdt                   |   Email: bernholdtde at ornl.gov 
>> Oak Ridge National Laboratory        |   Phone: +1 (865) 574 3147    
>> http://www.csm.ornl.gov/~bernhold/   |   Fax:   +1 (865) 574 0680
>
>