| Targeted at telecommuters and small to
mid-sized businesses, ViaVideo is a desktop PC camera which, according to
Polycom, distinguishes itself through the inclusion of an on-board
multimedia processor, a built-in microphone, and compliance with the H.323
standard. As we write this review, the product has been on the market a
mere four months. Unfortunately, we just missed the opportunity to review
their 1.5 release. If it makes good on its promise, it would significantly
increase the rating we're able to give it here. Features not included in
the 1.0 version include support for collaborative features like
application-sharing and whiteboard tools, Windows 2000 compliance, and
increased compliance with different PCs. Fortunately for 1.0 users,
Polycom is offering a free upgrade to 1.5 through their Web site.
INSTALLATION
ViaVideo provides an exceptionally simple installation procedure. Install
a CD, attach the camera to your PC's USB port, plug in the power supply,
and you're ready to go. But despite the ease of this process, we did hit
one snag: the video card in the first PC on which we installed the
software did not have the four megs of video memory required to support
the product. Another problem was the presence of a non-compliant USB host
controller. Needless to say we had to install it on yet another machine.
This required a bit of additional scrambling on our behalf to find a PC
running Windows 98, as the 1.0 release is not Windows 2000-compliant.
DOCUMENTATION
The printed documentation includes a couple of "quick start"
type manuals, both of which contain appropriate diagrams and clear,
understandable, and helpful instructions. Once the CD is installed, an
even more helpful screen opens, offering high resolution images showing
you where to plug what after you've completed the software installation.
The user manual consisted of a clearly written, topically organized .pdf
file containing pretty much anything you should need to know. The product
is intuitive enough not to require frequent reference to this manual in
any case.
FEATURES
Inside the camera unit is a Philips TriMedia 1300 digital signal
processor. While compressing video input for its short but necessary trip
through the USB cable, the TM 1300 also performs audio processing and echo
cancellation tasks. In addition to these necessary functions, it is also
intended to provide a higher resolution and frame rate while lessening the
strain compression tasks might put on your PC. Outside the unit one finds
two controls: 1) a focus dial and 2) a slide bar carrying you through
"on," "off," and "mute" options (mute
suspends video while maintaining audio). On the top of the unit are two
tiny input holes used for the built-in mic.
Through the software interface, which is exceptionally easy to use, you
gain access to a range of configuration and diagnostic screens. Among the
former are H.323-related configurations, including those allowing you to
specify the IP address of a gatekeeping device (if any), choose your
desired microphone input (built-in or otherwise), and choose a desired ILS
directory server (if any) for your ViaVideo address book. Diagnostics
include live transferring and receiving frame rate indicators, audio
tests, and simple network statistics.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
As we learned, you're required to use Polycom's software in order to make
ViaVideo calls, albeit through an extremely simple process. Upon opening
the software, if the camera is on, you'll immediately see a live image of
whatever lies in its path. In our lab this initial image had great
resolution and a rate very close to 30 frames per second (fps). To make a
call, you can choose a pre-established contact from your own speed dial
folder or from a local or global address directory. You can also enter
your contact's IP address manually. Once a call is connected, the
recipient's image appears in the view window. This window includes a small
set of controls allowing you to hang up, change the volume, mute the call,
and choose between two viewing options -- one of which allows you to see
both your own and the recipient's image in the viewing window.
Our experience in the lab shouldn't be taken as universal; the fact
that we were calling within our own LAN may have affected the quality of
both audio and video. Additionally, our ability to adequately test the
audio was hindered by our reliance upon Windows 98, as this forced us to
use an older PC with a low-performance sound card. With that said, we
found the audio quality decent to average: far from excellent, but not
terrible either. As for video, Polycom of course claims to offer 30 fps.
According to ViaVideo's own diagnostic read-out we were getting 14 at the
very best, and that was rare. The average was around six or seven. Again,
there's a distinct possibility this could be attributed to the fact that
we were using this within our own LAN, so if you're interested in buying
this product, don't take our word for it. Have the salesperson offer you a
real demo calling out to a remote location.
In addition to the calls described above, which were placed between
ViaVideo cameras, we unsuccessfully tried to call NetMeeting (even if it
had worked, we only would have gotten audio at best, due to ViaVideo's
dependence upon the related software). Apparently the 1.5 release will
support more interoperability, allowing you to place calls to non-Polycom
cameras that support H.323, while also working with NetMeeting to offer
collaborative features on both ends.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
As stated above, most of what we'd normally recommend here is supposed
to be addressed in Polycom's next release. This includes the ability to
call other cameras running NetMeeting, support for NetMeeting-type
collaboration features on both ends, support for Windows 2000, and
compliance with a larger number of USB host controllers.
One limitation that will remain is the dependence of ViaVoice users
upon Polycom's proprietary software: unlike other cameras we've seen, the
product doesn't support standard video capture device drivers. The version
we worked with also didn't appear to offer any recording features -- we're
not sure if those will be included in future releases.
CONCLUSION
It seems the most important statements made in this review about ViaVideo
were in reference to another product, namely the 1.5 version. Given that,
all except for two issues we raised should be taken with a grain of salt.
Those are 1) the interdependence between Polycom's camera and software and
2) the hefty price tag. Both of these can possibly be attributed to the
company's status as a relative newcomer in this type of desktop market.
Polycom's background in larger-scale teleconferencing products may make
them more accustomed to proprietary, "black box" approaches to
software development, as well as to the budgets of companies who most
frequently utilize such products. Regardless, for $599 they'd better offer
knock-out audio-visuals, hyper-flexibility, and the most cloyingly rich
suite of available features. As of this point we can't say we've seen
that. If the hardware is as good as its pitch (built-in mic for
compactness sake, on-board processor for quality and efficiency) and
successive software upgrades can only improve on that functionality, then
they'd best continue offering software upgrades for free while gaining
opportunities to up-sell satisfied customers on the next hardware release.
If they can expand upon this admirable nascent attempt (again, ViaVideo is
only four months old) then the product should join an already impressive
line of Polycom conferencing products.
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