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PictureTel develops, manufactures, and markets a range
of video conferencing and collaboration solutions. In
early 1999 PictureTel joined forces with Intel to
create the iPower architecture, the cornerstone of
their current video conferencing technology. iPower
incorporates Siren 14 audio technology, People+Content
technology (engineered to maximize transmission
quality of different content types), and multiple
medium support for information sharing in addition to
system management and administration capabilities.
First packaged with the 900 Series in July 2000,
iPower has migrated to the new offering from
PictureTel, the 600 Series. Subject of this review and
member of the 600 series, the PT 680 QBR-N extends the
iPower family with included IP functionality, marketed
as a "comprehensive collaboration solution in a
compact package." PictureTel has also partnered with
Sharp Corporation, the electronics conglomerate, to
collaborate on hardware design and manufacturing of
this new family member.
It should also be mentioned that Polycom announced
the acquisition of PictureTel in late May. A
PictureTel spokesperson said there are no plans for
name changes at this time. That said, PictureTel sent
over their latest: the 600 Series PT 680 QBR-N, which
is the IP sibling of the 600 Series. We set up and
configured the unit on our LAN, utilized the ISDN
interface, tested collaboration capabilities, executed
a probing examination of video and audio quality, and
performed some of our own hammer-and-saw medieval
tests on this fledgling member of the iPower family.
INSTALLATION
We've awarded the PT 680 QBR-N a high mark for
installation. PictureTel recommends connecting the
desired interfaces (Ethernet, ISDN, and so forth) and
peripherals, and enabling the wireless keyboard and
remote first. Our unit arrived in two sections: the
camera module and the computer unit. The system was
engineered for hardware installation simplicity,
allowing the camera module to actually plug into the
computer unit. Since the microphone is already
attached to the camera module, it requires only that
the arm is snapped into the upright position.
Normally in a conference room environment, a large
AV monitor of some sort is necessary. Since the Labs
didn't have one available at the time of testing this
unit, we opted to employ one of our many reliable VGA
monitors. The headset jack on the side of the unit
doubles as the PC speaker interface. However, it's
only denoted with a headset icon, which made it
somewhat elusive initially. Additionally, the
installation card also made no mention of it.
This unit still requires the expertise of an
administrator to configure the software. No boot
floppy or operating system disk arrived with the unit --
the OS (Windows 2000, Service Pack 1), and the
software came pre-installed (not to mention that there
is no interface to allow for software installation).
After we booted the system, a set-up wizard launched
allowing us to configure and customize the software,
and because it's a full-fledged CPU and has a Windows
operating system, we added it to our network's primary
domain controller (PDC) and acquired instant access
for network file sharing.
The wizard allows an administrator to quickly
configure the necessary system information to get the
system up and running in short order. Some such
information includes defining ISDN numbers and SPIDs,
gatekeepers, location, and dialing rules. The right
user name and password grants access to the
administration GUI, allowing qualified parties to fine
tune the system. We made our first IP call about 30
minutes after opening the box.
DOCUMENTATION
It is often believed that if an installation is
simple, then the documentation is good. That's one
possibility. But if a product (hardware and/or
software) is engineered with the right amount of
usability information on the forefront, its intuitive
design will curtail the amount of necessary
documentation. In this case it appears that some of
both may be true.
One 15 x 12-inch "Easy Install" card, or "poster"
(as one editor put it) arrived with the unit -- that's
it. Not only is it well organized, but PictureTel
managed to include all the information we needed to
get the system installed and to log on. The diagrams
supplied were key to peripheral steps, and being clear
and easy-to-read certainly helped expedite setup.
After setup is complete, logging onto the system
allows the use of the PDF and online help files. Both
user and administrator guides are available,
supplementing the installation card by delving into
the setup and operation of both interfaces. We
particularly liked the "pop-up" functionality of the
AdminTools Help.
FEATURES
The PT 680 QBR-N is equipped with a wireless keyboard
and remote control. The unit is ITU-T, H.320- and
H.323-compliant, and also compatible with NetMeeting
3.01.The system is prepared to operate using an ISDN
interface; Quad BRI S/T, up to 512 Kbps, and standard
IP network interfaces; LAN, DSL, cable modem, and
Ethernet 10/100. Full Common Intermediate Format (FCIF)
and Quarter Common Intermediate Format (QCIF) video
are used and can be viewed at 30 fps at 256 Kbps and
above.
The system's 11-pound case is 15 inches in
diameter, housing a Celeron 566 MHz processor with
four dedicated DSP chips, 128 MB of RAM, and a 10 GB
hard disk. The operating system used is Windows 2000,
Service Pack 1. The camera/microphone module is
detachable. The pan-tilt-zoom camera is motorized and
supports automatic camera pointing, and a 12x zoom
range. The integrated microphone has a range of 15
feet. Audio supports echo cancellation (IDEC), noise
suppression, and automatic gain control (AGC).
Conference sites, video snapshots, document sharing,
thumbnail document viewing, far-end camera control,
and picture-in-picture (PIP) are all end-user features
of this unit. The system can also be managed using
WebRemote via an intranet or the Internet. Additional
features include:
- SNMP-based management.
- VCR compatible.
- User interface and online help available in
multiple languages.
- One year warranty on parts and labor.
- 90 day telephone support for software.
- Document server.
- H.281 far-end camera control.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
Testing the IP ability required usage of another H.323
video conferencing device, so PictureTel sent us a 900
Series unit to assist with our tests. We installed and
configured both to function on our LAN so we could
test video quality, sound quality, document sharing,
and system performance. We also configured the ISDN
properties and initiated some ISDN calls to round out
our test bed.
The system can be configured to launch
Collaboration automatically as soon as Windows 2000 is
up and running. A LAN call can be initiated by using a
directory (if pre-configured by the administrator), or
by entering the LAN address of another conferencing
system directly into the "Make a Call" interface. Once
the two systems connected it seemed to take five
seconds or so for video and audio services to
commence.
Document sharing allows chosen files to be shared
with the far-end party. We added a .rtf to the content
section of our GUI and then shared the document with
the far-end. The file was opened in Microsoft Word
Viewer allowing it to be mutually viewed by both
far-end and near-end parties. Files can only be
perused and discussed using the Document Sharing
feature, unless a file's authoring application is
installed on the machine sharing the document. This
means if you're sharing a Word document, Microsoft
Word must be installed on the PictureTel unit to
sustain edits in a collaboration session. Activating
PIP via the remote control allows the propagator to
view the far-end video while sharing a document.
The remote control and wireless keyboard also add
value to the product, providing access to most
features without sacrificing mobility. While the
keyboard uses the cursor to navigate the GUI and
select on-screen controls, the remote offers one-touch
functionality for PIP, Auto Point, and access to other
features. Ergonomically speaking, the keyboard's
built-in trackball and mouse keys weren't our
favorite. We found that use of the all-in-one keyboard
was easier if it was positioned in a user's lap
(rather than on a table). It seemed to allow the more
natural positioning of each hand's thumb on its
respective mouse control. This could present a problem
in a conference room environment since the keyboard
may no longer be in line of sight with its wireless
receiver.
Point-to-point calls over the LAN using two
PictureTel systems were also of high quality. The
lighting in TMC Labs isn't the greatest, but despite
this variable we had good picture quality. Since we
had both units set up in the same room it was very
easy to detect small amounts of latency from the
far-end to the near-end, but the video and audio
appeared to sync, so it really wasn't that big an
issue. The unit also appeared to sustain full-duplex
capability, which was impressive. We found the
microphone sensitivity and relayed voice quality to be
good as well, though the microphone that accompanies
the unit is permanently affixed just behind the
camera. Using the stock microphone works fine for a
small conference room situation, but it seemed that
the optional PowerMic delivered better quality in a
larger environment. This makes sense, since it can be
positioned directly on any surface (such as a
conference room table) much closer to the meeting
participants, fostering better sound quality and
possibly attenuating background noise.
The same spatial and size recommendations seem to
hold true for the Auto Point feature. For small
meeting parties, say four or fewer people arranged in
optimal locations relationally to the camera, who are
familiar with this feature and have a sense of how it
operates (a little practice will help a lot), it
appears to work great. We suggest disabling it in a
conference environment with many participants, or
operating the camera manually. We noted the camera
getting "confused" at times, with sound reaching its
sensors at far too many refracting angles in this type
of environment.
We also tried a few quick experiments via
NetMeeting to test professed compatibility (it's a
good H.323-compatibility test too). We connected
easily to NetMeeting with video, using it first as the
far-end, and second as the near-end. Of course our
little Internet cam used in conjunction with
NetMeeting provided very dissected video, but to our
surprise the reception of signal by NetMeeting from
our PictureTel unit was quite good. After tinkering
with NetMeeting's Video Quality option, we were able
to receive streaming video of decent quality through
NetMeeting. Still, there was some artifacting of the
video signal, but nothing too drastic -- several
frozen pixels here and there. The same seemed to hold
true for the audio. With NetMeeting on the far-end,
the sound quality through the PictureTel on the
near-end was variable, sometimes noisy (crackling,
static). Conversely, the PT 680 QBR-N seemed to
consistently provide much better voice quality when
received through NetMeeting. What this means is that
while the connection between the two devices was not
always clear via NetMeeting, the PT 680 QBR-N
consistently delivered quality audio and video
transmissions.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Administrating the PT 680 QBR-N once the AdminTools
GUI was accessed, was amiable. Especially nice, and
increasingly important for all administrated software,
is the ability to remotely access and configure a
product through the Web. PictureTel provides this
option. What we did find slightly less than appealing
was closing the Collaboration GUI (the user interface)
each time prior to accessing the AdminTools GUI
locally. Meaning if you intend to change some settings
while physically at the unit, it involves closing
Collaboration, launching AdminTools, entering security
information, changing the desired settings, closing
out of AdminTools, waiting for Collaboration to
initialize, testing the change, and probably going
through this procedure several more times. It would
have been great to toggle back and forth between GUIs.
Actually, logging onto the computer next to our
PictureTel unit proved easier and faster to administer
changes using the WebRemote feature.
It should be noted that we experienced what seemed
to be a software-related problem when configuring the
unit for use with our ISDN service. Since TMC Labs is
an unbiased, objective testing center it is our job to
report on exactly these types of events. However, in
the spirit of objectivity we'd like to say that the
following notation appears to be an isolated incident,
and admittedly PictureTel Tech Support didn't seem to
have ever encountered this type of problem before.
With that said, here's what happened. The ISDN NI1
protocol requires the use of Service Profile
Identifiers (SPIDs), in addition to phone numbers and
other pertinent information, which all must also be
defined correctly in the administrator interface. To
sum up the issue, once the SPIDs were entered
initially (using the set-up wizard), we were unable to
change them. Inadvertently, we had entered an extra
digit in both SPID fields (a one in front of the
area-code prefix), which had to be removed. However,
we couldn't amend the SPID numbers we'd originally
entered. Permissions were correct, and all parameters
were in order. We checked and rechecked all details,
along with the aid of PictureTel support. Finally
after getting a bit frustrated that we couldn't
correct the SPID values from PictureTel's GUI, we
decided to hack the Registry. We performed a search of
the Registry and we located the key containing the
errant SPID numbers and edited it manually. After
that, the system performed flawlessly. Several ISDN
calls initiated to PictureTel's Tech Support provided
high quality audio and video images with excellent
frame rates.
CONCLUSION
The PictureTel 600 Series PT 680 QBR-N provided
quality audio and video conferencing. Overall the
product is easy to use, setup, and configure. The unit
is versatile, utilizing a two-piece design allowing
for any type of set-top positioning, and encouraging a
simple set-up procedure. Additionally, configuring the
software as an administrator didn't take us long, as
the set-up wizard lead us through most of the major
steps. Sharing tools are included with room to add
several other types, such as a document camera or a
laptop. IP capability utilizing the H.323 protocol is
a differentiating feature of the product, sparing
hosts from doling out monthly Telco ISDN charges.
ISDN, however, is a standard interface for the unit,
providing an additional avenue for quality video
conferencing and collaboration.
TMC Labs felt that overall the product provides
easy setup and operation, with solid, state-of-the-art
technology providing a company in need of video
conferencing and collaboration equipment with a simple
solution.
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