Streaming Across the Seven Seas

Getting people and equipment from place to place is a crucial aspect of the military. But an equally important piece of the military machine is clear and fast communications. That's why the U.S. Navy uses videoconferencing equipment, like Polycom's ViewStation device, to aid in its distance learning initiatives and collaborative meetings.

From Washington D.C., a three-star admiral can hand out a Commander’s Award to a recipient on the West Coast in real-time with high-quality video. NAVAIR, the Naval Air Systems Command Center responsible for developing fighter planes (such as the F-18) and aviations weapons used on aircraft carriers, has deployed ViewStations in all of its bases for collaborative team projects and distance learning.

Right now, NAVAIR outside Washington D.C. has a ViewStation patched into a movie theater on base where 300 people can participate in a videoconference. "NAVAIR projects other sites’ video on this 30-foot screen with two-way communication between all the locations," says Bill Bonner, video technologies team leader at NAVAIR. That three-star admiral can address everyone in his command, town meeting style, he says.

In addition, NAVAIR usesthis technology to connect team members coast to coast working on a projectas a way to save travel costs. "Our usage has increased exponentially in the past few years," he says.

While NAVAIR doesn’t use the Polycom ViewStations for its aircraft carrier communications — the carriers use an older system that supports their security measures — they are being used more and more on other Navy vessels as the size of the devices has become smaller.

"In the past, the systems were so large, they were always deployed reluctantly," says Craig Keilman, federal distribution manager for Polycom (www.polycom.com) sales. "Now that they’ve come down in size and weight, they can be put on any vessel. Our unit only weighs six and half pounds – in the past it could be 300 or 400 pounds. Weight is always a concern on a Navy vessel."

While the size has decreased exponentially, transmission speeds have done the exact opposite, making TV-quality videoconferencing possible. "Before, the video was jerky. Now, it’s really live motion. You can have true interaction," says Keilman.

Applications Abound

In addition to simply adding a face to the voice of communication, videoconferencing extends the playing field. Distance learning for example, is allowing students in remote locations such as Antarctica to study subjects that wouldn’t have been an option locally (you can only learn so much about penguins and snow).

The Navy also incorporates distance learning into its list of ViewStation activities. "An entire class can learn from a remote location," says Keilman. "We’ve got a Navy post-graduate school in Monterey that folks here (in D.C.) can take classes from," says Bonner.

But almost any industry can find uses for videoconferencing. "We’re finding some very, very interesting applications, especially in telemedicine," says Jennifer Sigmund, director of product marketing at Polycom. "By delivering TV-quality video, remote doctors can go in, diagnose, and troubleshoot. It provides a tremendous amount of flexibility. Being able to "see" patients over long distances can extend the reach of physicians into locations too sparse to support a full time doctor.

ViewStations have also been useful when the distance isn’t necessarily a liability. "Previously during legal depositions, prisoners needed to be removed from prison with additional costs and security risks," said Sigmund. "By putting a ViewStation in a jail cell, they can be brought live to a courtroom, saving everyone time and money."

Another example Sigmund cited was incorporating ViewStations into the Brazilian court system. "Down there, you’re basically guilty until proven innocent, and you can sit in jail two years awaiting trial. Videoconferencing has sped up the trial process threefold," she says.

Variety of Views

So what are the options for hardware? Polycom’s videoconferencing line starts at the desktop with ViaVideo, its low-end ($599) product for home and small office users. It hooks up via USB and supports IP communication over LAN or broadband connections.

The higher-end ViewStation products begin with the ViewStation SP, a videoconference station starting at $3,999 that features 15 frames per second and 128Kbps throughput. "It’s ideal for executive office or small conference rooms," says Sigmund. "It provides very high quality performance over an IP network."

The next step up is the ViewStation MP for medium to large conference rooms. The MP sells for $8,999 and delivers 30 frames per second in point-to-point calls. It supports four locations at 128Kbps and three at 256Kbps. It also offers dual-stream support through Polycom’s Concert PC add-on that allows users to share graphics, and supplementary media on a second monitor without losing the videoconference image on the first.

"Usually in a videoconference, you want to share data," says Sigmund. "With the dual-stream, we’re able to do that. It’s great for collaborative sessions, product management, real-time editing, or modifying a schedule. Everyone can follow along real-time."

For Polycom, its lead in the videoconferencing space may likely be increasing. In May 2001, Polycom announced it would be acquiring main competitor PictureTel for about $362 million. The deal, if it goes through (and there are still some hurdles), would tie together the conference-room based systems of Polycom, with the streaming functionality and PC-based systems of PictureTel.