AGT Resources and Technical Documentation

When video conferencing first became available over IP networks in the late 1990s, optimism was rampet for ubiquity of technology from home, the office, the road and even over the phone. The development of the H.323 standard set opened the door for video conference over a worldwide interconnect and we were all sure that video would immediately be the wave of the future.  However, from the actual end user's vantage point, the promise of video conferencing does not usually measure up to the premise.  The simplicity of the dial-tone metaphor makes placing a conventional voice call second nature; the video conferencing value proposition should emulate this expected simplicity in the user experience.  Rapid advances in protocols, devices, interfaces and network interoperability can not only drive down costs of provisioning video conferencing, but from the user's perspective, are enabling much simpler access and usability.  This paper examines the past and current roadblocks to ubiquitous videoconferencing and shows how Encore, our internally-developed Unified Communications (UC) video platform, is the software technology that solves those issues.

One of the primary elements of guesswork for a video network designer today is the sizing prediction for a multipoint conference bridge. As video becomes ubiquitous through the desktop, mobile devices and conference room, multipoint video conferences will become as commonplace as audio conferencing is today.  In the past, multipoint bridges required scheduled setup with facilitated conference management.  This allowed resource usage to be "managed" through time shifting and allocation.  In that simplistic environment, maximum capacity could be easily defined and bridge sizing could be determined through user complaints when scheduled time was not available.  Today, multipoint video conferencing expects to see an exponential growth as it becomes an everyday tool for everyone.  Find out how our technology saves you time and money by better predicting your port requirements using the Erlang B predictive model.

The proliferation of technology at a consumer level has been empowering.  Laptops, tablets and smartphones now come equipped with extensive communications options, including microphones, multiple cameras and mobile access to hgih speed data networks.  However, the advertised promise of "anytime, anywhere" communications using the power and flexibility of devices enabling real-time face-to-face communications, often hits the reality barrier when it comes to the enterprise.  At this level, video conferencing still falls prey to location tyranny, i.e. the need for participants to huddle in carefully maintained video environments.  See how only AGT's video conferencing technology gives you true power to integrate your video conferencing with your existing Unified Communication solution.

As video becomes ubiquitous through the desktop, mobile devices and conference room, multipoint video conferences will become as commonplace as audio conferencing is today. Classic “maximum port” planning will tend to result in gross oversizing of MCU and unnecessary expenses. In order to provide an alternative planning tool for the video network designer, we propose that the classic telephony Erlang B predictive model used for years in the telephony world be brought forward for MCU port usage estimation.