I posted a comment on Linkedin the other day telling the world how much I’d love to see the ClearSea from Lifesize work on the iPad2. But…with no iPad2 and starving blogger….I needed help.
Well, that afternoon Michael Granados (email, mgranados@perfectvc.com) from Perfect Video Conferencing wrote me an email that he could bring some LifeSize stuff out for me to see. Great!
Well….today was the day! (Actually…by the time I finish….yesterday was the day) 🙂
So what did Mike show me?
1. ClearSea on an iPad2.
2. LifeSize Connections cloud-based video conferencing that is still in Beta but should be released by the end of this month.
3. LifeSize Video Center streaming and recording.
ClearSea
My expectations
Truthfully….my expectations were not very high. I mean I loved Mirial (you can see some blog entries on this blog) and I kinda like LifeSize (hey…no big heads here), but, video conferencing on mobile platforms is: 1. New and 2. On a mobile platform.
How good can it be?
What I experienced
AWESOME! Crisp video, super audio, easy to use. Wow!
We called an H.323 endpoint (using the IP address of the far end) and connected just as I would expect from a “normal” IP VC system…very quickly. The video was smooth and very crisp and, after the audio caught up, it was clear and sufficiently loud to hear (and I’m sure headphones would have worked as well).
We then dialed in to my friend, Christian Helft’s Codian MCU in Paris, France and entered the “Cafe”. ClearSea worked like a champ (which means far end camera control worked on it!).
Mike told me I could also call another ClearSea on an iPhone or iPad, (or Android?).
Here is the ClearSea call control panel on the iPad2.
Architecture
Here is a simplified diagram of what I understand to be the ClearSea call connection architecture. The server can be placed anywhere there is good Internet connectivity. Using the server, one can connect to H.323 / SIP endpoints or infrastructure and also point-to-point to other ClearSea mobile devices. Hmmmm, maybe I will start a new service?
Conclusion
Home run.
There is NO REASON why a corporate video conferencing user could not connect to a meeting using ClearSea. Since it works over WiFi, 3G, or 4G…..you can now participate in video conferencing anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah….me….and LifeSize 🙂
LifeSize Connections
OK, you know what I think of cloud-based video conferencing. I love it!
Mike used his Windows laptop to connect to Spring (see Spring a few years ago at a demo I attended) on a Mac using Connections.
Connections will launch with the ability to connect up to 9 people at 720p 30 fps. Initially, it will only be able to connect LifeSize Desktop’s (which I just played with for 30 days and it was very good), and the LifeSize 220. In the future, Connections will probably (hopefully!) connect to H.323 endpoints, and there are plans to increase the multi-point to 16 way, the resolution to 1080p, and to extend “connections” to mobile users.
In other words…Connections will get more robust over time.
Video Center
Mike then showed me some videos that were stored on the Perfect Video web site. We watched them on the iPad2 and on his Windows laptop.
These streamed videos were recorded during real meetings and can now be accessed by anyone with a browser (sure hope Chrome works…he was using Internet Exploder). The quality was excellent and at one point I thought he had connected into a live meeting….duh on me.
Overall
I’d like to thank Mike for coming out and showing these products. Very cool thing to do on such short notice. If you live in the Bay Area, and need anything video, give Mike a call!
I continue to be impressed with LifeSize’s breadth of their product line. From mobile to the fanciest “Telepresence” room to cloud-based services…..they cover it all, and I have no doubt they will continue to innovate and improve.
TechyMike: Technology Made Easy 