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Video-conferencing Hardware In Demand

Research firm IDC reported that worldwide sales of video-conferencing equipment were up 15.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 while year-on-year sales increased 4 per cent, although market value for the full year was down 6.8 per cent.

Multi-coded telepresence equipment revenue declined 6.9 per cent quarter-over-quarter and 19.4 per cent year-on-year.

Room-based video system revenue increased 11.8 per cent in Q4 and 12.6 per cent year-on-year.

Personal video-conferencing systems revenue – including executive desktop systems – increased significantly, 64.8 per cent in Q4 and 25.4 per cent year-on-year.

Video infrastructure equipment revenue (US$136 million) – including MCUs and other video-related infrastructure – increased 19.9 per cent in Q4 but declined 14.9 per cent year-on-year.

Asia Pacific, revenue increased 12.2 per cent in Q4 and 5.4 per cent year-on-year.

“Although the worldwide video-conferencing equipment market enjoyed positive quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year revenue growth in some market segments in Q4 overall the market experienced its third consecutive year of declining revenue in the full-year 2014,” Rich Costello, senior analyst, Enterprise Communications Infrastructure at IDC, said. “The results are reflective of the on-going market transition from a primarily hardware-based technology to one impacted by the growing interest in software-based solutions and video subscription services.”

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Legislation expands videoconferencing in court – Defendant wouldn’t have to be present for some hearings

A Senate panel is mulling a proposal that would limit the right of defendants to appear in court in person during some hearings in favor of videoconferencing. Supporters say the move would cut costs.

Senate Bill 104 would expand the use of videoconferencing during appearances for defendants in some hearings that typically take place early in the legal process. Most notably, the accused would no longer have the right to an in-person appearance when giving a not guilty plea in felony cases.

Videoconference would also be allowed during appearances before municipal judges prior to trial, non-evidentiary hearings conducted to determine the merits of a motion and bond hearings.

Judge Robert Fairchild, chief judge of the Douglas County Circuit Court, told the Senate Judiciary Committee law enforcement and attorneys have been calling for the change, arguing it will make court less expensive. He said his circuit already has videoconferencing available in three of seven courtrooms and all courtrooms will be ready for videoconferencing by the end of the year.

“Our sheriffs have been begging us to use it more and more. It saves them money, it saves the county money,” Fairchild said.

Fairchild indicated the legislation won’t cause any constitutional issues, though he said there is a limit to the extent videoconferencing can be used in court. Under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, defendants have a right to confront their accusers. While it may be possible to use videoconferencing for the testimony of defense witnesses, it wouldn’t be possible for the prosecution’s witnesses to speak via videoconference.

The legislation doesn’t mandate the use of videoconferencing, but it does require good cause to be shown if an objection to its use is raised.

The Judicial Branch Videoconferencing Committee, a group appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court, produced the bill. The committee found several advantages to videoconferencing, including reduced travel requirements, improved courthouse security and increased efficiency of legal proceedings.

“It’s cost savings for litigants. That’s one of our other goals: to try to make court more affordable for litigants, to try to improve access to courts,” Fairchild said.

The Department for Children and Families is seeking to expand the legislation to include children. Under an amendment offered by Kathy Armstrong, the agency’s assistant director for legal services, children would be able to attend Child in Need of Care proceedings via videoconference.

According to Armstrong, the change could alleviate emotional stress on the child or financial constraints involved in traveling for court. Fairchild said he didn’t have any objections to the amendment.

“It is discretionary with the court, but we feel this is appropriate and will be an aid. We value the information a child or youth has to offer to a court and this would statutorily allow the court to permit testimony of those who have obstacles to appearing in person,” Armstrong said.

No opposition to the legislation was given in the committee. Lawmakers themselves will discuss the legislation at a later date.

By Jonathan Shorman
jonathan.shorman@cjonline.com
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Great News! NEW look and feel to our app. You can download it from the Apple Store or Google Play.

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NEW Polycom EagleEye Producer

What do you think of the NEW #Polycom #EagleEye #Producer

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Fort Worth City Council to implement video conferencing

FORT WORTH — Video conferencing — a technology that families, friends and businesses have been using for years — is coming to City Council meetings, allowing both residents and council members to participate remotely.

The council approved spending $235,269 on the technology, such as new video screens and broadcast equipment, at its meeting Tuesday.

Approved by the Legislature in the 2013 session for use at public meetings, the technology will enable residents to view and speak at council meetings from a publicly posted and predetermined location.

It will also allow council members to video conference into a meeting and still count toward a quorum, City Secretary Mary Kayser said during a presentation on the technology at last week’s pre-council meeting.

“My understanding of how it came about was to allow for remote town halls, particularly in large, spread out cities,” Mayor Betsy Price said.

“And also if you have a council member who is sick or has to travel, but really needs to be part of the meeting, this allows them the chance to be part of the meeting.”

Councilwoman Ann Zadeh emphasized that the purpose of the change is not “making it easy for us not to come down here physically.”

“The main thrust is allowing citizens to participate in more far-flung areas who wouldn’t necessarily come down to City Hall,” Zadeh said.

Council members and residents must be visible, and audio must be working for the process to be valid. City staff members will be in place to assist those at the remote location. A video screen will be added to the pre-council chambers; screens are already in place in the council chambers.

Council members could video conference into the meeting using a computer or tablet, said Eric Upchurch of the city’s information technology department. The technology will take about 90 days to implement and will include training for council members.

By Caty Hirst
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How video conferencing helps businesses cut costs

Over the years, the rise in technology (primarily smartphones) has led to a phenomenal increase in video conferencing technology, either through calls or instant messaging (IM) chats. While the percentage of individual use of video and phone conference services like Polycom is on the rise, businesses have also caught on, finding that the adoption of video conferencing can not only reduce costs, but improve the versatility of their communications infrastructure as well.

Aside from the obvious cost improvements, video conferencing also allows for everyone, regardless of setting, to communicate with one another. In all reality though, the benefits associated with video conferencing are abundant. Some of these benefits include:

1.)  Rapid Outreach

Arguably one of the greatest benefits of video conferencing is the speed at which vital information can be communicated. Since most businesses have competitors, the simple aspect of being able to communicate important details (goals, sales quotas, deadlines, etc.) can be the stepping stone needed to get out ahead of the pack, so to speak. Another fantastic benefit is the ability to hold virtual meetings. What this means is that leaders, managers, associates, and employees can basically talk amongst one another from any location.

2.)  Optimized Business Operations

For the most part, the bulk of communication within a business occurs through email because it is fast and convenient. However, emails can easily become misconstrued and interpreted wrong, likely resulting in a lack of communication. With video conferencing, however, because the communication is taking place face-to-face, business leaders can make sure their managers completely understand what is being asked of them. This in turn, can be translated effectively to employees. Not only that, but video conferencing also allows for any misunderstandings or questions to be adjusted immediately.

3.)  An Eco-Friendly Improvement

Lately, the trend with most businesses is reducing their carbon footprint in order to alleviate some of the negative effects that might be afflicted on the surrounding environment. While it may not seem like it at first, video conferencing can actually help reduce this carbon footprint simply by reducing the amount of travel needed to facilitate business. Business executives are often on the move, traveling from place to place. This usually means taking a car or plane, which produce harmful emissions into the environment. However, the adoption of video conferencing can eliminate a significant amount of travel by allowing executives to communicate virtually.

As you can see, besides reducing costs, establishing a video conferencing system within a business can result in a multitude of benefits. Ultimately, a business needs to be able to adapt and respond to various stimuli, both internally and externally. Video conferencing helps bridge the communication gap.

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Say NO to business travel, YES to videoconferencing

The next time you choose videoconferencing over flying to a business destination, don’t think of it as an act of lethargy. On the contrary, you are joining the fight against climate change by reducing carbon emissions.

A report released by the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project India), along with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), here on Thursday, has revealed that business travel contributes over 55.04 lakh tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalents (CO2e).

“Savings achieved through video-conferencing and telecommunicating with moderate ICT (Information and Communications technology) penetration in 2030 can offset greenhouse gas emissions more than 70 times the present emissions owing to annual air traffic between New Delhi and Mumbai,” the report quoted as an example.

The report ‘ICT sector’s role in climate change mitigation: An analysis of climate change performance and preparedness of global ICT companies’ analysed 320 ICT companies (10 from India) in over 35 countries in 2012-13. Companies which participated included Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Accenture, Google and Microsoft.

The study categorised emissions into: direct emissions, indirect emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam, and other indirect emissions such as fuel and transport (vehicles not owned or controlled by the company).

In the third category, use of sold products accounted for 56 per cent of emissions, followed by purchased goods and services (35 per cent). These were followed by sources that included business travel and employee commuting. The first two categories include data centres and provision of network and connectivity services as sources of emissions.

Interestingly, the first two categories account for a significant percentage of emissions in emerging economies, such as India, China and South Africa. In comparison, the third category of emissions is significant in the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and France.

Core business strategy

The report also said 81 per cent of 320 companies analysed have integrated climate change into core business strategy and over 40 per cent of the companies have managed to reduce their emissions. Bangalore-based companies have adopted different strategies. While Wipro has “consolidated operations in energy efficient locations and increased renewable shares of office consumption”, Infosys has set “voluntary goals to reduce energy and water consumption in daily operations”.

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In-person jail visits to continue after Dallas County rejects videoconferencing idea. Thoughts?

Face-to-face visits will continue at the Dallas County Jail after county commissioners threw out a proposed contract with a videoconferencing company that would have banned them. The company, Securus Technologies, was seeking a contract to provide video visitations at the jail. Commissioners said they were still interested in the service, but not at the cost of stopping in-person visits. The ban on face-to-face visits appeared to be a way for the company, which is based in North Texas, to recoup its expenses for installing the video-visitation system. The company was going to spend around $5 million to set up the technology. It would then charge $10 for each 20-minute video chat. Dallas County would have received up to a 25 percent commission on those calls. Prohibiting in-person visits almost surely would have increased the number of video chats, which in turn would boost revenues for Securus — and for the county.

But when details of the contract were made public last week, County Judge Clay Jenkins led a last-ditch effort to reject it. Backed by inmates’ rights advocates, Jenkins said the contract made video visits too costly.

“It is a way to make money … off the backs of families,” he said.

He also said eliminating in-person visits would be inhumane. Commissioners were flooded with emails opposing the contract. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Commissioners Court, 17 people showed up to speak out against the plan. They included a man convicted of a murder for which he was later exonerated and a former state legislator, Terri Hodge, who spent time in federal prison for tax evasion. After more than two hours of discussion, the court voted to pull the item from its agenda. The staff was instructed to seek a new contract under different terms. Those new terms are to include the continuation of in-person visits and elimination of the county’s commission on video visits.

The five companies that bid on the original request from the county will be eligible to submit new proposals.

The vote was 4-1, with Jenkins the sole dissenter. He wanted to completely start over with the bidding process, opening it to any company.

Most jail inmates, he said, are awaiting trial — meaning they are legally presumed to be innocent — or have been convicted only of misdemeanors. Neither the county nor its private contractor should be looking to make money off of the inmates or their families, Jenkins said.

Though he wanted the commissioners to take broader action Tuesday, he said their vote was a step in the right direction. “I am very pleased with the court today in looking at these commissions and saying that they want to get out of the commission business,” Jenkins said.

Dallas County has been exploring video visitation for years. It’s been portrayed as an additional option for inmates’ friends and families who can’t or won’t trek downtown to the jail. But county staff acknowledged that the technology is also intended to save money. Managing visitors and moving inmates to visitation areas takes significant staff time, they said.

Commissioner Mike Cantrell said he thought the per-minute cost of the video chats was fair. He said the county spends about $107 million a year to run the jail and brings in about $10.8 million in bond forfeitures, fines and other assessments on inmates. But the commissioners were unanimous in not wanting to eliminate in-person visits. That was also the main concern of the plan’s opponents who spoke at the meeting, including several defense attorneys. Hodge, the former state legislator, urged the commissioners to consider the families of poor inmates.

“Many of these families don’t have BlackBerrys, smartphones and computer terminals in their homes to allow for video visitation,” she said. Richard Miles, who spent nearly 15 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, said visits from loved ones are vital to the well-being and rehabilitation of inmates. “My father died while I was in prison,” he said. “What did I hold on to? My visits.”

The Dallas Morning News