Creating a High-Tech Meeting/Conference Room? 313
papaia asks: "As the network geek in my company, I have been tasked with defining a high-end, fully connected and extremely easy to use conference room, for our CEO, who is your classic non-computer-using person. The requirements are to accommodate 'local' (to the conference room) meetings, as well as interactive sessions with people in other locations, allowing him to discuss/debate various product solutions, on files being opened and available to him to pinpoint issues, without the knowledge of the underlying software used to create them (e.g. CAD drawings where he could make annotations, etc). Do any of you have recommendations for building the 'meeting room of the 21st century'?"
"The solutions I have been looking into, so far, range from various types of whiteboards (Panasonic's interactive whiteboard, or SMART board one), to interactive displays, and software such as Netmeeting, or Cisco's meeting place.
I obviously need to combine any or all of the above with some capability of video (of course), thus I am looking into various webcams, and conferencing capabilities in some equipment - the latter is yet another challenge (VoIP or not?!?). I have also looked at meeting room suggestions, and I cannot really make up my mind."
Tandberg (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Tandberg (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Tandberg (Score:4, Informative)
Avoid NetMeeting like the plague. That software hasn't been updated since Windows 98, and as a result it is completely unreliable. The university is now using TANDBERG's [tandbergusa.com] See & Share software. It allows the presenter to share his desktop and (assuming you are using SMART boards) remote sites can draw on the presenter's screen. I highly recommend the SMART board/See & Share setup. It was easy enough for the professors and students to use, so it should be easy enough for your executives.
To control the whole setup, they had an AMX [amx.com] panel. The panel had a simple tabbed interface that let you turn the system on/off, adjust cameras, select inputs, change the volume, etc.
The video confrencing side is powered by some TANDBERG equipment. I'm not sure what specific box they used, but I can go look at it if you'd like. The cameras were some motorized SONY cams.
The room was set up with a dual display--one big screen TV to see the presenter/far sites and one SMART board. Overall, the system worked very well and was rather seamless. I'd recommend getting in touch with a local university and talking with them. If they have a DL setup, I'm sure they can give you some valuable insight. You can also take a look at this page about DL [uakron.edu] from the university I took my classes from (and a picture of a DL room [wikipedia.org]).
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
Re:Tandberg (Score:3, Interesting)
We've gone for 2 x 50" XGA Plasmas with a Logitech all in one video conferencing solution. Buying a seperate DVD/VHS, installing a PC permanenantly in a locked cupboard with wireless mouse and keyboard. We also have XGA and audio inputs on the
Re:Tandberg (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
I want nothing of any of this bullshit
Re:Tandberg (Score:2)
You may want to consider... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You may want to consider... (Score:2)
Re:You may want to consider... (Score:2)
I've never had a problem with Skype. I only have a cell phone and Skype at home so when I'm out my wife has to use Skype as the primary phone. Neither of us prefer to use it though because of the slight delay in voice (which is common with voip.) Never had it drop a call on me though. Overall Skype is pretty good with great quality voice and never dropped calls. Purchasing a phone for it [skype.com] would probably make us more inclined to use it.
Re:You may want to consider... (Score:3, Informative)
That said, I don't think I'd be crazy about it in this situation. For just VOIP, yes in a heart-beat. But since he wants to do so much more and its for a boss who isn't very tech savy, I'd say Skype may not really be called for. Skype is dead simple don't get me wrong, but any v
Re:You may want to consider... (Score:2)
This is a corporation. You don't need to go free, and in fact, don't want to go free. In many corporate board rooms, open source or "free" software still raises eyebrows... especially if you have a non-computer using CEO.
Get a full teleconferencing solution from a phone company. Hook up a camera to a plasma screen that tracks and zooms in to the sound of a voice, but make sure it's not set too sensitive. We had a m
Re:You may want to consider... (Score:2)
I suspect there are workarounds to this though...
jedi council (Score:5, Funny)
Re:jedi council (Score:3, Funny)
Re:jedi council (Score:2)
how am i supposed to hide my annoyance with that annoying Greg guy by flicking him off under the table?
Re:jedi council (Score:2)
Re:jedi council (Score:2)
Re:jedi council (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:jedi council (Score:5, Funny)
Re:jedi council (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:jedi council (Score:2)
Re:jedi council (Score:3, Insightful)
Simple (Score:3, Informative)
KISS ~~~~
You misread the key words. (Score:2)
These particular words are like gold dust and as such are to be worshipped. They are essentially a blank cheque to play with whatever expensive toys you think you can get your grubby mitts on.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
polycom (Score:2, Informative)
Polycom (Score:5, Informative)
They feature video auto-tracking (camera follows you) as well as PC integration. Using the H.323 standard, these webcams can connect with Netmeeting, Gnome Meeting, other webcams, and much more allowing you to offer conferencing to a wide range of people. With the PC integration you can share your desktop with your client while holding a steady conversation. H.323 also transmits voice as well elimating the need for phones. In our experiences, however, the clarity of voice is not as nice as a standard telephone call over a speakerphone. The unit will plug into either a monitor or television and can be connected directly into an ISDN line or assigned an IP address to receive phone calls.
Re:Polycom (Score:2)
We use a Polycom video conference system here at work and while it can be flakey at times, if it's set up and not "fooled with" (people turning it off while its busy, ISDN lines getting unplugged, etc.) it works great. Easily operated with a remote and a nice graphical menu on the TV, without a PC necessary, or you can use the PC integration features as the parent mentioned.
Re:Polycom (Score:2)
In general, I find videoconferencing a huge waste. You can't see anything, anyway, and the added breakdowns more than exceed any benefits over
Re:Polycom (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Polycom (Score:2)
Re:Polycom (Score:2)
Another cool addition to that setup was a digital projector. We displayed the video at our site using the digital projector, which made the folks life-size... it felt like they were in the room!
Have f
Re:Polycom (Score:2)
Nowadays they just use Netmeeting and share the application. The best thing about this is that while some people may be in the conference rooms, those not fully participating but might need to see it (like techs) can just hook into the netme
Re:Polycom (Score:2, Informative)
I've done this with the Polycom VSX7800, and it works well. However, note that they recently turned off their camera auto-tracking function because it was causing more problems than it solved (see other comment about jingling change).
Skip it. (Score:5, Insightful)
Skip the traditional whiteboard. (Score:4, Informative)
Whiteboard Walls.. (Score:2)
As for the topic, make sure the table has network jacks for the presenter and all attendees that can connect
Re:Skip it. (Score:2)
Re:Skip it. (Score:2)
Big freaking magnets.
Webex (Score:2, Informative)
for hardware... (Score:2)
PC with gyromouse [gyration.com]
Touchscreen input control panel (this controls light levels, projector screen, input devices [computer, dvd, vcr, aux, doc cam {audio and video}])
projector
racks of input devices (dvd, vcr, tape, aux inputs [such as vga, rca, etc])
along with a university internet connection and general software, this has served all purposes just fine. given this setup, you only need to ensure you have software for r
Re:for hardware... (Score:2)
Bandwidth is going to be the showstopper here; just a little bitty image in streaming video eats up the pipe and one that's large enough to represent someone in virtual meeting mode is really going to cost. The CEO isn't thinking a 2 inch square of someone sitting six feet back from their webcam on his screen, he's thinking taking up fullscreen ala Max Headroom. I'd say drop the video and go for good quality voice and whatever is on the presenter's screen/proj
how to stall... (Score:2, Funny)
Continue investigating until a real emergency comes up and distracts you. He'll understand.
Continue getting distracted and occationally researching more options until he either calls the whole thing off, finds a similar new stupid task for you, or decides he really does need a conference room and settles on the quickest easiest solution from th
A real suggestion (Score:5, Insightful)
You're going to be spending a LOT of money. Don't base those spending decisions on "what sounded good to folks on Slashdot."
There are experts in this area. Find them. Hire them.
If that's too expensive, with due respect, then this isn't a project you should be contemplating....
Re:A real suggestion (Score:2)
The best advice I can offer is to ignore my advice.
Re:A real suggestion (Score:2)
And if it doesn't work, Fire them
There you go, dude (Score:2)
Re:There you go, dude (Score:2)
It's a good product, though (Score:2)
Gnome under the table (Score:2)
Other people can make recommendations about what is or is not good hardware/software for conference room use, none of it will
Hire a professionial (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a pretty complex process involving getting all of the wiring in, the lighting rigged, cameras speced & set, sound adjusted, matching conferencing systems, etc. There's a lot of art to it, figuring out room layout & microphone placement so folks sound natural, nobody has to shout or whisper, noisy equipment is muffled, lighting works for cameras while not leaving everyone dazzled, etc.
Could you do it? Sure, with lots of trial & error.
However hire someone who does this all of the time & they'll keep you from going down dead-ends, give you real numbers to work with, know the vendors and their offerings. Almost none of this overlaps with networking, nor with consumer product experience you might have had, so really a pro is probably best.
So, in other words... (Score:5, Insightful)
What he needs is not only a room, but someone to facilitate it's operation. You can get the best equipment in the world, but if he from the get go has basically said he doesn't want to know how to operate it (which I interpret from the original post,) Then it is just going to be dead weight to him and a waste of money.
Long story short: Remember when you were the AV guy in high school? Welcome back.
Netmeeting and phone conferncing (Score:2, Insightful)
MS netmeeting
Re:Netmeeting and phone conferncing (Score:2)
I've been able to talk to NetMeeting from SunForum on a Solaris machine. (wouldn't surprise me if GnomeMeeting also worked for this)
ichat a/v (Score:2, Informative)
Re:ichat a/v (Score:2)
Re:ichat a/v (Score:2)
Yes and No (Score:2)
Wait 10 years, and all of the problems facing you to do this today will be solved... unfortunately, a new batch of problems will have arisen.
Intermission:
I think that we've just settled that your position is one in which you can't really hope to satisfy certain clients... lets hope your CEO is a very cool guy... here's what you do.
Answer 2)
1) KVM via IP. Everyone who wants to click into your system gets linked into KVM via IP over a VPN running connecting your virtual conference room. Too ba
Re:Yes and No (Score:2)
Interwise (Score:2)
Do you need it? (Score:4, Insightful)
I think I've been in maybe 2 video conferences over the span of 6 years that were better than a plain telephone conference call. The video usually adds nothing, or even detracts. We don't even attempt to integrate computers into the process, it'd just be more confusion (we tried to add a VGA feed once to a video conference, it did not end well, we ended up having the remote site refere to paper handouts of the PPT I'd made).
Keep it real simple. Wasting 30 minutes of an hour-long meeting making the electronics work right is no way to run things.
don't mess around (Score:5, Informative)
Document camera, DVD/VCR and good audio reinforcement.
Re:don't mess around (Score:3, Interesting)
managing cables (Score:2)
emulate "Revenge of the Sith" (Score:2)
I did see some prototypes of this at SIGGRAPH where you use CAVES (a room with 3 or 4 television walls) mixing real and television people. Small TV screen arent as effective.
Don't bother (Score:3, Insightful)
You might want to point out to your CEO that face-to-face meetings are far better and that the expense of using the high-tech "airplane". Will be more than offset by the cost of a high-tech meeting room and the costs associated with poor communication.
Getting people physically into the same room for meetings should always be considered close to non-negotiable. The exceptions? People who truly have nothing to contribute, or those who due to emergencies or other serious physical limitations cannot travel to be in the same room.
Re:Don't bother (Score:2)
face to face is great but not practicle in today's global village working environment
Yup (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah. Hire someone else (it sounds like you are in over your head).
Darn requirements (Score:2)
I guess conference room babes would be out of the question then.
Raindance (Score:2)
Before I tell you what you need... (Score:4, Funny)
Whatever you do, organize the cables! (Score:2)
I'm sure whoever bought the conference room table thought they were doing a great job putting 4 power outlets and 4 network ports into the surface of the conference table, but I have to say it's a disaster. It has no facility for additional cabling.
In weekly meetings, we typically see 8-10 laptops on the table. So, we have an ethernet switch on the table as well. Naturally, 4 power outlets is far too few, so we have power strips on the table
Webcam suggestion- (Score:2)
It needs a big videoconference monitor on the wall (Score:2)
("Hey Butt-head, this chick has three boobs." "How many butts does she have?" "Huhuhuh.")
Put in a control room (Score:2)
Funny you should say this. (Score:2)
All t
projectors- design the room around it (Score:2)
Also talk to a lighting designer (theater or architectural) for good ideas to light the tables & video subjects subtly.
Plasma Screens (Score:2)
This is the wrong place to ask (Score:5, Insightful)
It sounds like we would have been able to leverage some of the technical genius we have around here, but putting together a world-class conference room is much, much more about usability and interior design than technology. So much so, that Slashdot isn't even the right place to be asking about it.
First part of the problem is usability. Engineers do not typically understand how to make things easy to use, because they have a much higher tolerance for complexity than the average person. An engineer figures stuff out and gets the job done no matter what. They hardly even notice when something is hard to use or a user interface is clunky. A difficulty that would be a showstopper for a regular user is just background static to an engineer.
Then there is the other side of the problem: the interior design and looks. The average engineer has a superior IQ, but can barely match his belt with his shoes. There is no way they could pick out a color scheme, lighting, furniture, chairs, podiums, desks, etc., and have it all look professional and attractive. People go to school for years to learn how to do that successfully; it is such an intricate and intuitive discipline that most of us cannot even appreciate how difficult it is. We tend to think of interior designers as non-essential and trivial people, but they are very skilled and valuable when needed. I know people who are so technologically inept they cannot send an email even with extensive coaching, yet their house looks straight out of an interior design magazine.
If you want a good conference room, you do need nerds for the equipment selection, installation, and configuration, but they must be kept on a tight leash, subordinate to the interior designers. Engineers are a curious, helpful folk and probably won't be able to understand why they're a liability to the rest of the project.
Many requirements (Score:2)
2 - A conference table that is network cable friendly (you will also want a switch that can accomodate each possible computer, and a wireless hub)
3 - Clearly labeled instructions for those who want to get onto the wireless or the wired network (so you do not have to run in EVERY two seconds, which you will anyhow.
5 - A high quality conference camera
6 - A high quality conference room phone
7 - A nice projecter or plasma TV for presentations
8 - Wetboard so he can write on
Need more then conference software. (Score:2)
One of the companies I work for have a product labled Session [wave3software.com] by wave 3 software.
It is a conference applicaton, as well as desktop sharing/controling and a very powerful whiteboard, sounds like it would work well with what you are looking for. It should cover most everything you would need.
Very difficult problem... (Score:3, Insightful)
First off, plan for the number and type of users: how many (maximum) and whether these will be meeting attendees, training attendees, roundtable discussion attendees, etc. Knowing this information is vital to determining which room you will be situating the system in, the size of the room, the size of the table(s), the layout of everything, and the audio/visual/network requirements.
If you are planning on running meetings or rountables, mainly, then a standard long "boardroom" approach might work, but consider other options which might be more flexible. At one place I worked at, we had a room that worked well for training and large meetings which was set up as a "stadium" style raised platform workstations (that is, four tiered rows of "tables") with a rear-projected screen and surround sound system. It worked rather well for both meetings and training. There were identically configured PCs for all of the users (ghosted systems), and the trainer could "take over" one or all the machines for training purposes. With the raised platforms, everybody could see the screen without people's heads blocking it, and rear projection eliminated the "hairdo" blocking problem as well. Wires were hidden, and everything looked nice. However, it wasn't conducive to a "roundtable" meeting, because of the "straight" layout (you need a more circular layout for this) - the best compromise, if you have the space, then, is to use a "horseshoe" shaped, tiered layout for the users, with a central (or off to the side, or moveable) presentation podium/dais for the presenter, and a rear projected screen or large plasma screen.
Audio needs also should be thought of - for most uses, I would say ditch the idea of a stereo or surround system, and go for a clear sounding monophonic PA system, with wireless microphones (handheld, lapel, and perhaps headset). Mount several speakers in the ceiling and up front (near or behind the screen) so that everyone can hear equally well.
If you must use a front projection system, keep colors in mind, as well as the brightness of the projector. If the projector is overly bright, and you use light wall coloring, there might be glare issues. Perhaps, use a darker paint for the wall surrounding the screen...
Remember to have adjustable (dimmable) lights for the general room, perhaps with a spotlight or two for the front (to illuminate the presenter), as well as perhaps lights on the podium, and maybe individual lights for each user.
Give users enough room to be comfortable and actually work. In a "working meeting" this is doubly important. For network access, provide wireless connectivity. Try to eliminate wires as much as is practical and possible. Where it isn't, try to hide the wires. Also note that for video conferencing, you may want to have the PC grabbing the video be on a dedicated wired connection. You may also want this machine to be wholly separate from the machine doing the presentation (not always necessary, though - and sometimes, you will want both integrated together for collaboration).
Remember to set up for a wireless presentation mouse, and train your users how to use it. Get one with an integrated laser pointer. Something that I thought of, but I haven't seen (and I have too many projects to try to build one) is the idea of a "laser marker" for the screen - how often have you seen someone use a laser pointer to "circle" or "draw" around areas on a powerpoint presentation? Imagine if you could actually leave a "line" on the screen (a virtual marker)? A laser pointer, with the mouse button, with a camera focused on the screen and software tracking the dot of light...this kind of application has to already exist - if it doesn't, think of the possibilities...?
Provide comfortable chairs (they don't have to be expensive, but they should be fairly nice looking and comfortable to sit in and work in for 1-2 hour periods),
Please consider the entire space and not just tech (Score:2)
I have seen several companies that throw money at the problem and end up with a bunch of cool software and hardware but the room and experience sucks. Crappy room layout and a clumbsy user experience are very easy to accidentally build. Cable management, convienent connectivity for participants, projector location, screen placement, seating arrangement, etc. are al
Outsource (Score:2)
As infrastructure, these things aren't used often enough at most sites to justify the cost of installation, equipment, network QOS, and support.
So if possible, go down the street and use a videoconference facility run by someone else. They're not cheap once the hours really start to add up, but for the cost of a few initial test rides, and zero effort except that of showing up, they are an excellent way to assess the technology
There's a simple solution here... (Score:2)
Speech interfaces, project data on any wall. Don't have a wall? Ask it to create a wall. Project any graph. Don't have a graph? Ask it to create a graph. Not enough seating locally? Ask it to create some new seats. Problem solved.
Let me know when it's done. I'll pay you to install one where I work too.
Projector Recommendation (Score:2, Funny)
You have to be kidding me! (Score:2)
All the advice in this thread will probably be all well and good. But grow some balls and tell your boss that what I quoted above is just not gonna happen. He needs to know the tech his company is using, because even face to face he can't function without that knowledge. Building him a nice teleconferencing unit isn't gonna solve that lack of knowledge. Even worse, telepresence is
Saw this idea somewhere else.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Saw this idea somewhere else.... (Score:2)
Eva series o kansei shite no?
Re:Your sig... (Score:2)
MOD PARENT UP (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Best solution (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Keep it dark (Score:2)
Also, try to gauge his laugh and have a sound board setup in case his own laughter doesn't have that 'evil bastard' quality to it... but he's a CEO so that really shouldn't be a problem.
Re:Try this (Score:2)
Doesn't it usually work the other way around?