……

“I have not had many pro-to-pro problems per se,” says J. Scott Christianson, owner of Kaleidoscope Videoconferencing. “Probably the biggest has been with Polycom infrastructure products that are trying to maintain backwards compatibility with their pre-H.239 standard content video.

“[They] will send out non-standard data that Cisco/Tandberg and LifeSize codecs can’t understand. Generally this only happens when one of the older Polycom codecs (pre-HDX series) is in the call and the MCU defaults to some type of backward compatibility mode.”

……

“Compare the reluctance to integrate with consumer products [such as Skype] with the rush to integrate with a business class product like Lync,” Christianson says. “Lync is not a free service, so one can assume that if a customer has desktop video via Lync, they are not about to purchase your RealPresence or ClearSea solution for the desktop, so that part of the sale is already off the table.”

“Our new release is free to all existing customers and allows for the CB2000 to seamlessly interoperate with all MC Lync and Skype systems using a set of simple voice commands,” said Jacob T Farsworth, CEO of CB enterprises. A full API will also be made available for third party (AMX and Crestron) integration.

“The folks at CB enterprises really know what they are doing,” said Andrew Davis of Wainhouse Research. “I know of no other company that offers full UC integration without all the infrastructure costs. The user interface is so intuitive that even a squirrel could use it. Unfortunately, C-level execs will probably still need a tech (or a squirrel) in the room to assist.”

The CB2000

One quick glance through the VTCtalk discussionsand you can easily tell that for most customers, standard videoconferencing units are way, way too complicated. Someone setting up a standard videoconferencing unit might be required to connect a few wires, set an IP address or even read a few pages in the manual !!

But no worry no longer, my friend. Help is on its way. The days of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new videoconferencing solution–and apparently nothing for training, installation or pre-sales consultation–are over.Introducing the CB2000, the world’s first zero configuration, zero user-interface videoconferencing solution. Just look at the tech specs for the CB2000 and you’ll see why it is selling like crazy, and I do mean crazy.

• Network requirements: None. Works via wireless word-wide wide-band telekinesis network.
• Lighting requirements: None. Can operate in complete darkness or in 500,000,000 lumen environments  via the CB autoluminate mutilens technology.
• Multipoint capacity: Infinite. Allows for ad hoc and scheduled conferencing with 0 to an infinite number participants. (Note: conferencing with 0 participants requires the oblivion license key, $14,000.95 retail).
• Power requirements: None. The worlds first self-powered VTC system. Makes calculating carbon footprint a breeze. In addition, CB2000 is LEED gold certified.
• Microphone pickup: 0 to infinity. 45 million individual carbon atoms in the CB2000 have been specifically tuned to act as the most sensitive of microphone receivers, capable of receiving and reliably transmitting the loudest thunderclap, or the faintest trace of the cosmic background radiation.
• Camera: 360 degree camera allows the CB2000 to gather visual information in every direction. No more of all the stupid panning, tilting, zooming, etc.. Combine with the X-Ray license key ($643,000 retail), and the CB2000 can see through clothes!

Setup is a breeze. Just hold the CB2000 in your hand, close your eyes and instantly connect with whoever you want to, living or dead. For additional tech support, visit our training partner web site, which is filled with training exercises to help you start making your CB2000 conferences happen today.

Priced at $.10 the CB2000 is guaranteed to last a lifetime if properly cared for, and offers the best ROI in the telepresence market today. Need to add another CB2000 after you purchase your first? No problem, just tear it in two and give the other half your colleague. Installation is just that simple. And more importantly, you will not have to spend on dime on wasteful items such as training, installation support, or consulting fees.

As part of our announcement we are selling a bundled package of 200 CB2000s at a steep discount of $2.29. To order click here.

# # #

There are currently 35 sites (H323 and SIP) sites in this list. All have been verified on March 27, 2013 by completing a successful call to the dial string address (IP, Domain Name or SIP URI).

Get the full details on how to use at: http://www.thefreerangetechnologist.com/?page_id=2228

 Use this open Videocenter (A LifeSize product) to record and stream your videoconference or video call to document a problem, test a system or do a quick demonstration. This is an open channel for free use. However, please remember that this is a public stream (anyone can see it). Bandwidth on this channel has been limited so that just 40-50 people at a time can be watching.

OpenStream HighBW

Open Steam Low BW

The current stream can be viewed above, or in the live videos section of the VTCStream.com Videocenter. If you want to have your own private channel for streaming and recording, contact one of VTCStream’s resellers.

Project documentation:

• Project Plan
• Test Plan

Reports:

• HGWMVC-final-report
• An Evaluation of Carbon Calculators for Transport and Electricity
• Evaluation of test equipment
• Power Consumption of Videoconferencing Equipment.

Case Studies:

• Videoconferencing at Aberystwyth University
• Videoconferencing Links Welsh Institutions
• Videoconferencing at Coleg Llandrillo
• Videoconferencing at Bangor University

Briefing papers:

• Embedding Videoconferencing
• Buying Studio Videoconferencing Equipment

First Option: Ad hoc

Users call the IP address of the bridge (or name or address book entry) and use the on-screen menus to create their conference. This is the fastest way to get a conference up and running, but the attributes of the conference (layout, protocols, etc.) aren’t setup in advance. This also tends to encourage or allow users to “jump” into conferences that they see on the bridge at inappropriate times. This is great for ad hoc type of meetings, but not for conferences where control over admittance or schedule are needed. Also, like On Demand conferences, ports are not reserved with Ad hoc conferences (see below).

Second Option: On Demand

The conference is setup on the bridge and then users dial the bridge IP plus the conference ID (e.g., 10.10.10.10##1001 will get you into conference 1001 on the bridge with an ip address of 10.10.10.10). The conference is permanent in that it has no beginning or ending time and will not be removed from the bridge unless an operator manually does so. The advantage of an On Demand conference is that you set it up once and it is always there ready for you to dial into. You can set all the attributes of the conference (layout, protocols, etc). Just like you would with any conference. However, On Demand conferences do not reserve ports. So if you have a 16 port bridge capacity and 12 ports already in use when you enter the On Demand conference 1003, then only 3 other participants can join your conference. Alternatively, if you have a 16 port bridge capacity and 12 ports already SCHEDULED for other conferences (regardless of whether they are in use or not) when you enter the On Demand conference 1003, then only 3 other participants can join your conference.

From the Bridge Admin Manual

An on demand conference has no allocated ports; it can use any available port not scheduled or active. An on demand conference includes all attributes of a scheduled conference except the start and end time and recurrence settings. This conference begins if requested ports are available when the first participant attempts to join.

So if you have a 16 port bridge and will never have more than 16 concurrent endpoints connected, using On Demand conferences can be a good way to go.

Third Option: Scheduled on Bridge

The big advantage of scheduling a conference, is that ports are reserved for your use at the times that your conference is scheduled, so you know that all of your participants will be able to connect at the designated time. This is a great advantage if you have more endpoints than bridge ports and need to make sure that any scheduling conflicts are resolved in advance. Like with On Demand conferences, users dial the bridge IP plus the conference ID (e.g., 10.10.10.10##1001 will get you into conference 1001 on the bridge with an ip address of 10.10.10.10).

From the Bridge Admin Manual

The Scheduler manages all scheduling of ports and ensures there are no conflicts with the available ports. LifeSize Bridge includes 16 ports; each participant in a conference uses one port.
Up to eight conferences can be active at one time. Scheduled conferences take priority over on demand conferences. Therefore, if there are 2 two-way scheduled conferences and 10 on demand conferences, only 6 of the on demand conferences will be allowed to become active, consisting of two participants in each. In this scenario, attempts to join the remaining on demand conferences are rejected and the caller receives a busy signal.
If two active, scheduled conferences are using 4 ports and 6 ports respectively, 10 ports are scheduled, leaving 6 ports available for on demand conferences. If a scheduled conference requiring 3 ports becomes active, the longest running on demand conference(s) will terminate to free the necessary 3 ports for the scheduled conference.
Up to 40 on demand conferences are supported. On demand conferences are listed in a separate view in the Scheduler, to the left of the calendar view.

Fourth Option: Scheduled through LifeSize Control or Manager.

This is the most powerful option. LifeSize Control or Manager can be  set to administer the Bridge and all endpoints and all conferences are scheduled through Control. This allows you to schedule calls that just involve two endpoints by having one endpoint automatically call the other one. For multipoint calls you can either add the Bridge to the call (Control will then automatically have all endpoints dial into their conference on the bridge) or set an MCU affinity and the Bridge will be automatically added to any multipoint conferences. In addition you have the flexibility of mixing and matching the use of endpoints with multipoint capabilities with the multipoint capability of the LifeSize Bridge.

Say that you have a Bridge with 16 ports, and 20 endpoints. Capacity is rarely an issue and normally most multipoint conferences are hosted on the Bridge. However, today at 10am you need to have 5 conferences running with 4 participants each. Luckily, one of your endpoints is a LifeSize Team 220 with the ability to host a 4 way call. You can setup control to use the built in multipoint of the Team 220 for this conference and it will connect that conference through the Team 220 and the other conferences through the Bridge. (Note: in this scenario, the customer would need 21 control licenses, one for each endpoint and one for the MCU).

Recommendations

• Don’t mix and match scheduling techniques. There are just to many ways to generate conflicts and confuse your end users. They don’t want to have to dial in for some conferences, have their system dialed for others, etc.
• Consider using the Lifesize Control or Manager as your main means of scheduling. This offers the best utilization of your technology assets and allows for a consistent user experience for bridge and point-to-point calls. It also allows for capturing network statistics so that you can identify network problems that might impact videoconferencing performance.

Hopefully this provides a good overview of the considerations in scheduling calls with the LifeSize Bridge. Provide your opinions and ideas in the comments below!

But really there is nothing new here.  Nearly nine years ago,  I wrote one of the first white papers about the security vulnerabilities of Polycom videoconferencing endpoint for the SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute as part of my security certification in the GIAC security certification program: Polycom Videoconferencing Endpoint Security and Configuration.  While this paper is somewhat dated, most all of the security concerns raised with H323 and SIP videoconferencing are covered including theft of endpoints, eavesdropping on  videoconferencing calls, administrative security, ISDN and perimeter security, SNMP  access threats, FTP access threats, and denial of service attacks. You can download the full report here: polycom-videoconferencing-endpoint-security-configuration_21.

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the security of videoconferencing endpoints made by Polycom Corporation…. The paper begins by discussing the recent growth in videoconferencing and introducing the International  Telecommunication Union (ITU) system of videoconferencing standards.  Videoconferencing components are briefly reviewed, including H.323 Terminals, MCUs, and Gatekeepers. The paper then provides an overview of the videoconferencing  endpoints offered by Polycom. Next, the paper reviews some motivations for attacking  videoconferencing endpoints. Then a number of vulnerabilities and related security  measures are discussed, including: theft of endpoints, eavesdropping on  videoconferencing calls, administrative security, ISDN and perimeter security, SNMP  access threats, FTP access threats, and denial of service attacks. The paper describes how vulnerability scanners can misreport videoconferencing endpoints as Trojan horse  programs and concludes with a checklist for Polycom endpoint security.

 

1. You open yourself up to being played by dealers. Let’s say that I have an order for $100K that comes in today. Rather than just place the order, I’d be smart to hold it until later in the month and then tell the sales reps for various makers involved in the project that “I might be able to close this deal, but they only have X dollars in the budget. If you can get me another 20% off, I’ll do what I can to try to close it.” Of course, if they come back with 20, 15, or 10 more off, it doesn’t really matter. I’d place the order with the maximum discount I can get, and then pocket the difference for myself.
2. If an extra 10% would close a deal, then why not do that back in January? Or next month? Are we losing deals in other months because we don’t have the opportunity to get better pricing?
3. Looking long term, think of how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit are given up by Sales reps in order to close a deal by a certain deadline. That money could have been used to provide each dealer with more demo resources, more joint marketing efforts, helping with lead generation, etc. Or even just to market the brand as a whole direct to customers, increase name recognition, etc. Is inflating your sales this quarter worth the loss in capital that you could use to really grow your market?
4. By moving business that would have come in during April and May to March, these reps are just accelerating the pace of sales quotas that they have to meet. It is like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” What happened to slow and steady winning the race? You might have steady growth in sales as measured by units, market share, etc, but by cutting your margins to make the deal happen now, your revenues and income might be showing a decrease.
5. I’m also not sure how this comes off to customers, when dealers are calling with special offers to close a deal by the end of the month. Not all businesses work like this and I’m sure to some it comes off as more of a sleazy salesman pitch. For the long term, you want to establish a relationship of trust with the client. Saying that you can give them a deal right now, but not earlier or later, might cause them to wonder if you are really giving them a fair price on a regular basis.
6. The argument for increasing sales in a given quarter/year usually has more to do with the competition. “We need to show that we are doing better then Company X.” “Company X will beat us up in the press if we don’t have a good quarter, etc.” I have never thought it was a good idea to be that concerned about your competition. They will always be trying to create FUD about your products in the mind of your customers. Are the short term gains worth the long term losses? Isn’t it better have some $$ to reinvest in your R&D, overall sales efforts, etc.

Thoughts?

After talking with Cisco, I found out that this is a known problem with the version of the software that they were running (TC 4.2.1). The solution is to upgrade to TC5.1.6, which contains a fix for the issue. The upgrade should force a software upgrade to the camera. I was able to do this and sure enough, the camera started working again!

The TC 5.1.6 software is available from http://ftp.tandberg.com/pub/software/endpoints/tc/tc5/s52000tc5_1_6.pkg (you might need a release key) . If the camera firmware upgrade doesn’t automatically start, then connect with a SSH session (using Putty or SecureCRT), log in as admin and issue the command:

systemtools camerarescueRunning

Note: Resetting the C20 to Factory Defaults
I had to do a hard-reset back to factory defaults to reset the password (the customer had forgotten it). The Cisco Documentation states that the following proceedure will work for versions 5.0 and previous to do a reset (there is a different one for 5.1 and higher).

• Press and hold the on/off button for 10 seconds, LED doesn’t light up
• After 10 seconds the LED starts blinking (1 second ON, 0.5 seconds OFF)
• Within the next 2 seconds press twice on the on/off button
• Call LED lights up continuously while “factory reset” is being performed (minimum 3 seconds)
• System boots up as normal

However, this will not actually work on 4.2.1. To factory default on 4.2.1:

• When powered down, pressing the power switch for fifteen seconds (until the green LED in the front of the system turns red).
• Now confirm the reset by two short presses within the next five seconds.

Why in the world you would change the hard reset procedure from software version to software version is beyond me…

So we were very interested when Clearone launched a ceiling microphone solution that would connect via cat5, but be able to be used with any microphone mixer. Here is a link to the ClearOne information on the product: Click Here. 

Here is a link to the datasheet: Click Here. 

So far, we have installed these in about 20 Rooms with great success. Typically we will use a small 6-channel mixer from Kramer Electronics or Radio Design Labs and then feed that to the LifeSize.

You can also contact me, and we’ll send you a spreadsheet that calculates the number of microphones needed within a particular room environment.