Konrad and ALL: Article...Proshare Mobile Videoconferencing..
Mobile Videoconferencing Becomes Noteworthy
by Bill O'Brien
Originally published in the July 1997 issue of Computer Shopper
Videoconferencing may have finally found a worthy ally in Toshiba America Information Systems. The company's $499 Noteworthy Business Video Phone product combines the software acuity of Intel ProShare Technology with state-of-the-art video hardware.
Noteworthy comes with a 1x3.5x1.5-inch (HWD) color video camera and a CardBus video-capture card. You will need a V.80 videophone-ready modem with voice capability to use Noteworthy. The V.80 standard is a recently released technology, and modems using V.80 cost about $200.
Installation is just a matter of plugging the capture card into an available PC Card slot and connecting the video camera to the capture card via the included cable. After you connect your modem to a standard telephone line, you are ready to videoconference. The software installation is relatively easy.
ProShare software is optimized for MMX technology but works well on non-MMX laptops. ProShare supports not only videoconferencing but also data-sharing and whiteboarding.
Noteworthy's Conference Manager software displays side-by-side images of the outgoing and incoming video. The software can be set to favor either image quality or motion, depending upon what's being viewed. High-color mode (16-bit) is the recommended video mode for the best imaging.
Noteworthy taps into your computer's sound facilities for its incoming and outgoing audio. You can set the software to start up in listening mode, which allows the computer to answer incoming calls automatically.
Overall, Toshiba has done a good job of implementing its videoconferencing product. Noteworthy still doesn't produce the NTSC television standard 30 fps, but with the software adjustments set to favor motion, it approaches 20 fps, which is acceptable. The user controls, which include an onscreen keypad for dialing and audio and video controls, are intuitive. And what little information not covered in the illustrated manual is most likely found in the step-by-step online help. Live, toll-free tech support is available daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. (PT).
Adding quality videoconferencing to your laptop is a feat in itself, and Toshiba's new product makes it easy to do as well.
Mfr. Est. Price: $499
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Konrad with all your mobile telecomuting you may need to get one of these soon. :-)
Regards, Michael |
