视频会议与流媒体——终于

多年来, people have talked about the value of integrating existing videoconferencing into live events being held in corporate auditoriums as a way to bring in remote subject matter experts (SMEs) for presentations and live question-and-answer sessions. 但是视频会议和流媒体的整合却落后了, 困在模拟解码和重新编码的世界里.

So we thought it was high time to find out whether the integration of videoconferencing and streaming had progressed into the 21st century or was still stuck somewhere in the analog past.

对于那些可能不熟悉视频会议单元的各个部分的人, 基本输入部分是音频输入/麦克风, 集成摄像头或视频输入连接器, 还有一个编码器. 在输出端, 解码器分离音频和视频信号, 将它们发送到集成屏幕或视频和音频输出端口.

Videoconferencing units can either connect directly to one another in a point-to-point configuration -- not unlike a FaceTime call between iPhones -- or multiple videoconferencing endpoints can all call into a multipoint control unit (MCU, also referred to as a bridge) so that all callers can see one another in a four- or nine-image tiled view. 平铺视图, 我们将在本文后面进行探讨, 对老练的人来说是不是太简单了, high-quality content that corporate communications departments are creating for their internal audiences.

The integration issue lies in the fact that most videoconferencing endpoints are designed to work well in point-to-point with like-type endpoints, 或在多点MCU调用中, but are not really designed as a simple broadcasting or publishing point like those we’re familiar with in the streaming world.

Even the idea of recording videoconferences was such a foreign concept in the early days that my question to a vendor at a 1995 videoconferencing trade show about ways to do so was met with the question, “为什么会有人想要录制视频会议??”

整合挑战

幸运的是, 今天我们不仅有能力记录内容, including the HD-quality telepresence videoconferencing that’s of great interest to corporations, but we also have the ability to integrate videoconferencing feeds directly into streaming platforms.

埃里克·赫兹, MediaPlatform的业务发展总监, says that his company is working to integrate with Cisco’s TelePresence Content Server (TCS).

“我们现在正在与一些客户和潜在客户试行与思科TCS的集成,赫兹说。. “Some have been using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to backhaul video from a remote endpoint to their studio where they now output analog video and route this back into a capture card for re-encoding to our streaming servers.”

MediaPlatform与Cisco TCS集成的一个例子, 使用Jabber, which is now in pilot stage; above left: Polycom’s latest addition to its RealPresence line of collaboration servers uses the scalable video coding protocol to connect with systems using other protocols 如AVC.

赫兹说，试点项目是与财富500强公司合作的, 它们每年都会举办100多场活动.

“与思科TCS集成,他补充道, “他们可以保持数字化, 编码一次, 并成为我们网络广播的来源. 我们也在转码一些较低比特率的流，以创建一个适合移动设备的ABR流.”

宝利通也在高清协作视频会议方面取得了进展, 通过其RealPresence系列协作服务器. 事实上, 其最新的MCU, Polycom RealPresence协作服务器800, 被宣传为一个结合了流媒体技术的节省成本的单位.

“宝利通RealPresence协作服务器800s是业界首个多协议, 在工业标准服务器上运行的集成软件MCU,宝利通在最近的一份新闻稿中表示, adding that the open standards-based concept uses the scalable video coding (SVC) protocol to connect “with video systems using other protocols, 如AVC, 去同一个会议，不用昂贵的网关, 额外的许可证, 或者隐藏成本.”

Polycom is gearing the 800s toward midsize enterprises or branch offices of large organizations and promises this MCU is “uniquely interoperable with the existing 2M+ video conferencing systems in the market today.”

Qumu的产品和技术高级副总裁, 克劳德Dupuis, says that one of the biggest challenges his company addresses is full integration of streaming and videoconferencing, 包括直播和录制内容.

“One challenge can be finding a solution that has a complete integration to include both live streaming and automated archiving of recording for on-demand playback,Dupuis说. “在直播方面, 解决方案需要包括视频会议设备的自动启动.”

Dupuis表示，在企业内部，直播和点播之间的差距正在扩大, where even just a few years ago it skewed heavily toward a preference for on-demand viewing. But he says challenges remain in educating enterprises on the use of their existing videoconferencing gear.

“并非所有组织都意识到这种(集成)能力是可用的,Dupuis说, 所以这就需要一些教育. Other enterprises with large videoconferencing deployments are already looking for ways to leverage their infrastructure and integrate it with video-management solutions, 所以需求和意识已经存在了.”

“通常较新的视频会议解决方案会有一个流媒体组件，”Dupuis说. “这就是视频管理平台, 比如曲木视频控制中心(VCC), 将与组件接口以获取流, then manage and distribute it through the enterprise’s network via an internal content-distribution network.”

Dupuis noted that Qumu’s VCC has full-featured integrations with Polycom and Cisco videoconferencing units, 但是对于没有集成流媒体功能的视频会议解决方案, 退回到视频会议标准H.323 and SIP, which can be used to connect to the videoconferencing bridge and acquire the stream.

直接连接到视频会议桥通过H.323/SIP allows streaming solutions to take advantage of the fact that videoconferencing has used the H.264编解码器已经有十多年了, 现在，这种流媒体与视频会议本质上是兼容的.

企业员工想要什么?

几个月前，曲木发表了一项研究结果, asking participants how their companies would benefit most if their enterprise portal or intranet had the ability for a “YouTube-like” video experience. 大约500名受访者对9个选项进行了优先排序.

What they prioritized far and away beyond other options was video training for office workers. 这种反应, at 64%, 是否比第二优先级高20%, 哪一个是改进的人力百家乐软件和福利沟通. 换句话说, workers really do want training and have a strong preference to receive this training via video.

受访者还对视频直播的想法反应强烈, 58%的人表示他们希望看到对视频直播的支持. 社交媒体方面也很强大, 28%的人表示，他们希望能够在观看视频时与他人合作. We asked a number of vendors whether there are particular challenges with integrating the concepts of streaming and videoconferencing.

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