* Product review of Cisco's TelePresence 3000
Product Review: First impressions of Cisco’s TelePresence
By Sumner Lemon
Cisco’s TelePresence 3000 is awesome, but then anything with three 65-inch plasma display screens would be. Still, there’s more to the TelePresence 3000 than looks alone: it’s by far one of the best videoconferencing systems out there — with a sky-high price tag to match.
The centerpiece of the TelePresence 3000 is three 65-inch plasma displays mounted facing a meeting table that seats six. With life-size, high-definition video of meeting participants from a second location, the screens create a passable illusion of a “virtual table,” with up to 12 participants seated around the same table.
Video of meeting participants is captured by an array of three cameras mounted above the center screen, each of them focused on two people. Microphones built into the table surface capture audio, which is output using a surround-sound speaker system that is mounted under the plasma screens.
Cisco gave journalists a chance to try the TelePresence 3000 on Thursday, using the system for a videoconference between the company’s offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The demonstration was conducted using video at a resolution of 1,080 lines, the highest supported by the system.
The result was impressive. The life-size video showed no artifacts or delay, and made it easy to relate to other participants. The resolution was high enough that documents held up to the camera at one location could be easily read onscreen at the second location. The surround-sound audio made it easy to follow who was speaking during the demonstration, since a person’s voice was closely matched to their position on the plasma screens.
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