Polycom, WireOne and the NFL

Have you been watching the NFL draft coverage today? See the ESPN gang talk with coaches and general managers using the “Coors Light Videoconference”? Well, Coors isn’t the latest entry into the videoconferencing market, it’s just looking to sell some beer. The technology behind the videoconference is supplied by Polycom and WireOne. Polycom endpoints are placed in each team’s draft “war room” at their respective headquarters and at the central draft and ESPN broadcast location at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s all connected via WireOne’s Glowpoint IP network running H.323. If I didn’t have prior knowledge of the setup, I would never have guessed traditional IP conferencing was being used. If you look closesly, you can tell there’s a slightly different frame rate than standard TV, but it’s pretty darn close.