Telepresence is something of a buzzword at the moment, with Cisco following HP in launching an offering, and given the patchy experience that was the videoconferencing of yesteryear, it is no surprise that they both should want to market their products as something else.
However, there is some substance to the new term, not least because it promises a degree of virtual reality that was the stuff of dreams when videoconferencing took off in the 80s. To quote the Wikipedia entry, telepresence is the experience of being fully present at a live real world location remote from one’s own physical location. Someone experiencing transparent telepresence would therefore be able to behave, and receive stimuli, as though at the remote site.
The HP offering, its so-called Halo Room, aims for this immersive experience, with a price tag to match. San Jose, California-based Cisco has pre-briefed some journalists, one of whom broke the NDA with the story last week, but Cisco will reveal all today.
Based on what the embargo-breaker published, the vendor intends to offer an entry-level, single-screen version of the technology for $50,000, while at the other end of the portfolio, an all-inclusive conferencing room with three flat-panel displays, a table with the conference bridge and cameras will cost $250,000. Cisco also told those it pre-briefed that it sees the technology getting cheaper over time, to the point that it will ultimately be suitable for bundling into regular TV sets.
Also to be confirmed will be the degree to which the technology will be standards-based or proprietary. For instance, will it work with other vendors’ IP phones, cameras and FPDs? And will a company acquiring a full-blown room from Cisco have to have the same technology at the other end, or could it, for instance, have a Halo Room, or another vendor’s conference bridge without all the high-end kit of a dedicated room?
