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FIU Video Conferencing Capabilities

FIU operates two MPEG2 videoconferencing units (Litton) which can do broadcast quality video over IP or ATM. These units were used for three Internet2 music demos in collaboration with New World Symphony and Oklahoma State University.  The Litton Codecs units are utilized between FIU's University Park and Biscayne Bay campuses. The picture quality of these units is excellent, although intermittent picture freeze-ups and audio drop-outs have been a problem, apparently due to network congestion. They operate at up to 15 Mb/sec each direction.

FIU also has MPEG1 Codecs (Vbrick) that have been in use between the Biscayne Bay and University Park campuses for distance learning classes. They are operating at 2 Mb/sec sampling at CIF resolution and look only slightly better than the early Picturetel brand H.320 units which operate over ISDN.  FIU continues to support Picturetel over ISDN.

Please note that the inter-operability between different make of MPEG units is reported to be not good at this time, despite the MPEG standards.

FIU is currently using H.323 for most of our videoconferencing. The Polycoms comprise the majority of systems with some Vcon units still in use.  The inter-operability among the Polycoms, Vcon units and other brands is good. There are two distance learning rooms at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) campus equipped with Vcon brand H.323 units. FIU participated in a coast-to-coast distance learning class over Internet2 in 2000, and they worked well.

H.323 has the advantage over MPEG of better inter-operability, and generally easier setup and dialup in FIU's experience, plus most H.323 systems include far-end camera control, integral echo cancellation, voice conferencing add-on, ancillary data channel, graphics inputs, and multipoint operation, while MPEG Codecs are pretty much plain-Jane.

The Polycom Fx is a full-featured room system highly recommended for distance learning environments.  It includes capability for using two remote control (pan and tilt) cameras plus a document camera plus VCR.  Equivalent to the Fx, is the Polycom Viewstation 4000, that is rack mounted.  FIU currently supports half a dozen of these devices.  The new Polycom units have a proprietary high resolution mode that takes advantage of the high data speed capability of our network and Internet2 and yield a near broadcast quality picture at only 2 Mb/sec.

The standard Polycom system on a conventional TV set is recommended for classrooms as a more economical solution than the full-room system. This operates only on the H.323 standards, enabling inter-operability with conference rooms and distance learning rooms already in existence.

Desktop videoconferencing for administrators' offices as a standard is under review.  We are currently testing several Polycom Viavideo desktop add-ons which provides H.323 compatibility without the need of adding a board in the PC.  The Viavideo provides a solution for individual use while retaining most of the features of a Polycom room system. Of course, if budgeted, anyone can add the low cost digital camera to their computer right now, and start videoconferencing with the various standards available for very low speed software only solutions. There have been issues noted with regard to picture size, quality, and difficulty of use of these systems. 

The equipment noted and performance factors are changing rapidly so FIU's AV technicians regularly reevaluate the state of video conferencing technology.

For a listing of FIU's videoconference rooms please click here.

For more information or technical specification regarding FIU's video conferencing capabilities please contact FIU's Senior Broadcast Engineer.