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SRTC Audio & Video is a multi-user desktop audio and videoconferencing
system designed for both the Internet and intranets. BuenaVista (hereafter
referred to as BV) is integrated with all CollabWorx real-time communication,
collaboration, and distance learning products.
The key features of BuenaVista are:
- Purely IP-based product: BV is a software-only, IP-based solution.
BV is not H.32x compatible. We believe that H.32X based products
have no rational application on IP networks. H.323 audio and video conferencing
industry has been created when desktop PCs lacked computing punch to
handle high-quality audio and video. This is no longer the case. H.32X
compliant products have their niche of applicability if mixed POTS to
IP calls are essential. For collaboration systems and processes conducted
entirely over IP networks there is no conceivable reason to use this
technology. On the contrary, use of H.32X systems creates endless lost
of problems and difficulties, such as scalability, security, and firewall
traversal, no to mention paramount system integration problems.
- Multi-user: BV is a true multi-user, scalable system rather
than a peer-to-peer Internet phone.
- Unmatched quality of both audio and video: Our product has
absolutely no competitors in audio and video quality. For the first
time there is an audio-over-IP product easily exceeding quality of the
phone line (we don't even mention cellular phones in this context...).
BV also supports video quality easily matching hardware-based solutions.
Instead of antiquated H.261 and H.263 codec, BV uses MPEG4 with its
superior quality, performance, and compression rates.
- Flexibility: on the other end of the spectrum, BV also supports
low-bitrate codecs for users of slow dial-up connections. This however
is only one if the list of features making BV the most flexible product
on the market. The other features include:
- support form TCP, UDP, and UDP with multicast transport protocols.
TCP solution uses "reflector" architecture, UDP supports
peer-to-peer model, and multicast provides support for group connectivity.
- BV sessions allow each user to define it own set of media stream
parameters. Nothing forces participants of a conference to settle
on the same video codec or even window size, or on the same audio
quality. Users can adapt their media parameters to the quality of
service supported by their network connection.
- BV easily crosses firewalls due to the built-in SOCKS proxy support,
as well as it traverses NAT gateways
- BV offers to system administrators capability to tune parameters
such as buffer sizes, buffer high and low water marks, and audio-video
sync level. Due to this unprecedented control, BV can be tuned to
provide best possible service in environments as diverse as a 6-way
highly interactive conference call and a lecture transmitted to
hundreds of students with only occasional question from the audience.
- BV also offers a complete flexibility in "floor control",
from full control by all users to centralized control by a session
chair.
- Finally, BV is also available in a "portlet" packaging.
This means that the software does not require installation - it
can be downloaded and activated on demand (this makes the issue
of H.323 compatibility really moot, doesn't it?). Both audio and
video components are available in this packaging. This makes BV
an ideal tool for customer support applications and for ASPs providing
conference call services to general audience.
BV has been tested and optimized for all Windows platforms, from Windows
ME, through Windows NT and Windows 2000, to Windows XP. It supports a
variety of audio cards, video capture cards, and USB video cameras
For customers interested in integrating BV, an API for session management
and "floor control" allows integration with conferencing systems
and flexible usage patterns, including secure sessions.
For more information about using our audio/video conferencing solutions
please, consult our support
pages.
For skeptics, we suggest this small canned
demo of the product. The demo has been created by capturing screen
and audio on a 6th workstation participating in a 6-way audio-video conference.
Download and run the self-executing screen movie. The software does not
install and can be deleted when no longer needed. CollabWorx guarantees
that there are no viruses and that the software does what it says it does
- nothing more :-).
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