Setting up a Telepresence Suite
LIFE-SIZE IS THE RIGHT SIZE
Completing the Illusion in a Telepresence Suite
-by Gregory A. DeTogne
Distilled down to its most basic level, the operative premise of any telepresence system is to link two physically separated rooms so that they resemble a single conference room. A crafty deceit by any measure, the technology relies upon digital age gadgetry including cameras, codecs, touchscreen controllers, integrated audio, and large-screen, high-definition displays to complete its deception.
At its best, telepresence has reached a point where it can simulate the experience of being fully present at a live, real world location far removed from one’s own place on the planet, even if that spot is indeed on the other side of the globe. In an age when people want to reduce travel, carbon footprints, and environmental impact, as well as make improvements to productivity and the balance of work and life, telepresence has the potential to bring big benefits to business, and has even found a place as a tool to aid in the inspection of pipelines, bomb disposal, and underwater work on the ocean’s floor.
If there is a downside to any of telepresence’s bright prospects, it’s that many who could benefit from it most perceive the service as complex and costly, two factors that have put off a number of companies, especially those short on technical savvy. Entering the market guided by the notion that the price can be right and the components required simple, Savage, Minnesota-based Global Conferencing Solutions (GCS) christened a new telepresence suite not long ago based around an austere but highly functional collection of equipment that provides life-size imagery, fluid motion, realistic flesh tones, and the feeling that actual eye contact is being made among participants.
"The suite we’ve created represents a clear departure from the world of teleconferencing," says GCS President Steve Garber, underscoring the fact that you’ll find no screens filled with disembodied talking heads in this room when it’s being operated in full telepresence mode. "Each member of a conference can see every other member on the screens, and talk to them just as if they were in the same space. In a very short time after initiating a telepresence conference here, people start behaving and reacting to the action on the screens as if they were really at the remote site. Unlike in some telepresence suites, the illusion is dramatic, and very complete."
Human factors always come first in the GCS telepresence suite, led by visual collaboration that taps into the brain’s natural preferences for how interpersonal communication should be conducted. Measuring approximately 18 x 22 feet, the room is equipped with four large-screen displays on one wall that serve as the gateway connection needed to meld with the remote site. In front of these screens stands a custom, half-moon table from Nevers, a manufacturer in nearby Minneapolis of contemporary furniture built for conference rooms and other working environments.
Three of the screens are 60-inch, model 60PG30FC widescreen plasma units from LG. Offering full 1080p resolution, high brightness (1,000 cd/m2) and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1, this triumvirate of big flat panels is joined by a fourth "confidence monitor" (a 50-inch LG model PC5DC plasma) mounted directly beneath the larger 60-inch center screen. Used to display supplemental imagery like presentations, graphs, and spreadsheets, the PC5DC sports a super-thin bezel to help emphasize what’s on its screen, not its hardware.
"The screens are certainly one of the main focal points in the room," Garber explains, "and when you’re building a video wall of this size, how they’re mounted is critical to both maintaining the aesthetic appeal of the space and the system’s function."
To obtain the sleek look GCS was seeking, save time and money on the installation, and position the screens in precisely the right locations and angles conducive to the overall visual dynamic required of the telepresence system, a FUSION Series model LTAU tilt mount from Chief Manufacturing was chosen.
One especially challenging aspect of hanging the three main screens was arranging them in a perfect line without any gaps between the units and at an absolutely uniform and level height. The FUSION mounting system met these demands handily, tying the screens together as a single entity. Providing up to 16 inches of lateral shift as an inherent part of its design, the FUSION mount additionally allowed the installation team to quickly position the entire assembly exactly where it needed to be without concern for where the studs were in the walls.
"Using the lateral shift feature, we were able to hit the studs quickly," Garber recounts. "With the mount’s capacity for easy height adjustment helping to speed up the installation process even further, we had the screens in their proper places and securely locked into position all in less than an hour."
As a final complement, the FUSION mount provided places to hang other elements of the system as well. Once in place on the already level mount, this additional gear became automatically leveled too, sparing GCS from further hassle.
In Garber’s estimation, the real beauty of the telepresence suite is its simplicity. With LG and Chief components managing everything in terms of display, a LifeSize Conference 200 telepresence system was chosen to govern all aspects of the room’s video communications. Supplying full HD video at 1080p and 720p, the LifeSize Conference package operates at 1/3 the bandwidth of most other comparable telepresence offerings, and brought high-definition video codecs, four cameras, and wide band audio to the room. Capable of connecting up to six people on demand, the system incorporates one-button dialing made possible by built-in AMX software.
Bringing a large degree of versatility to the room, the LifeSize Conference 200 system lets GCS select between telepresence and video conference modes via an AMX touchpanel located on the Nevers half-moon table to the right of a LifeSize Phone. A circular-shaped, low-profile device ringed with 16 built-in microphones, the LifeSize Phone is also the source of 16 kHz wide-band audio heard in the suite along with the built-in speakers found in the LG plasma screens.
"One of the objections to building a telepresence suite is that if you only use it three or four times a month there’s no real value in ownership," Garber says, pointing out a legitimate concern. "With this system, however, you gain a lot of flexibility just by hitting a button on the AMX touchscreen and converting the room over to regular video conference use. Now you’re set for all the times you only need traditional one-on-one communications too, and the suite pays for itself more times over."
One PTZ camera in the system—a LifeSize Room 200—delivers full HD 1920x1080 video at 30 frames per second for use in video conference mode. The other three cameras are dedicated to the LifeSize Conference System, and are wide angle, pan-tilt-zoom units providing telepresence functions.
"Not that we deliberately set out to prove anything to ourselves or others by building this suite," Garber notes, "but it does serve as a good example to all those who erroneously believe they can’t afford to buy into telepresence. By keeping things simple—there isn’t a sophisticated integrated audio system in here, special lighting, custom acoustical treatments, or anything else that really drives prices up—we’re living proof that you can get good performance on all levels right out of a box."
Rackmount gear required for the project is as Spartan as you’d expect from this rigorously self-restrained suite, with nothing more than the codecs and a box from AMX calling a Middle Atlantic rack home. Kept on the sidelines right in the room, the rack stands roughly four feet high, and is secured in its spot as a safeguard to the high-speed Internet connection threading its way through its back panel.
Including all wiring, the table, chairs, and Chief FUSION mount, the total cost of the gear required to complete the project was around $125,000. GCS designed and installed the entire affair itself under the mindful guidance of Jeff Fillbrandt, the company’s sales engineer.
Steve Garber concedes that the most difficult part of building the room was that there wasn’t a communal pool of industry wisdom to tap for help, nor even a group of consultants specializing in counsel and advice. GCS was basically blazing a new path, leaving footsteps for others to follow.
The telepresence suite joins an executive boardroom and dedicated high-definition video conferencing room as part of the total space available for rent at GCS. Taking square aim at a client base including Fortune 500 companies, small and midsize businesses, government agencies, colleges and universities, law firms, and health care providers just to name a few, the room has served as a lively conduit of sales force communications since its debut late last year.
"I would love to have a number of GCS-branded telepresence rooms set up around the country," Garber admits, looking into the future. "Having consistency in the physical layout of the rooms you’re forging connections between is a big part of building that level of transparency that makes the technology so realistic. I don’t know if building more rooms is on the horizon just yet, but it is a goal that could forge new connections among people on a much broader scale."
