I hate wearing a tie! No…I REALLY hate wearing a tie. Recently I was getting dressed up for a wedding. My wife told me I had to wear a tie. I reminded her that I was not the one getting married. So who cares what I am wearing? I was comfortable. She reminded me that we don’t get dressed up for ourselves, but for those around us. What we wear sets the tone of the event, and reflects on ourselves. It actually does nothing for the individual, it’s for the others around us that we get dressed up.
The same holds true when we set up our conference rooms for video conferencing. Better audio and video does not just improve our experience. It improves the experience for the people on the other end. The meeting is so much more enjoyable and productive when everyone can see and hear.
So much has changed in video conferencing over the past five years, or so. Before the advent of cloud based services, video calls were very expensive due to the cost of the hardware. And most calls were point-to-point. Once the cloud services made it into our conferences rooms, it was easier and cheaper to have a video call, and include multiple parties from all over the world. That is why it is being used so much more everyday. Since most people didn’t know much about video conferencing, the hardware products we used were very low-quality, at least in terms of use in a professional setting. A consumer web cam with a built-in pinhole mic, mounted on top of a consumer TV set is what most people used. The picture was fuzzy, and the audio was hard to understand. It was good enough for a consumer application, but not for office use. But that is all that was available.
The improvement in the hardware we use is in a state of accelerated evolution. Better cameras with HD resolution have become popular as bandwidth has expanded, allowing a better picture to be transmitted. Participants are demanding better audio, which has created a demand for better mics, and audio DSPs. As demand exploded, there was now a market for more expensive, and better hardware. Manufacturers started to design better cameras and microphones made specifically for video conferencing, because they could sell enough of them to justify the cost of research and development of targeted products. Video conferencing went from niche to widespread use almost overnight.
Adding video to our calls really touches the soul. It affects us in a way that audio calls never did. It is human nature to want to look at the person you are talking to. Seeing the person you are talking to makes that experience so much more powerful. And now, we can look at everyone on the call, regardless where they are located in the world. The desire to see someone when we talk to them is so powerful, we have been willing to spend extra time and money to fly someplace to see them in person. Audio just isn’t good enough for some conversations. Now that it is possible to hear, and see the person we are communicating with, without having to actually travel to see them, we want to improve that experience with better video and audio. The goal is to make the experience as close to an in-person visit as possible.
And that is why ClearOne is taking the position of industry leader in video conferencing. We recognize the importance of video conferencing in business. Creating products that transmit the best video with our unbeatable audio will improve the experience, which improves the overall results of those calls. Creating the best cloud-based conferencing system like Spontania gives participants a wide range of tools they can integrate into the call. Multiple cameras and shared whiteboard & documents allow the participants to collaborate in ways they could only previously do in person. It’s just like being in the same room with everyone, with the exception of the box of donuts!
That is why it is so important for companies that are just adding video calls to their communications to buy the best system they can. It reflects on their businesses, and shows that they care about the people they are communicating with. Imagine how great it will be when all sides of the video call has top quality equipment. Then, the only thing left to do is to put on that tie!
