Videoconferencing 1990s style: sharing faces, places and spaces

Abstract

ln the fall of 1992 Provitel, Inc., a telecommunications organisation,established a working relationship with the Ontario Telepresence Project (OTP). One of the outcomes of this collaboration was the installation of a Telepresence Media Space (TMS) system in May 1993 between the offices of two members of CSG, a client supPort group in the organisation. At the same time VISIT2 systems were being deployed to a number of members of CSG including the participants with the media space. This provided a unique opportunity to evaluate these two systems - one a commercial product, i.e.,VISIT, the other, a futuristic prototype system, i.e., TMS. Part I of the report provides an overview of videoconferencing in the 1990s and a discusslon of the factors that distinguish the 1990s from the 1960s and 1970s when the first wave of videoconferencing technologies failed to have the predicted impact. The concept of a media space is introduced in Part II and the Ontario Telepresence Project model of research and development is described. Part III reports on the experiences of the early adopters of videoconferencing in CSG and provides a comparison of the two systems used. The focus is not technical, but rather on gaining early insights into the impact of and opportunities created by this new class of technology. The results demonstrate the need for:

an ecological approach to understanding videoconferencing technologies. Successful deployment, adoption, continued use and growth of the technology require a 'goodness of fit' between the organisation's culture(s) and the work practices of employees' a better understanding of the role of video.Image quality and size and image location are all important factors affecting use' In addition, the ability to make a distinction betvveen background awareness and foreground interaction is highly valued. The primary point to be made is that bandwidth on demand - the ability to scale video images dynamically - coupled with a price structure that is affordable - (and unlikely to be a linear relationship between bandwidth and cost) - Presents both a major chailenge and a major market opportunity for the network provider positioned to understand the potential of video.