Solution – PC/Mac Desktop Software Video Conferencing with open standards gateway

Description

These products are similar to Skype in that they are installed as software on normal PC or Mac and use a Webcam and PC speakers. They are however designed for higher quality user experience and the hosted services can be run by different organizations.  If configured correctly with good Broadband Internet the quality achievable is equal to high end room systems. They also support use over marginal speed Internet links without drastically compromising the consultation quality.

This type of solution removes the need for travel to get to a Hospital or Practice with a traditional room based VC system which may be many kilometres away for some patients. A high standard of consultation is possible for anyone with a relatively recent PC and good internet connection and some basic orientation in correct use.    

These systems provide high resolution video and the ability to work consistently over standard Internet links without requiring the dedicated links used with Traditional Video Conferencing. They consists of:

• Central Video servers - installed at service providers. These coordinate the distribution of video and audio to meeting participants.
• Desktop conferencing application - which are installed and run on your PC or Mac. This does the actual encoding and transfer of the video and audio to and from your computer and the central equipment maintained at the provider.

Benefits

• Just a few clicks to appointment attendance.
• Inherently Multiparty
• Fully support dual displays
• Designed to work very well with low video/audio corruption over unmanaged Internet services.
• Choice of hosting providers (or enterprise installations for large health providers)
• Easily able to present PC applications and images to remote site.
• Ability to connect to any other Internet connected, recommended room or desktop hardware based systems.
• Can be integrated with Management Platforms.

Disadvantages

•  Requires some diligence around PC setup and maintenance