Videoconferencing Out on a Lim

As the school year winds down, I’ve been thinking about some of the strategies I use to make VCs as smooth as possible. Here are a couple of tips from a bridge control freak!

Force Video

When facilitating an ASK program with Janie Panagopoulos (a veteran VC-er), I forced the video to the school that came in late so she could see a new site. Then I quickly forced it back to her. Now she’s looking at the new school; and the other schools only saw a quick blip of that school coming in. Without interrupting her flow, I could send her a subtle message that the late school has joined.

During MysteryQuests, I like to force the video to the class that is presenting to avoid any switching. This also keeps their visuals up on screen even when the other classes are asking for clues to be repeated.

Sometimes my old Tandberg MPS acts up and the video flips like crazy. Sometimes I can fix that by forcing it to the presenting site and not allowing any video switching.

Mute Video

Another trick I discovered just this spring.

My old Tandberg MPS doesn’t get along with the Codian and RMX bridges. Both bridges tend to take over the conference so I can’t force video. Or in a scenario that happens with a couple of bridges in a south western state, the site coming in through the Codian takes over the conference and voice activation no longer works.

In both of these scenarios, I found a unique solution! Mute the video on the offending bridge!

In one MysteryQuest this spring, ALL the sites were coming in through bridges. Side rant: who in their right mind installs VC so schools can only connect through a bridge? I strongly believe they should be able to connect directly in addition to through a bridge. In that session, to make it work, I had to mute the video of all the other sites to make it work. The surprising good side effect though was that when teachers and students were seeing a loopback of their presentation, they could adjust posters and other visuals to make them easier to see.

What about you?

I realize that VC is moving towards end user control and away from bridge control. But when I’m running/facilitating/bridging a program, I like to make it as smooth and excellent an experience for the teachers and students as humanly possible. Yes, I’m a control freak!

What do you think of this kind of manipulation? Good/bad?

What other tips and tricks do you do?

Do you think new desktop VC solutions will allow for this kind of support during the program?

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So, have you seen the rumblings of using the SIP standard instead of H.323 in schools?

I ran into this during Read Around the Planet.

Some schools with TANDBERG installations on the east coast gave out their address to dial as an email address! This caused some confusion and trouble for Read Around the Planet this year. They didn’t seem to know that most schools with H.323 couldn’t dial it or didn’t know how to.

I don’t really understand all the technology – but I see the effect on educators trying to connect “advanced videoconferencing” with other schools who have “advanced videoconferencing” (i.e. Polycom, Lifesize, Cisco-TANDBERG, etc.).

These are the questions that are raised in my brain. What about for you?

• How does an old Viewstation connect to SIP?
• What has to be in place for H.323 to connect to SIP?
• Why is it that the school with the new TANDBERG HD installation couldn’t dial an IP address with the dial protocol on auto? They had to select H.323. That’s not very educator/user friendly. Most educators don’t know the difference between H.323 and SIP. I barely understand it!
• Why is it that this school with new TANDBERG HD equipment couldn’t call older Polycom systems during Read Around the Planet? I think it might have been Viewstations they were trying to dial. Shouldn’t H.323 be able to call any H.323?
• If a content provider buys a new system that uses SIP – who will advise them on how to connect to schools that can only dial out?
• Is Cisco-TANDBERG really pushing SIP now?

I am trying to understand the ramifications of this for programs such as Read Around the Planet, collaborations between schools through CAPspace, connections between schools and content providers around the world, etc.

What do you think? Any ideas? Please comment!

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Ever had a videoconference drop after a consistent amount of time (i.e. 15 or 20 minutes) all the time? I have two districts struggling with this problem right now.

Timeout by deovolenti

How do YOU troubleshoot a time out problem?

Here’s what I do. Remember that I’m not a network person! I don’t know exactly how to fix the router or firewall settings. But I can help our district network techs know what to look for!

Check the Settings on the Endpoint

First, almost all videoconference systems have a maximum time in call setting.

On the Polycom VSX 7000, it’s under System, Admin Settings, General Settings, System Settings, Call Settings, Maximum Time in a Call. I usually set this as high as it can go.

Check the Settings on Firewalls & Routers

Next, if that didn’t fix it, I talk to the network techs and give them some ideas of what to look for.

Since I really have no idea how to change settings on a firewall or router, I can really only explain what happens during the videoconference call.

• The call is set up on port 1720. The two codecs do a caps exchange (capability exchange) and negotiate the media ports to use during the videoconference. (If a gatekeeper is involved in the connect, ports 1718 and 1719 may be used also.)
• Then after the call is set up, the traffic switches over to the ports that are used for the media traffic. We usually have our Polycom VSX 7000s set to “fixed ports” which means it should be communicating in the range of TCP 3230-3235 and UDP 3230 to 3253. You can find a fairly comprehensive list of ports used in VCs here.

Sometimes if the router or firewall isn’t seeing any traffic, it may close the ports thinking that the call has ended when really it hasn’t.

This info usually helps my techs enough to figure it out from there.

What about you?

Have you ever run into a problem with videoconferences ending after a specific amount of time consistently? How did you solve it?

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This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

Being organized and having quick access to critical information is essential to successful connections for teachers and students. Some of the following information can be easier to understand if you take a picture of it.

Key Information

• IP Address of video unit
• Tech Contact Info
  • of your network
  • of your vendor
  • of your regional support agency
  • of the place that you are trying to connect with

On Fridays, print a schedule of video conferences for that coming week with how they are connected and contact information.

Equipment

• Quick Setup Sheet for Video Conference Unit
• A picture of how everything is connected
• A note that explains to to get the tv to the correct channel or the projector on the correct input.
• Remotes–>video conference unit, television, projector, etc.
• Where to get extra batteries for the remote
• Remote Control Quick Reference Guide

Your Turn

What do you keep near your video conferencing unit? Where do you keep your remotes?

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

First: Reseller Definition

First, realize that Tandberg, Polycom and LifeSize generally do not sell directly to customers. They sell through resellers, also called integrators, because theses resellers also sell the peripherals, add-ons and even design the room installations. This could include document cameras, projectors, monitors, furniture, lighting, tier one tech support, and more.

Second: Know Your Needs

Next, think about how you plan to use videoconferencing and what needs you might have.

• Meetings. Will meetings be only with people within your network/district? or will you need to place and receive calls to video conference systems outside your area?
• Professional Development. Will you use this only within your network/district? Will you bring in outside professional development providers?
• Full Length Courses. Will you connect only within your network? Will you need to share content or show your computer to the other side at the same time as showing video (H.239)? Courses are a great application of H.239 content sharing.
• Content Providers. Will you be connecting to zoos, museums and other organizations? If so you will need to be able to place a call to an IP address, and in a few rare cases, receive a call to an IP address.
• Connect to Classrooms for Collaborations. Here you don’t want H.239 because the other site will be able to receive it less than half the time. You also will have the best success if you can both place and receive a calls to an IP address. (See previous posts on dialing.)

Also, think about where you are going to install videoconferencing.

• Mobile cart
• Dedicated room
• Connected to your interactive whiteboard

Now you’re ready to ask questions of a reseller.

Do you primarily sell video conferencing equipment?

• What is the focus of the reseller? Video conferencing? Interactive whiteboards? Projectors? AV integration? Streaming devices? Network infrastructure?
• Is the reseller very familiar with videoconferencing?
• Do they sell to K12 education?
• Does the reseller do a network assessement and make recommendations for best videoconference practice?
• Does the reseller know about best implementation of videoconferencing on the network?
• Do they sell all manufacturers equipment or are they solely partnered with one particular manufacturer?

Can you give the the names of three different customers who have needs similar to mine that I can contact?

• Try to talk to at least three other people across the country who are in a similar situation.
• Find out what went well.
• Ask what challenges they had. Listen for any red flags.

Given your recommended purchase, how will I connect off my network?

• Can I dial out of my network to a TANDBERG, Polycom, or LifeSize endpoint?
• How do I receive a call from a TANDBERG, Polycom, LifeSize, Sony or Vtel unit that is NOT on my network?
• Can you demonstrate to me that these different types of units from off my network can dial in?

How do you test the video conference equipment that you sell?

• Do you test it with a variety of endpoints, bridges, manufacturers, and different versions of software?
• Do you test it in a closed lab or in real life situations? You really want the reseller on your side as they can advocate on your behalf with the manufacturer.

Are they certified resellers of the particular vendor?

• Some resellers have higher status with the videoconferencing manufacturer. Generally you’ll get better service from those resellers.
• Do they provide their own maintenance? Do they have a tiered level of support – some that they do and some that the manufacturer. Or do they resell service from another organization? We prefer the model of tiered support because the first level of support not provided by the manufacturer gives a better perspective on issues. You have less finger pointing.

Full disclosure: Shane and Roxanne work for Whirlidurb, a service of I-2-I Technologies, which is a video conference reseller and integrator.

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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