One of the reasons why traditional video conferencing has never really taken off the way Web conferencing has is that it was designed for a very different world than the one in which we find ourselves today. Unlike the web, with its vast distributed computing power, traditional video conferencing relies heavily on centralized Multipoint Control Units (MCUs), dedicated high-bandwidth lines, and special conferencing facilities. Reminiscent of the mainframe era, these video conferencing systems are painfully out of place in our Web-powered world.
When people think about video conferencing today, they think in terms of universal connectivity, with the ability to call from anywhere to anywhere from their everyday desktop or mobile devices. Productive collaboration demands the ability to create ad-hoc meetings including users who may be connecting from corporate video conferencing rooms or over the Internet from remote branch locations or home offices. This sort of flexibility and affordability has never been associated with traditional video conferencing. It comes with technology innovation.
Innovation requires perspective and experience, which is what makes Vidyo a natural leader in the video revolution. Before founding Vidyo™, Ofer Shapiro invented the RADVISION Gatekeeper and MCU, yet even as that technology had its success, Ofer was already considering a new approach to high-quality video conferencing that would leverage general-purpose networks in a cost-effective way. He became an early advocate for a new Internet Protocol (IP) video compression algorithm to provide for high-quality video at relatively low transmission bit rates and eliminate the need for dedicated lines. This vision was realized with the creation and adoption of the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) extension to the H.264 video coding standard.
In his role as CEO of Vidyo, Ofer Shapiro guided the release of the industry’s first video conferencing products designed to take full advantage of SVC technology. This disruptive innovation has opened new doors for industry evolution and growth. Welcome to the world of Vidyo.
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