Dear Subscribers,

It is a light news month as we head into the holidays. The Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog continues to expand with new entries from Verba and Teliris.

We also have new Solution Snapshots for Vu TelePresence, the WhyGo Global Distribution Platform, and the AVI-SPL Caméléon Telepresence Systems.

Additionally, I participated in an fascinating roundtable discussion on the future of telepresence using telepresence with executives from Cisco, LifeSize, Musion, Polycom, and Teliris. I was also interviewed on the subject by Enterprise Communications Europe .

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas! We are grateful that you choose to follow telepresence technologies and the telepresence industry at Telepresence Options and want to thank you for making us the #1 website on the internet following the telepresence revolution!

Warmly,

HSL

Howard S. Lichtman, Publisher – Telepresence Options President – Human Productivity Lab

The Ever Expanding Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog

We continue to expand the Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog, the most comprehensive overview of visual collaboration solutions intelligently explained and organized on the Internet.

This month we have 5 new entries to the catalog including the Verba Telepresence and Video Call Recording System, Teliris Managed Services, http://www.telepresencecatalog.com/wolfvision-ceiling-visualizer/ Teliris NanoEX Telepresence , Teliris Nano Telepresence, and Teliris Personal Telepresence.Continue reading...

Howard Lichtman, President and Founder, The Human Productivity

Lab - Talks TelepresenceEnterprise Communications Europe recently interviewed Howard S. Lichtman, President of the Human Productivity Lab and Publisher of Telepresence Options. Topics ranged from: How do you measure ROI to what can an enterprise do to maximize the productivity gains of a telepresence deployment to what is the future of telepresence. The interview was part of a special edition of Enterprise Communications Europe that also included a

video roundtable held via a Polycom RPX telepresence systems that included Mr. Lichtman and senior executives from Cisco, LifeSize, Polycom, Musion, and Teliris that discussed many of the topics featured in this interview. That video roundtable and the accompanying article can be found Here.

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Warmth, Realism and Ease of Use Drive Telepresence Uptake

Enterprise Communications Europe, Telepresence Options Publisher Howard Lichtman took part in a roundtable discussion on the future of telepresence with executives from Cisco, LifeSize, MUSION, Polycom, and Teliris. The roundtable used a number of Polycom RPX telepresence systems to connect the participants in London, Austin, Herndon, and New York City. George Malim, the event moderator, reports on the discussion in this article.

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Telepresence Options Solution Snapshots

We continue to add to our Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog of leading telepresence systems, managed service providers, and inter-networking solutions. These detailed Solution Snapshots feature important information for those evaluating their Telepresence Options including: minimum bandwidth required, minimum space required, and inter-operability information. You can receive new Solution Snapshots as they are published by subscribing to our RSS Feed or via e-mail. All the Solution Snapshots will be published in the upcoming hard copy Telepresence Options Yearbook which you can receive for free by subscribing here.

Solution Snapshot: WhyGo Global Distribution Platform

OverviewWhygo, with operations in United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States and Australia, provides online and agent-assisted video conference booking and provisioning services for a network of over 2,500 public room video conferencing facilities & Telepresence facilities.

Whygo also has the only purpose built video scheduling system for private and public facilities. This allows enterprise users to schedule their own video conferencing & Telepresence facilities with live availability plus a network of over 2500+ public facilities. The best of both worlds combined.

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Solution Snapshot: AVI-SPL Caméléon Telepresence & Support Services

The AVI-SPL Caméléon Telepresence System is available in Cisco, Polycom, and RadVision Versions

OverviewIntroducing the Caméléon Telepresence solution by AVI-SPL -- a first-of-its-kind model that transcends the standard, single-functionality Telepresence room. It comes to your workplace and adapts to your environment, fulfilling all of your multimedia conferencing and presentation requirements without sacrificing quality or your budget. From multi-function conferencing to managed conferencing services, Caméléon Telepresence delivers flexible options for both traditional and telepresence environmentsContinue reading...

Solution Snapshot: Vu TelePresence

Official Website: http://www.VuTelePresence.com/

OverviewWith Vu TelePresence, the whole world is your office!

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Telepresence New Articles and StoriesFrom our on-going review of the most important stories on telepresence technologies andreporting on the telepresence industry. Browse the New Articles and Stories ArchivesSubscribe to receive new articles via RSS or via e-mail.

It's Time to Take Another Look at H.264 SVC

By Irwin Lazar via Network World

Scalable Video Coding has gained a great deal of market momentum in recent weeks.

Consider the following:

* Arkadin adding H.264 SVC video (licensed from Vidyo) to its web conferencing offerings * Cisco leveraging SVC as the basis for its high-quality video offering within WebEx Meeting Center * HP's expanded line of video conferencing products based on Vidyo's H.264 SVC technology * KDDI's announcement of SVC-based video services (also licensed from Vidyo) to deliver video conferencing as a service * Polycom announcing support for SVC for mobile video to support tablets and video delivery across lossy networks such as mobile services and the Internet

Taken together, all of these announcements underscore the growing role of SVC as an alternative to H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) for delivering high definition video conferencing across any underlying network infrastructure. This is a development that offers the ability of video conferencing buyers to support high-quality video for remote or mobile workers without requiring huge investments in bandwidth.

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39% of office staff scared of videoconferencing

By Carrie-Ann Skinner via PC World

More than a third (39 percent) of office staff won't use video communications at work because they're concerned about their appearance on camera, says Damovo.

Research by the IT services firm revealed one in ten are too embarrassed to talk in front of a camera because it feels like public speaking, while of those happy to use video communications, 19 percent say their working location (either at home or on the road) isn't suitable for video.

However, nearly two thirds (63 percent) of office workers believe they are more likely to take action following a conversation in a videoconference than after receiving an email containing the same instructions or information.

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Vaddio launches video whiteboard

via InAVate

Vaddio hashttp://www.inavateonthenet.net/article.aspx?ArticleID=38501 announced the launch of what it claims is the first high definition video whiteboard.

The company says that the new video whiteboard completely replaces the existing need for fixed or PTZ cameras in a video system environment.The Video Whiteboard can be used in a variety of applications from videoconferencing, content creation, IMAG, rich media systems or in any system designed to incorporate a whiteboard as a video input device. Because no dedicated PC is required, Vaddio's Video Whiteboard is compatible with any videoconferencing, TelePresence, distance education or video media distribution system. In addition to HD/SD video outputs, data can be captured and stored as a .jpeg image onto any USB flash drive.

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Cisco's TelePresence a key new tool for NHL

By Dan Rosen via NHL.com - Senior Writer NEW YORK -- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was sitting at a podium in front of a gaggle of hockey writers in Palm Beach, Fla. on Monday afternoon. They weren't alone.

Through Cisco's TelePresence connection, reporters in New York, Toronto and San Jose also participated in Bettman's press conference that capped the Board of Governors meeting. When prompted, any of the reporters located in one of the three remote cities could ask Bettman a question and through the technology he could see and hear them, and vice versa.

The cameras in New York, San Jose and Toronto were voice-prompted so when a reporter spoke the camera immediately turned to him. Bettman, still sitting at the podium, saw the reporter over a television stationed in front of him while the reporters saw Bettman on one of the big screen TVs positioned in front of them.

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Business Octane Launches TXi/TX Immersive Telepresence Collaboration Suite

via IT News Online

Business Octane, an enterprise productivity accelerator solution provider, has launched TXi/TX, a new affordable variant under its existing range of immersive telepresence collaboration suites. The new variant empowers enterprises to conduct immersive telepresence meetings with remote participants in a manner as if meeting face-to-face with true to life images, natural eye contact, stereo spatial audio and real-time content sharing.

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ARmonica collaborative augmented reality makes beautiful music

Via MIT's Technology Review Editors blog by Kristina Grifantini

Collaborative Augmented Reality Makes Beautiful Music

With ARmonica, two players bounce virtual balls off musical note bars using Wii remotes.

Augmented reality (AR) places interactive, virtual objects and effects over the real world, and it has huge potential for gaming. Imagine wearing an AR headset to play chess with animated virtual pieces on a real chess board, or to fight computerized zombies running into your own home.

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Building An Affordable Telepresence Room With SCOPIAvia Radvision Blog by Yoav Nativ

A few weeks ago, while doing some renovations in our office, I noticed one unutilized rectangular room. An immediate thought crossed my mind: "Let's turn it into a telepresence room". The timing was perfect, as our new SCOPIA solution version (7.5) is in final development stages and one of the nice features in this release is Telepresence Interoperability.

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Telepresence Industry Press ReleasesCheck out the latest news from the companies on the forefront of telepresence technologies, telepresence managed services, and inter-networking telepresence.

Browse the Industry Press Release Archives Subscribe to receive new articles and stories via RSS or via e-mail.

AVI-SPL Unveils Video Briefing Centers

VBCs to showcase full range of Telepresence and Video Infrastructure Solutions

TAMPA, Fla. - Dec. 14, 2010 - AVI-SPL, a leading provider of audio video communications solutions, today announced the grand opening of its first two Video Briefing Centers (VBCs) located in

Tampa and Chicago. The Video Briefing Centers have been established to showcase the latest in telepresence and video communications solutions leveraging technology from all industry-leading manufacturers.

Continue Reading…

Glowpoint Announces the Opening of Global Operations and R&D Showcase Headquarters

New facility will serve as corporate HQ and executive briefing center for partners and clients

HILLSIDE, N.J., Dec. 14, 2010 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Glowpoint, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GLOW), a provider of cloud-based managed services for telepresence, video conferencing and collaboration, today announced the opening of a new operations and R&D showcase facility, which will serve as the company's new corporate headquarters and executive briefing center. The state-of-the-art facility will include

multiple, fully equipped telepresence suites and briefing demonstration rooms accessible for global briefings with partners and clients. Continue Reading…

AVM, AVI-SPL Expand Global Alliance to Include Video Managed Services

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Founding members of the AV Global Alliance, AVM and AVI-SPL, today announced they will be expanding their relationship to include joint delivery of video managed services. The AV Global Alliance has historically been focused on designing and installing world class audio and video integration projects and currently has more than 26 leading AV integrators from around the world as member companies. The increase in demand for managed services to support Telepresence and video conferencing for large multi-national customers is the leading driver in expanding the relationship to include video managed services as an AV Global Alliance offering.

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New in Telepresence Solutions: The MantaroBot TelePresence Robot Works with Skype

Mantaro launches a cost-effective TelePresence Robot that via a plug-in works with Skype to allow users to easily be virtually present at remote locations.

Germantown, MD (PRWEB) December 7, 2010

Mantaro, a products and embedded product development services firm, announced today the launch of the MantaroBot, an affordable, flexible option among telepresence solutions. The high-definition, wireless, compact robotic telepresence system works with Skype(TM) via a plug-in. It operates on a mobile platform that allows a user to be virtually present wherever the MantaroBot is located and move around and interact with people.

"At $3,500, the MantaroBot introduces a new level of accessibility for mobile, wireless remote conferencing," states Jeremy Parsons, CEO of Mantaro. "We've integrated robotic telepresence technology and software to provide a very cost effective and easy to use video telepresence experience."

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iVision and Glowpoint Team for 24/7 Managed and Hosted Video Conferencing Play

MELBOURNE, Australia and HILLSIDE, N.J., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- iVision, the leading Australian systems integrator providing Unified Communications (UC) solutions and Glowpoint, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GLOW), a provider of cloud-based managed services for telepresence, video conferencing and collaboration, based in the United States, have formed a strategic partnership to deliver 24/7 customer service and reservation desk capabilities to support their growing global base of telepresence and video conferencing customers.

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Epiphan Releases VGA Broadcaster Lite

Audio and VGA-DVI Video-to-Internet Broadcast Appliance Enables on-the-fly capture, encoding and broadcast of audio and video content

December 6, 2010, Ottawa, Canada: Epiphan Systems Inc., innovator in video signal source processing products, announced today the general availability of VGA Broadcaster Lite (http://www.epiphan.com/products/broadcasting/vga-broadcaster-lite/), a compact, highly portable, video source capture product that enables real-time, on-the-fly broadcast of a DVI or VGA video source and audio over a local area network (LAN) or the Internet.

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Mingleverse Secures $1.4 Million Seed Financing

The growing Skype alternative plans product enhancement and marketing expansion of its Social Media sharing communications platform for Facebook, Android and iOS.December 2, 2010, Vancouver, BC - Mingleverse, an award winning next generation 3D telecommunications technology and service for consumers on broadband mobile networks announced today that it has raised $1.4 million in seed financing from Yaletown Venture Partners, angel investors and company co-founder and CEO Ron Stevens.

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CoroWare Signs Dealer Agreement With faceVsion(TM) Technology USA

Affordable HD Video Conferencing Solution Meets Needs of Small and Medium Sized Businesses

KIRKLAND, Wash., Dec. 2, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoroWare, Inc. (OTCBB:COWI), a solutions integrator with expertise in high definition (HD) video conferencing announced today that it has signed a dealer agreement with faceVsion Technology USA to cooperatively market and sell its full range of HD videoconferencing solutions in North America.

"faceVsion Technology's product line and expertise in HD videoconferencing is a strategic and logical complement to CoroCall(TM) and CoroWare's HD video conferencing solutions," said Joshua Sherman, telepresence business unit manager at CoroWare, Inc. "Through this relationship, CoroWare can offer its customers a cost effective and high quality desktop video conferencing solution that can integrate well with existing video conferencing room systems."

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KDDI to Deliver Video Conferencing Service Based on Vidyo's Patented Scalable Video Coding (SVC) Architecture

HACKENSACK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vidyo®, Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, today announced that KDDI, a leading global carrier headquartered in Japan will deliver a video conferencing service based on Vidyo's multi-point, telepresence-quality solution. VidyoConferencing(TM) enables carriers, service providers and unified communications vendors to offer today an affordable SVC-based video conferencing technology that delivers telepresence-quality over the Internet or general purpose IP networks. KDDI's service will be available in Japan in January 2011.

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Odds & Sods

Etisalat partners with Tata Communications and Cisco to launch UAE's first Public TelePresence room at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC)

Dubai, December 7th, 2010: In line with its vision of increasing the reach of its customers, Etisalat UAE's first Public TelePresence room in collaboration with Tata Communications and Cisco.

6 December 2010. RADVISION has announced the availability of SCOPIA Mobile V2, the first conferencing application for the Apple® iPhone® and iPad™ that allows users to participate in video conferences with standards-based audio and H.239 data collaboration.

SCOPIA Mobile V2 is available for free immediately through the Apple App Store. Two different versions of SCOPIA Mobile are offered. SCOPIA Mobile for the iPad is optimized for the large, high resolution display of the iPad; while SCOPIA Mobile for the iPhone optimized for the high resolution Retina™ display and the additional telephony capabilities of the iPhone.

DealsElisa, Vidyo launch smartphone video conferencing service

Service will launch on Samsung's Galaxy phone, tablet.

Finnish telecom operator Elisa Oyj and U.S.-based equipment maker Vidyo Inc. said Tuesday they are launching a service which lets smartphone and tablet users connect to video conferences.

The mobile service, which will initially be offered with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Galaxy smartphone and tablet, will allow people to dial in to video conferences on the move, making better use of time spent travelling and waiting at airports, said Pasi Maenpaa, head of Elisa's corporate customers unit.

AT&T has entered into a global strategic relationship with Omnicom Group Inc, an advertising and marketing communications company. This includes a new contract for products and services worth at least $57million for networking services. Under the agreement, AT&T will work with Omnicom to develop networking solutions that will connect Omnicom's offices around the world and provide opportunities for swift adoption of new technologies over time.

Telepresence PeopleIVCi Promotes Charles Macli to President John R. McGovern Joins Glowpoint as Chief Financial OfficerAVI-SPL, Leah Weston, Sales EngineerVideo Guidance, Dan Driscoll, director of business and product developmentDan Kara Joins CoroWare Board of AdvisorsSierra Video announced the hire of Fred van Elk as its Regional Sales Manager for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (EAME)Dr. George Bekey, the "Godfather of Robotics", Joins Advisory Board of RoboDynamics CorporationShoretel announced today that it has hired Peter Blackmore, formerly CEO of UTStarcom, to be the company's new CEO

Telepresence Industry Professionals -Now Over 1650+ Members!

Telepresence Industry Professionals (TIP) is our telepresence industry association on Linked In which is now over 1650+ members! We like

to call it "the telepresence industry's cool kids club" because so many of our favorite folks are on-board. The group is a superb venue for discussion, networking, and industry news and information. There is a Jobs board for organizations looking for talent and for folks that are in the market for their next gig.

TIP is now in Europe with XING!! http://www.xing.com/group-56506.f9483f

Telepresence Industry Jobs

New Jobs on the Telepresence Industry Professional Job Board - Must be a Member of TIP to view

On The Bench A Breakdown of Industry Talent in the Market for their Next Opportunity

Interested in Appearing in “On the Bench”? Send 1 short paragraph overview, headshot, and LinkedIn URL to Info@TelepresenceOptions.com with “On the Bench” in the subject line.

Kirk Dennis – Denver, ColoradoKirk is a videoconferencing/telepresence industry veteran seeking a Major Account Manager or Sales Manager career opportunity. From 1998 to 2008, Kirk was the President of VideoCom, Inc. – a reseller specializing in the design, sales, installation and support of enterprise video solutions. More recently, Kirk was the Director of Sales at TelePresence Tech and was responsible for establishing the Reseller Program for North America.

Howard Reingold – NY Metro/NJ AreaDirector of Product Management/Marketing and Sales Director

Howard Reingold has a wide variety of experience in the high-tech, including video conferencing, cloud-based video services, managed services, telecom services, unified communications (UC), software and hardware products. Howard has held various management positions at Intel, AT&T, Ulticom and Glowpoint where he managed products through

all phases of the Product Life-Cycle with a solid record of organic revenue growth. Additionally, he has hands-on experience with managing strategic partnerships, P&L management, launching new products, developing business plans and supporting Enterprise/SMB customers as a Sales Director and as Product Management Director. He has managed cross-functional teams and is experienced with Agile software development as both a Product Owner and in helping to transform a company from waterfall to Agile development. Howard has an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a B.S. in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Christopher Welch – Philadelphia, PAEffective Communications Specialist

If you require a deliberate direction for your marketing efforts and want true familiarity, experience, and buzz for your buck in the UC, VC, and telepresence industries – review what I’ve accomplished at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwelchone and contact me at CSWBusiness@mac.com with your frustrations and objectives.

http://www.telepresencecatalog.com/category/telepresence-calendar/

This issue of the Telepresence Options Telegraph Sponsored by: The Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog

About Telepresence OptionsTelepresence Options follows telepresence, telepresence technologies, and the companies that make up the telepresence industry. We profile new telepresence systems, telepresence managed service providers, and telepresence inter-networking solutions. Telepresence Options content is available for free on the internet and The Telepresence Options 2011 Yearbook will be published in hard copy in January of 2011. The Telepresence Options 2011 Yearbook is the second in the series of Telepresence Options surveys and is the most recent update to Telepresence, Effective Visual Collaboration, and the Future of Global Business at the Speed of Light the most widely read publication on

telepresence ever.

The Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog

The Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog is our comprehensive and intelligently organized on-line catalog of the leading telepresence and videoconferencing systems, managed service providers, and inter-networking solutions available anywhere. You can start with our comprehensive overview of the various Telepresence Options and then drill down to evaluate telepresence solutions in various intelligently organized categories.Telepresence Stage and Podium Systems Group SystemsLarge Group Systems,Small Group SystemsExecutive SystemsTelemedicine & Healthcare TPVideo Conference SystemsVideo Network InfrastructureCameras and CodecsManaged Services ProviderInter-Networking ProviderTP and VC Exchange ServicesResellers and Integrators

ConsultantsRecording, Streaming, and ArchivingVideo Network ManagementPublic Telepresence and VC RoomsPeripherals and AccessoriesTelepresence RoboticsVirtual Reality CAVESsUnified CommunicationsDesktop ConferencingWebconferencing and Virtual CollaborationDisplay TechnologiesPublicationsConferences and Events

Telepresence Options is now on Twitter Telepresence Options’ readers have been asking me for some time why we are not on Twitter. The answer is that, as a productivity-facing technologist, I can’t for the life of me figure out why anyone would ever use Twitter. The signal-to-noise ratio is insane BUT we are all about giving the people what they want so if Twitter is your thing then you can follow the latest and greatest in telepresence via Twitter. We have over 1000.. 1400... 2200 2700 3,300+ Followers!

http://twitter.com/TelepresenceVTC

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Telepresence Options is the #1 Website on the Internet following telepresence, telepresence managed services, and inter-networking telepresence. The site attracts over 25,000+ unique visitors per month and represents the largest identifiable audience in the world interested in telepresence, telepresence managed services, and internetworking telepresence. The Telepresence Options Telegraph is published occasionally and has over 4,300+ subscribers. Please contact Info@TelepresenceOptions.com for sponsorship info or http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/sponsorship/