Managing Videoconferencing is Building Ubiquity, Cutting Costs, and Communicating Easily: Not Just Talking Heads

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|  Paper presented at CAUSE92         |
|  December 1-4, 1992, Dallas, Texas  |
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MANAGING VIDEOCONFERENCING IS BUILDING UBIQUITY, CUTTING 
COSTS, 
AND COMMUNICATING EASILY: 
NOT JUST TALKING HEADS


William (Skip) J. Brand
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona




ABSTRACT


This paper will describe experiences of Arizona State University in 
implementing a triuniversity digital videoconferencing system. 
Videoconferencing is an electronic meeting in which geographically 
separate groups communicate using live interactive audio, video, and 
computer technology. Many universities are turning to videoconferencing 
as travel costs increase and when administrators' time is being 
stretched tighter than ever. Universities are being asked to do more 
with less. The solution is videoconferencing for university business 
meetings and for the delivery of distance education. Technological 
improvements, lower prices, easy of use, and increased availability are 
making videoconferencing an option and a necessity for universities.


What is Videoconferencing?

The term videoconferencing used very loosely, means a geographically 
separate electronic meeting using both interactive audio and video. For 
the purposes of this paper, the term videoconferencing is referring to a 
simultaneous two-way interactive meeting with motion video. A11 of the 
different types of videoconferencing examined in this paper are using 
compressed digital video. Videoconferencing technology extends the 
communication reach of people to have simulated face-to-face meetings--
where the only thing missing is the handshake! Videoconferencing allows 
people at different locations to communicate in a face-to-face manner 
more often; and more effectively than any audio form.

What videoconferencing is really about is cutting costs, building 
ubiquity and communicating easily.[l] Information technology 
professional's principal role, once again, is to help cut costs in 
administrative and academic procedures. Not, since the data processing 
era of metrical measures like "head-count reduction," have information 
technologists been seriously pressured to help: trim the budgets, create 
more productivity, and add value to the university missions. One method 
to alleviate this pressure is the proper utilization of 
videoconferencing. Videoconferencing helps to cut travel budgets, travel 
time to meetings, and avoids expensive scheduling conflicts. When 
geographical location is mitigated various cost savings and productivity 
developments occur. Building ubiquity with videoconferencing is making 
the technology as readily apparent as the telephone. Ubiquitous 
videoconferencing means a videoconference can be made anytime and 
anywhere. As information technologist's, our role over the last decade 
has been to provide ease of use in whatever management tool we 
introduce. Ease of use is being achieved, so almost anyone can learn to 
place a videoconference call, no matter what type of equipment. This 
seven year old industry is providing all participants the same "driving 
experience." The use of videoconferencing equipment is analogous to a 
driver knowing just where the steering wheel is, the gas, and the brake. 
Communicating easily is what videoconferencing is all about! The 
technological advances are occurring at such a rapid rate, the day of 
using videoconferencing like George Jetson, in his cartoon The 
Jestson's, is almost here.

Why Videoconferencing?

Since the prehistoric period, human beings have always exhibited the 
need to be visual. From cave drawings, to today's age of multimedia, man 
has always had the desire to communicate more effectively. The 
importance of visual communication is emphasized in mans' rush to use 
videoconferencing and other moving graphical-based images. This imaging 
movement is known as the second computer revolution--multimedia. Images 
are the most effective communication medium; and almost everyone agrees 
with the old adage, "A Picture is worth a thousand words."[2] It is not 
surprising to discover the largest proportion of the brain is solely 
devoted to the visual sense. Enough can not be said, about the 
importance of nonverbal communication or visual cues. According to 
Walsh, in face-to-face communication: seven percent of the message is 
received by word meaning; thirty eight percent is attributed to how it 
is said; and fifty five percent of the communication message is in the 
form of visual cues.[3]


Forces in Action

There are three forces causing videoconferencing to come of age. These 
forces are: 1.) Technological; 2.) Economical; and 3.) Organizational. 
Technologically, videoconferencing has become a practical business tool 
due to better picture and sound quality delivered at lower bandwidths. 
What has helped to age this industry is bandwidth being virtually 
reliable and available on-demand. Other factors, like the international 
standards that are now in place, ease of use, and smaller equipment size 
has lead the market toward maturity. "Developments in video and audio 
compression technology and the availability of low-cost ISDN circuits, 
have led to a rapid growth in the market for dial-up 
videoconferencing."[4] All of these technological market changes have 
added to the growth of videoconferencing, but the introduction of 
increasingly more powerful and flexible products has converted this 
technology into management's newest and most powerful productivity tool. 
The technological push that is occurring is important, but all of the 
present "techie" hype about videoconferencing has occurred before. Over 
three decades ago, the technology never materialized into anything for 
practical use. So, what other forces are in action making the 
videoconferencing industry grow?

Economical forces have always had a tradition of being the strongest 
forces to influence behavior. The real economic metamorphosis is the 
transmission charge and bandwidth necessary to have a videoconference 
drop to the cost of a simple phone call. What also helps is decreasing 
equipment costs to $2,000 for desktop videoconferencing and $20,000 for 
group videoconferencing. The reduction of these two monetary barriers 
has opened up videoconferencing for the smaller colleges and financially 
strapped universities. These cost reductions diminish some of the 
reluctance for colleges and universities to try videoconferencing, but 
other economic forces are at work to bring videoconferencing to a campus 
near you!

Videoconferencing's major appeal is still travel reduction. Many 
consultants and information technology professionals have proven 
videoconferencing's case built solely on cost/benefit analyses in travel 
reduction. Sandy Kyrish states this reasoning is sound, "But treats 
videoconferencing as an application, not a communications tool."[5] Many 
communication researchers have found travel is not reduced due to 
videoconferencing, but just displaced. The real economic payoff is the 
reduction in the time it takes to get to the meeting and to make a 
decision.

Distance education courses delivered via videoconferencing have proven 
to be quite profitable and perfectly acceptable at many colleges and 
universities. Videoconferencing, economically is a true viable option 
for educators to meet a huge untapped market, that is willing pay for 
education, but insists on it being delivered to a location of their 
chose. Location and the ability to communicate interactively is 
important. A host of economic forces are bringing videoconferencing into 
our schools, offices, and soon homes; however, another strong force is 
working to bring this technology onto campuses.

Organizational forces are at work to see that videoconferencing becomes 
a practical and prominent business tool. Many university and college 
systems are geographically decentralized and centrally controlled. In an 
effort to manage these far-flung entities, videoconferencing is used to 
coordinate and thwart the demands of intra-university travel. For these 
organizational reasons, many state university and college systems are 
beginning to employ videoconferencing.

University's organizationally are changing to meet the needs of the 
educational environment of the next century and this process is causing 
a paradigm shift to occur. Whether colleges and universities call their 
efforts total quality management, quality improvement, or strategic 
quality management, these overall efforts focus to form cross functional 
work teams. All of the quality efforts focus specifically on better 
communications and outreach to customers externally and internally. 
Videoconferencing can be used to help increase productivity through 
better and more communication. This technology has been invaluable for 
strategy sessions, training, and fiscal budget reviews, where cross 
functional teams are geographically distributed. Whether campus forces 
are driven by technical wizardry, spurred by tightening budgets and 
travel costs, or confronted with organizational issues, 
videoconferencing has proven to meet the communication need.

System Basics

Tailored or packaged videoconferencing equipment makes the technology 
appropriate for a variety of university and college needs. Despite some 
of the bells and whistles on some videoconferencing systems, they all 
contain variations of the same system basics.

Video Codec

At the heart of the videoconferencing equipment is the video codec. This 
device translates analog video signals into digital output. Most video 
codecs can compress the amount of digital information that is 
transmitted. In this compression process, a mathematical algorithm is 
used. According to Thurston, "There are four steps to video codec 
technology:
   - preprocessing-removes high-frequency noise,
   - encoding--each block of the picture ranging from 8 x 8 to 16 x 16 
     pixels in size is digitized,
   - decoding--the digital signal is turned back into a picture,
   - postprocessing--noise is removed."[6]
For information technologists, the best way to understand video codecs 
is to think of them as the video counterparts to modems. There are three 
distinct and different coding techniques. For major scene changes, 
intraframe coding technique is used, which removes redundant data from 
within the frame. Interframe coding technique compares a frame with the 
previous frame and transmits only the changed parts. Predictive coding 
technique transmits only the changed portion of the motion, which varies 
from the prediction made in the algorithm. The majority of the good 
codecs use various combinations of these techniques.[7] Codec selection 
is still based on price/performance options. Selection is not as risky, 
due to the Consultative Committee of International Telephone and 
Telegraph (CCITT) ratifying, an international standard (H.261). This 
standard is pervasive, which means most systems are compliant with the 
standard and can communicate with each other. Codec performance can be 
evaluated in three ways: resolution (the amount of video converted to 
produce a clear picture), motion handling capability (the operation data 
rate when the picture is blurred or breaking up), and frame rate (how 
many frames refresh in a second that causes the flicker or jerky picture 
quality).[8] The codec can be thought of as the engine that drives this 
technology.

The CCITT has decided on an entire suite of standards, but the most 
talked about standard, which most technologists believe to be the real 
breakthrough is H.261. The standard is also referred to as Px64, and it 
allows different codecs made by different manufactor's to speak thesame 
protocol language .[9] The standards for videoconferencing are good, but 
there still is much work to be done.

Transmission Medium

The transmission medium can either be a dedicated type, like a private 
Tl circuit, a carrier service, like US Sprint's Meeting Channel, or 
switched services, like AT & T's Accunet Switched 384kbit/s and 56kbit/s 
Service.[l0] Digital signals can be sent via satellite, terrestrial 
circuits, microwave, and dial up telephone service. The general rule for 
videoconferencing transmission is the higher the transmission rate, the 
sharper the picture quality. Most videoconferencing vendors are working 
on improving the quality of the system at lower transmission rates, to 
take advantage of lower tariff charges. Richardson calls the 
technological focus on lower bandwidth delivery and higher quality 
pictures as "bandwidth end-runs."[ll] The preferred operating 
transmission rate is 384 kbit/s, but many universities and colleges are 
using dial-up on demand switched 56kbit/s service. Better quality will 
continue to be achieved at lower bandwidths.

Cameras and Monitors

If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, then video quality is 
biased by ones perceptions, and this leaves the measurements and 
predictors very subjective. Perceived picture quality is affected by 
many factors: spacial resolution, color retention, contrast, and image 
smoothness. The normal participants in videoconferencing sessions do not 
notice picture sharpness, unless the frame rate is lowered to less than 
20 frames per second.

Cameras and monitors come in many shapes and sizes. There are single 
fixed camera and monitor systems, dual camera/dual monitor systems, and 
multiple camera systems. In the selection of cameras and monitors, the 
number of active participants is paramount to the selection of the 
equipment. Most group videoconferencing equipment cameras can capture 3 
to 4 participants, with some detail. The normal monitor size is 27 
inches. In order to get more participants into the videoconference, 
camera switching is used. Camera switching is when there are remote 
control cameras, which commonly have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom 
in. Another way to achieve the frame of more individuals, is continuous 
presence presentation or splitscreening. This is breaking up parts of 
the picture, by using the top and bottom portions of the screen to show 
the other participants (stacking). The stacked signal is sent to the 
receiving videoconference participants, so they can see more 
participants on a split-screen.[l2] A helpful feature most 
videoconferencing systems contain is windowing. With this feature, a 
window displays to the sending participants a reflection of how they 
appear at the receiving end. Just as there can be one or more monitors, 
the number of cameras chosen depends on what is to be displayed. 
Optional cameras are called "wild cameras" and they include graphic, 
document, motion, slide-chain, and overflow cameras, which can be used 
to handle other forms of visual communications.

Control System

The control system consists of a hand-held or table-top device that 
integrates the cameras, monitors, graphics, audio and sometimes the 
dialing function. Many vendors of videoconferencing systems have 
different control systems, but most allow the participant to select 
cameras and settings like zoom or pan, control the audio volume, change 
the windowing, display and preview graphics, and remotely operate the 
auxiliary equipment. The ease of use of the videoconferencing system is 
directly related to the simplicity and responsiveness of the control 
system. Some videoconferencing participants find it difficult to operate 
the control system, while involved in the videoconference. These users 
are accommodated with a system that is handled by an "operator," whom 
usually is not a participant in the meeting, but runs the control 
panel.[l3] It is wise to look for ease of use and a smooth driving 
experience when purchasing a system.

Audio System

The most important component in videoconferencing is the audio system. 
People generally are forgiving of poor picture quality, but if they can 
not hear properly, or they are disrupted while speaking, they are 
thoroughly dissatisfied with the system. Audio can not be "here and 
there", rather consistent and of high quality. The biggest problem with 
the audio system is controlling echo. Echo is when the sound that is 
received, is heard by the microphone at the receiving site, and it is 
sent back to the participants, where it originated. There are two 
methods to deal with the problem of echo. Echo cancellation is one 
method of removing echo feedback from the videoconference. Echo 
cancellation holds the incoming signal and compares it to the outgoing 
signal, when it finds a duplicate it cancels it. The echo cancellation 
device can remember the specific acoustics of each conference room, and 
store this information, so the rest of the conference can be held with 
the elimination of the echo.[l4] When the conference participants are 
very informal and interactive, they may want to use this canceler 
device.

Echo suppression is sometimes called gating. Echo suppression is 
achieved by letting the audio transmit only one way. Another method is 
reducing the speaker level of the incoming audio when a participant is 
talking, and by suppressing the outgoing audio when someone at the other 
site is talking. Think of echo suppression as muffling the speaker at 
the other site. An advantage of this is the inability of speakers to 
interrupt each other. A disadvantage of echo suppression is "clipping" 
occurs, this is where the beginning of words are not heard at the other 
site.[l5] If meetings are very interactive a university or college may 
want to use echo cancellation, because it is interruptible. On the other 
hand, if most videoconferencing sessions are one participant speaking 
for a longer duration, then echo suppression is preferred, because the 
speaker is not easily disturbed.

Audio is transmitted out-of-band (audio traveling separately) or in-band 
(the audio portion is sent with the video signal). The audio is referred 
to as either full-duplex, half-duplex, or switched. Today, most of the 
videoconferencing systems allow more audio frequency to be delivered 
than a normal telephone call, and less than television or radio 
programs. It is best to get an audio subsystem that is capable of more 
than 7kHz audio.[l6] The placement and quality of the microphones is a 
large determinant of the quality of the audio. Generally, tabletop 
microphones are used, which are omni-directional (they pick up sound 
within range of any part of the room), or directional (picking up sound 
from a specific location). Hand held and lavaliere microphones can be 
held or worn by the participants. Other microphones may be placed about 
the room to pick up the side conversations. Speakers are usually built 
into the modular cabinet type systems, and broadcast speakers can be 
used in the rear of the room, or in an overflow room, if more 
participants attend. The audio system is the most important element of 
the system, but sometimes the least thought of.

Room Conditions

To achieve good quality audio, room acoustics are needed. Most 
universities and colleges do not have the luxury of having an extra 
conference room to convert to a broadcast studio, but many options are 
available, which are inexpensive and very effective, to make due with 
what is obtainable. Room treatment and conditions can be most 
accommodating to videoconferencing by just changing the lighting, 
arranging the conference table, adhering to a proper ambient noise 
level, and working with the size of the room. Lighting needs to be non 
glaring, only one kind, and even throughout the room. The conference 
table should be large enough to give participants 2 to 3 feet each. A 
round or V-shaped table can provide better views for the 
videoconference. Commonly the room should be free from a noisy hall, and 
Daly mentions, "an ambient noise level of at most 45 decibels is 
required." [l7] Unfortunately, most university and colleges can not 
achieve this, so wall treatments and sound absorbing tiles can be used. 
An "in use" sign can be used to keep outside noise down. Blue and gray 
seem to be the best colors for a site. Many minor inexpensive changes 
can be made, to leverage the investment in videoconferencing equipment, 
with room condition enhancements or arrangements.

Options

Many options can be chosen to add-value to the videoconference. Some of 
these are computer interfaces, extra phone lines, still video systems, 
electronic response systems, VCRs, electronic annotation devices, image 
capturing tools, electronic pens, and security encryption devices. Many 
of these add-on options help ensure effective communication and a 
successful videoconference. The best advice for designing a 
videoconferencing system is to visit as many different videoconferencing 
sites as possible.

Multipoint Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing among more than two locations is a whole different 
ball game. Multipoint videoconferencing permits three or more locations 
to participate. Many problems occur when every location can send and 
receive audio/video at the same time. To alleviate these problems, 
technical protocols are put in place to see and be seen, and hear all 
participants. The protocols or methods to produce multipoint 
videoconferencing are voice-activated switching, chairman control, self-
selection, and windows.[l8] In order to perform voice-activated 
videoconferencing a multipoint control unit is used. This device is a 
sort of an electronic middleman, which automatically switches the 
correct audio/video to all locations in the videoconference. The 
multipoint control device can be connected together or cascaded, to 
allow for many locations. This method allows each site to see the site 
that is currently speaking, and the speaking site, sees the site of the 
previous speaker. Advantages for this method are it is unobtrusive and 
automatic. The disadvantage is a cough or loud noise can disrupt the 
videoconference. Another method is chairperson control, where a 
chairperson is chosen, and the audio/video from the chairperson's site 
is sent to all others, and the chairperson views audio/video from the 
previous site. The chairperson's role can be passed to the other sites. 
The disadvantage to this method is the loss of spontaneous interaction, 
but the advantage is there are no random glitches like clipping. The 
self-selection method is like answering questions in a game show. The 
site that wishes to be seen and heard presses a button to do so. 
Windowing is simply placing all the sites visually in the monitor and 
giving the participant the ability to select who he/she wishes to see 
(Hollywood Squares). This multipoint method is not very popular, but it 
may be the approach to perform multiple desktop videoconferencing. The 
standards are not as finalized for multipoint videoconferencing, as 
point-to-point. Multipoint videoconferencing is less like face-to-face 
meetings, still many university and college systems are using multipoint 
videoconferencing for senior level meetings to avoid travel time between 
the distant system schools.

Desktop Videoconferencing

The hottest talked about technology is multimedia and one of its 
greatest applications is desktop videoconferencing. By moving 
videoconferencing to the desktop many campus information technology 
organizations will be able to take advantage of this still primitive 
technology. When a study found that video increased retention by fifty 
percent--imagine the increased effectiveness in communication with 
desktop videoconferencing.[l9] Although customer acceptance with the AT 
& T picturephone is presently unclear, desktop videoconferencing seems 
to be accepted in the campus environment. The first-to-the market 
products are based on Compressed Digital Video (CDV) technology. The 
basic components of a desktop videoconferencing system is a codec 
circuit board, video processor board, camera, microphone, digital phone 
line or analog telephone, some communications software, and of course a 
microcomputer. The cost is right around the $2,000 range, and market 
sales have been characterized by millions of units, due to market 
projections stating it will increase eighty one percent by 1995.[20] 
Desktop videoconferencing at its' best, has been performing at 
approximately 15 frames per second. and a 128H by 112v resolution. The 
transmission mediums are ISDN, FDDI, ATM, LANs, ethernet, cable and 
plain old telephone service (POTS). Similar to email's emergence as a 
key tool on campuses, desktop videoconferencing will build on email's 
success, and help campus faculty, staff, and students to meet in groups 
geographically distributed around the campus network. The college and 
university network infrastructure is best suited to allow its' community 
on campus to be pioneer's in desktop videoconferencing.

Arizona State University 's Videoconferencing History

Shortly after the Arizona State University (ASU) West campus was formed 
(the first branch campus), the president of Arizona State University in 
1990, asked for teleconferencing proposals for communications between 
the main and west campuses. He insisted that ASU proceed with a pilot 
project in the teleconferencing area. The reason for the president's 
memorandum to look into the option of teleconferencing between the two 
sites was economical and organizational. The president's cabinet was not 
worried so much about the direct cost in traveling 20 miles to the West 
campus. They were frustrated with the time spent traveling and the 
scheduling problems endured to meet with staff at both locations. The 
organizational change (a new campus) made it imperative for the 
president to meet with the new administrators of the ASU-West campus 
regularly. The memorandum also asked for key principals in 
teleconferencing to identify a pilot, a long range form, and what the 
costs for both would be.

Alternatives evaluated for teleconferencing between the two campuses 
were: using microwave dishes; piggy backing on the instructional 
television fixed service; and a modular compressed digital 
videoconferencing system. After much debate, the decision was to 
purchase the compressed digital videoconferencing unit for communication 
between the ASU-Tempe and ASU-West campus. The decision, according to a 
presidents cabinet member, was based on the systems cost effectiveness, 
time to install, and privacy to the videoconferencing participants.

Shortly after the decision to use compressed digital videoconferencing 
between ASU -Tempe and ASU West, the Council of Presidents (COP) 
proposed to look at videoconferencing for their triuniversity meetings 
to avoid loss of time due to travel. The COP, consists of the presidents 
from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the 
University of Arizona, and they appointed a tri-university task force to 
make recommendations. For videoconferencing between the three 
universities, two forms of technology were proposed: compressed video 
and analog video based system. The task force was split between the two 
systems; however, the COP, due to time and cost factors, chose the 
compressed digital system to be developed first. The criteria for 
comparison of the two systems was: motion quality; privacy/security; 
convenience/access; expandability; cost; and revenue potential. The 
multipoint compressed digital system is operational and is generally 
viewed as a success. An overview of the system is provided (See Figure 
1, p. 11). Presently, work is underway to also develop the analog video 
based system.

Specifically, what ASU wanted for the tri-university system was minimal 
on-going operational costs, the least cost up front, minimal set up 
time, the system to be self operated, and to be private and secure. The 
COP purchased a modular PictureTel 4000 videoconferencing system with a 
PictureTel M-8000 Bridge. This system allowed the three universities to 
use voice activated switching and view video at 10 frames per second. 
The system is upgradable and easy to set up. By deciding on compressed 
digital, minimal conference room arrangements were needed. The system 
implementation has been a critical endeavor and the experience was, and 
still is, a great teacher.

Lessons Learned and Pitfalls to Avoid

This report can not speak for the other universities, but many valuable 
lessons were learned at ASU about point-to-point and multipoint 
videoconferencing. Because the primary participants for 
videoconferencing were senior officials, the privacy and security issue 
held a lot of weight when viewing alternatives. Another lesson ASU 
learned, was lighting and sound controls need special attention during 
"burn in" of the system. Regardless of how many people the 
videoconferencing system was designed for, the conference size continues 
to grow. ASU has had over 30 people to observe a videoconference, and 
some people had to go to an overflow room to listen with a speaker 
phone. Depending on the number of people participating in the 
videoconference, the spacial organization of the people must be 
addressed properly. One lesson learned, the hard way, was scheduling the 
videoconferences. A schedule system must be developed and kept between 
the three schools. Setting up a reference checklist is also a key to 
ensure the videoconference runs smoothly. An additional lesson is to 
have helpful documentation about the operation of the equipment, and 
thoroughly train and retrain, the participants and support staff. Some 
leadership is needed from the participants, which have experience in 
videoconferencing, to help the other participants understand the 
procedures and helpful hints, like handling the pause during switching. 
The most important lesson learned by the information technology 
organization is to always have a technical person standing by.

A primary pitfall, or problem, is the audio portion of the 
videoconference not being heard properly. This occurs when a participant 
is not close enough to a microphone or does not enunciate clearly. Most 
often, the videoconferencing participants want to pick up side 
conversations in the meetings, but this seemed impossible to do with the 
present system. What was discovered, is in order to pick up more 
background sounds, the telecommunication department bought inexpensive 
Radio Shack microphones and hung them on the wall to rectify the 
situation and it alleviated an echo problem at the same time. An unique 
pitfall occurs if camera angles at all sites are not properly set . For 
example, one tri-university site has the camera mounted very high, and 
every other location feels they are always looking down at the top of 
their heads. Another pitfall to avoid, is educating the participants to 
correctly use the document cameras and to help participants prepare to 
use the graphics cameras or fax materials ahead of time. Everyone will 
want to use the equipment once it is in place, so policies need to be 
made stating the use, and prioritization of groups. While The Chronicle 
of Higher Education touts in headlines, "Colleges use video conferences 
to trim their travel budgets," evaluation is needed to not only justify 
the cost saved in travel budgets, but to measure the productivity and 
time gained by the employee, who does not have to drive to Tempe for two 
hours to get to the meeting.[2l] Other evaluation measures about the 
system operation are sorely needed. One of the largest pitfalls of ASU's 
experience in videoconferencing, is that no classes are delivered 
through the system; however, a new site is waiting to be opened to do 
just that.

ASU's Future for Videoconferencing is Bright

Most of the experiences ASU and the other tri-universities have had with 
videoconferencing applications are frequent board meetings, emergencies 
requiring group participation, or important time critical messages that 
have to be delivered. Many other applications are possible, but the 
application more presidents are mentioning is videoconferencing for 
distance education. Due to tight fiscal times, this instructional 
delivery vehicle (digital video) is viable and profitable. The quality 
of compressed digital video is closer to business television (ITFS), at 
one-fifth the cost to broadcast. For example, several schools like the 
University of Missouri have been using compressed video technology to 
deliver upper-level, undergraduate courses and graduate courses, 
primarily to non-traditional students, for quite a few years now.[22] 
Other state university systems, such as the California State System and 
the University of Minnesota System have been satisfied with assessments 
of videoconferencing for teaching in the virtual classroom. Many believe 
one of the greatest technology payoffs in higher education will be 
videoconferencing for distance education.

The new Computing Commons building on ASU's campus has a conference 
facility specifically built to produce ideal videoconferences for 
simulated face-to-face business meetings, and to develop ASU's virtual 
classroom for distance education. The proposed Arizona State Public 
Information Network plans for 15 fully equipment videoconferencing 
sites. ASU's videoconferencing link to our Community College system is 
present and postured to deliver distance education. With the microwave 
links coming to the tri-university networking infrastructure and the 
tri-university experience as a guide, Arizona's videoconferencing 
picture is bright.

Videoconferencing Benefits and Limitations

In these times of increasing and rapid change in higher education, 
videoconferencing is not a panacea, but a boon to good management 
decisions, distance education, and increased productivity. The 
videoconferencing benefits are both tangible and intangible. Reducing 
travel expense and time is constantly eluded to, but the primary 
benefits are faster decision making, more informed or better decisions, 
and the ability to get more people in on the mission critical decisions, 
which university management makes. The payoffs are value-added and 
budgetary.[23] The cost versus utility threshold for videoconferencing 
is presently being met, and price barriers to implement this technology 
at all universities and colleges is being removed. There are many 
positive spill-overs and linkages to using videoconferencing for 
example; the ability for spontaneous meetings, increased participation, 
better coordination and control, and additionally, there is no need for 
traveling dog and pony shows by university personnel.

The predominant limitations for videoconferencing were cost and 
availability, but public videoconferencing systems are considerably 
lower in cost and generally available on demand.

There are still some technical limitations and standards to be decided 
on for videoconferencing. Acceptance of the practice is also a 
limitation, but many faculty, staff and students would rather avoid the 
travel and use videoconferencing. Despite the limitations, the climate 
for this new technology is right.

The technical aspects of videoconferencing, while somewhat challenging, 
pale in comparison to other aspects that must be addressed to 
successfully introduce this new technology. The single most essential 
element of videoconferencing is management. Proper management and 
planning for videoconferencing is paramount due to the senior management 
audience typically served by videoconferencing on campus. Management of 
videoconferencing must be an on-going and continuous effort. One of the 
fastest way to be without a job in information technology is to have a 
videoconferencing system continue to fail with the presidents and senior 
state officials as participants.


NOTES

[l] Ron Taylor, "Videoconferencing--Building Ubiquity. Cutting Costs, 
and Communicating Easily," Telecommunications. August 1991, p.46. 

[2] John Walsh, "Personal Video: A Reality," in ITCA Teleconferencing 
Yearbook 1992 (Washington, D.C.: International Teleconferencing 
Association), 8. 

[3] Ibid.,p.8.

[4] Tim Duffy, "Videoconferencing: A Market in the Making?" 
Telecommunications, April 1992, p.41.

[5] Sandy Kyrish, "Value-Added Approach Boosts Videoconferencing 
Growths," in ITCA Teleconferencing Yearbook 1992 (Washington, D.C.: 
International Teleconferencing Association), p.57.

[6] Francine Thuston, "Video Teleconferencing: The State of the Art," 
Telecommunications. January 1992, p.64. ;Ibid., p.64. 

[7] Ibid., p.64

[8] Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991) p.57.

[9] Larry Ehlers, "Primer on Interactive Videoconferencing." in ITCA 
Teleconferencing Yearbook 1992,( ~Washington, D.C.: International                
	Teleconferencing Association), p.52.

[10]Francine Thuston, "Video Teleconferencing: The State of the Art," 
Telecommunications, January 1992, p.63. 

[11]Steve Richardson, "Videoconferencing: The Bigger (and Better) 
Picture," Data Communications, June 1992, p.106. 

[12]Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991) p.57

[13]Tim McElgunn, "An Overview of Videoconferencing Systems," (Datapro 
Management of Telecommunications) October      	1991, 105, Datapro MT60-
630-102.

[14]Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991) p.32. 

[15]Tim McElgunn, "An Overview of Videoconferencing Systems," (Datapro 
Management of Telecommunications) October 	1991, 105, Datapro MT60-
630-101 

[16]Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991) p.32.

[17]Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991), p.44. 

[18]Edward A. Daly, We've got to start meeting like this (Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991) p.69.

[19]Tony Reveaux, "Videoconferencing Moves to the Desktop," Newmedia, 
November 1992, p.33. 

[20]Jeanette Borzo, "Multirnedia Uses Expected to Grow," Infoworld, 10 
February 1992, p.19.

[21] Katherine Mangan, "Colleges Use Video Conferences to Trim Their 
Travel Budgets," The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11,1991. 

[22]Coleman H. Burton, Digital Video, (Lexington, KY: The Association of 
College & University Telecommunications Administrators, 1991), 2..

[23]Sandy Kyrish, "Value-Added Approach Boosts Videoconferencing 
Growths," in ITCA Teleconferencing Yearbook 1992 (Washington, D.C.: 
International Teleconferencing Association),p.57.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Borzo, Jeanette. "Multimedia Uses Expected to Grow," Infoworld, 10 
February 1992, pp.l9,28.

Burton, Coleman H. Video Digital, (Lexington, KY: The Association of 
College & University Telecommunications Administrators, 1991)

Daly, Edward A. We've got to start meeting like this . Atlanta: KJH 
Communications, 1991.

Duffy, Tim. "Videoconferencing: A Market in the Making?" 
Telecommunications, April 1992, pp.41-48.

Ehlers, Larry. "Primer on Interactive Videoconferencing." In ITCA 
Teleconferencing Yearbook 51-55. Washington, D.C.: International 
Teleconferencing Association.

Kyrish, Sandy. 1992. Value-Added Approach Boosts Videoconferencing 
Growths. In ITCA TeleconferencingYearbookl992.56-60. Washington,D.C.: 
International Teleconferencing Association.

Mangan, Katherine. "Colleges Use Video Conferences to Trim Their Travel 
Budgets" The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 1991, pp. Al9-
A20.

McElgunn, Tim. An Overview of Videoconferencing Systems. In Datapro 
Management ofTelecommunications October 1991, 101-110, Datapro MT60-630-
101.

Reveaux, Tony. "Videoconferencing Moves to the Desktop." Newmedia, 
November 1992,

Richardson, Steve. "Videoconferencing: The Bigger (and Better) Picture." 
Data Communications, June   1992, pp. 103-111.

Taylor, Ron. "Videoconferencing--Building Ubiquity, Cutting Costs, and 
Communicating Easily." Telecommunications.August1991,pp.46-48.

Thuston, Francine. "Video Teleconferencing: The State of the Art." 
Telecommunications, January 1992, pp.63-65.

Walsh, John. 1992. Personal Video: A Reality. In ITCA Teleconferencing 
Yearbook 1992, 811. Washington, D.C.: International Teleconferencing 
Association.


[MISSING FIGURE 1: Diagram of Tri-University Videoconferencing System]