Video conferencing QampA
Published: WORSHIP
John Lee’s Hong Kong-based distribution and integration company, CY Communications, has a cost-effective video conferencing solution that can link worship, seminars and any other ministry communications across cities, continents and the globe. Called V2 Conference, it has been developed by V2 Technology Inc, a Beijing-based network multimedia and communication software development and service provider. Mr Calvin (pictured above) of CY Communications explains how it works…
Tell us more about V2 Conference
The V2 Conference network video-conferencing system is a distributed, modular, robust and pure software video-conferencing platform designed to be a scalable and complete network multimedia communication solution. It is telecommunication standard-compliant, and supports a wide range of user segments by using server cascading.
It’s one of the earliest video-conferencing software packages to be GIPS compliant, a world leading voice communication solution and standard that provides the best voice communication experiences and perfect voice quality that’s better than telephone. It also features, among other things, AEC (acoustic echo cancellation), AGC (automatic gain control) and NR (noise reduction) designed for conferencing applications.
Featuring MPEG4 and H264 video compression algorithms, V2 Conference has an excellent bandwidth adaptability and video compression rate. So with its patented code stream control and bandwidth adaptability mechanisms, it ensures ideal visual effects even in poor networking conditions. The in-built video multi-channel multiplexing technology allows an existing video channel to be multiplexed by multiple video signals for transmission of video data in a coordinated way, thereby enabling video data to be transmitted in an organic way, improving transmission efficiency, saving network bandwidth and streamlining transmission.
How do we set it up?
Installed on the host PC, the V2 flash software paired with the Yamaha EC-200 echo cancellation device will allow an event or conference to be broadcast across the world while allowing remote guest speakers to become involved – all at the same time. At most events there are camera crews recording events and projecting images onto large screens for audiences to see, so most equipment is already in place. All you need extra is a computer with internet connection, and it’s easy to get guests connected to the event.
So it’s all in the software?
That’s it, and it’s very user friendly. For those on the other end, just to watch all they need is a laptop and internet connection. For those who need to participate verbally, all they need as well is a webcam and headset microphone. With V2, you can have several guests logged in at once from different parts of the world. They can interact as if they were all there together in person. V2 Flash features high quality video and audio and, while there are solutions that boast HD quality, this is unrealistic given the bandwidth available in most places. And with the Yamaha EC-200, it’s possible to have all this without any feedback issues.
In the past, this kind of simultaneous interaction needed a professional TV station and lots and lots of equipment to pull off. Now it’s so much quicker, simpler and very affordable. You can turn any local worship occasion into a global event.
What’s the relationship between CY Communications and V2 Technology?
CY is the sole distributor, not just for Hong Kong but for the whole Asia-Pacific region. That includes V2 software solutions and the Yamaha USB-based speaker and microphone system. You also get our expertise; we work closely with Tom Lee Engineering to reach the market, and our engineers are available to set up systems in event halls, auditoriums and of course HOWs.
That seems the perfect application, in fact…
Yes, especially as it’s so simple and cost-effective. Any worship leader can reach much wider congregations, or a group of leaders can confer or conduct seminars around the world. It may be used only for special dates on the calendar, such as Easter, because it’s very portable and does not involve a complex, fixed installation. Other figureheads may be reaching out to different cities in an attempt to develop the ministry. You just bolt onto the normal projection system, connect via the internet and conduct your service.
With media conferencing, many people see it as just for boardroom meetings. But right now a lot of people are expanding video conference solutions for more personal usage – take Skype, for instance – and the move is definitely towards less hardware-based systems. Those are still great, but not everybody needs such complex, professional setups. Our solution could be called conference-on-the-move: you can go anywhere, any time and ‘create’ a congress.