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1. What is Teliris?
2. Who are the key executives of Teliris?
3. What is VirtuaLive™?
4. What is Interactive Telepresence?
5. What do you mean by Human Engineering?
6. How is VirtuaLive™ different from traditional videoconferencing solutions?
7. What is VirtualVectoring?
8. How did Teliris approach the research and development of VirtuaLive™?
9. Who will use VirtuaLive™?
10. How does Telepresence work?
11. What sort of network transport infrastructure is needed to support VirtuaLive™?
12. Do customers have to buy the network transport infrastructure through Teliris?
13. How is Teliris financed?
14. Who are Teliris’ customers?
| 1. |
What is Teliris? |
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| Teliris is a pioneer in the fields of network and directory services. Teliris formally came into being in February 2001. |
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| 2. |
Who are the key executives of Teliris? |
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| Teliris was co-founded by its four executive directors, based in the UK and the US. Martyn Lewis CBE chairs the company, with Marc Trachtenberg, Deputy Chairman and Chief Technical Officer. Jamie Thomson is Managing Director, based in the UK, and Steven Gage is the Chief Operating Officer. The sales organization is headed by Jim Oldham. |
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| 3. |
What is VirtuaLive™? |
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VirtuaLive™ is the only commercially viable Interactive Telepresence solution on the market today. Teliris transforms conference rooms around the world that are instantly and always connected. The users experience DVD or HD broadcast-quality video and CD-quality sound, with undetectable loss or delay. VirtuaLive™ is incredibly easy to use, offers technician-free control and “instant-on” capabilities. VirtuaLive™ provides the only true “Being There” video conference and meeting solutions for business people. The meeting experience is transparent, intimate and effective — enabling colleagues to read verbal and non-verbal cues, sense the true tone of the meeting and feel each other’s presence across the table. Based upon Teliris’ proprietary FACT framework, a VirtuaLive™ solution also enables the following:
- Presentations — the ability to prepare, annotate and deliver shared presentations remotely using high-quality displays and intuitive software tools
- Document transfer — delivery of electronic or hard-copy documents to other participants in the meeting at the touch of a button
- Backwards compatibility — VirtuaLive™ can be seamlessly integrated with legacy videoconferencing facilities, protecting existing investment and easing transition
- Video streaming and broadcast video support and management
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| 4. |
What is Interactive Telepresence? |
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| Interactive Telepresence, in short, means that intimate, visceral and effective interactions are occurring over great distances, without the need for physical travel. It embodies elements of human engineering (inclusive of our unique VirtualVectoring solution that brings the feeling of a real presence and interactive environment to VirtuaLive™); standards (ensuring consistency and compatibility throughout Teliris’ set of solutions); software systems (the command and control systems for all solutions); and subject matter expertise (the intellectual property, research and development behind Interactive Telepresence). |
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| 5. |
What do you mean by Human Engineering? |
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| As part of the development of Interactive Telepresence solutions, Teliris conducted and analyzed both primary and secondary research sources to discern the exact ways in which users interact with traditional audiovisual systems. This includes the interpretation of visual and audio cues, in order to optimize user “touch points,” thereby improving the experience of a Teliris solution. Specific attention was paid to how image stability, image artifacting, display clarity and colour, transmission delay, compression effects and audio characteristics affect the user. Following the analysis of this research, Teliris conducted in-depth testing and analysis of many sub-systems in the FACT framework to establish the optimum characteristics for VirtuaLive™. In addition to the above topics, these included lighting effects, room layout, camera placement, multi-site synchronization of video and audio, and perceptions of peripheral vision and depth of field. This research informed decisions such as placing presentation display screens in specific positions so that individuals appear to look in the same direction in the virtual meeting space (e.g., at one another during conversations ensuring direct eye contact), and arranging microphone sensitivity so that it is possible to have quiet conversations “off air” without having to reset any control systems or settings. |
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| 6. |
How is VirtuaLive™ different from traditional videoconferencing solutions? |
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Nobody else is able to deliver the combination of ease of use, reliability and “quality of experience” which are the hallmarks of VirtuaLive™. It really does seem like you are in the same room with the people you’re meeting. The key to this is Teliris’ human engineering research into the dynamics of meetings, which gave rise to the concept of VirtualVectoring — providing real eye-contact between individuals across the table, significantly enhancing the feeling of being in a real, rather than a virtual, meeting. Additionally, traditional systems operate on transport infrastructures that will never allow them to deliver “Being There” as a net effect. In sum, there really is no way to compare a Teliris solution with legacy A/V systems or products.
Videoconferencing companies rely on a years-old network transport protocols that places an inherent limit on bandwidth and A/V quality. VirtuaLive™ allows DVD or HD broadcast-quality on several large-format screens, while, at the same time, delivering CD-quality sound with undetectable loss and delay, and unrivalled collaborative working tools. VirtuaLive™ is to videoconferencing as television was to radio in the early 1950’s — it’s that different. |
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| 7. |
What is VirtualVectoring? |
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| VirtualVectoring is a combination of camera placement, audio pickup orientation, seating layout, screen placement and room design that give meetings around the VirtuaLive™ their natural look and feel. VirtualVectoring enables one-to-one eye contact, intuitive use of off-camera meeting aids such as presentation displays, and natural non-verbal gestures, in a consistent way among several meeting rooms. For example, the principles of VirtualVectoring inform the placement of presentation display screens in such a way that a presenter pointing to an off-camera visual aid in one room will draw the eye of an audience on the other side of the world to the simultaneous display in their own room. In short, VirtualVectoring ensures the highest level of human contact and keeps all heads moving in the right direction to create the impression of an in-person meeting. |
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| 8. |
How did Teliris approach the research and development of VirtuaLive™? |
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| Teliris split its research into three distinct areas, which were all brought together in the product trials and development phase.
User research: Teliris interviewed users and former users of legacy videoconferencing solutions, to find out what they liked and what they disliked about current systems. This included the products themselves, implementation methods, costs, and the difference between user expectations and experience.
Human engineering research: Teliris undertook detailed research into the psychology of human interactions with audiovisual equipment. As detailed above, this research revealed what makes a significant difference in users’ interpretation of visual and audio cues. More detailed material, including research data, is available on request.
Product and vendor evaluations: A large number of existing subsystems and individual products was reviewed and assessed within the guidelines of the FACT framework and the need to create a fully integrated Interactive Telepresence solution. The FACT framework calls for the integration of standards-based products into a unified system. This investigation established which products would be suitable and in what areas further development would be necessary. The subsystems meeting the proper criteria constitute the display, capture, audio, transport and control elements of any Teliris solutions. |
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| 9. |
Who will use VirtuaLive™? |
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| VirtuaLive™ is a business acceleration tool for multinational corporations, governments, and any other organization that needs to manage the challenges associated with Distance-Influenced Interaction. The ability to conduct business globally, instantly and in a natural meeting environment over great distances makes a significant impact on the bottom line of corporations, and the effectiveness and satisfaction of their global work force. While this impact includes tangible expenditures such as travel and accommodation costs, it also takes into account intangibles like the ability of those executives to make better use of the time they would otherwise waste in traveling, as well as their appreciation of and loyalty to an innovative and forward thinking organization. In other words, the classic ROI model is only the beginning when assessing the true enterprise-wide value of VirtuaLive™. |
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| 10. |
How does Telepresence work? |
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| With undetectable sound delays, unsurpassed image quality and the ability to transparently interact, collaborate and exchange intellectual capital, VirtuaLive™ enables executives to forget that they are not physically in the same place. The VirtuaLive™ solution is built to achieve the standards for true Interactive Telepresence, set in an environment equipped with DVD or HD broadcast-quality displays and CD-quality audio. Because a VirtuaLive™ interaction is extremely easy to initiate and control, there is no need for complex call scheduling and/or elaborate (outdated) methods of technical support: users can initiate a meeting on their own and convene instantly. By establishing standards in the FACT framework, and selecting dozens of best of breed hardware and software components, all integrated into a singular vision of Interactive Telepresence, VirtuaLive™ works as every technology solution should aspire to work. Transparently, to ensure that the experience comes first. Intimately, to deliver the benefit as promised. And effectively, on all of the required levels—user satisfaction, corporate metrics, etc. |
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| 11. |
What sort of network transport infrastructure is needed to support VirtuaLive™? |
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| Interactive Telepresence requires a robust, purpose-built network transport that meets its demands for ultra-low latency, very high reliability and scalability. Architecting, acquiring, and implementing transport services is a challenging and sometimes daunting task for customers. Teliris therefore offers transport provisioning and services to its customers on an annual contract basis, at prices rarely seen or attainable, due to strategic partnership relationships. The good news is that, due to both the dramatic decreases in network transport costs over the last few years, as well as the addition of newer, lower bandwidth VirtuaLive™ offerings, that the ability to afford and benefit from these types of robust transport networks has never been greater. |
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| 12. |
Do customers have to buy the network transport infrastructure through Teliris? |
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| In the event that the customer has a quality of service network capable of supporting VirtuaLive™, Teliris’ Professional Services team will work to integrate VirtuaLive™ into the customer’s network. |
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| 13. |
How is Teliris financed? |
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| Teliris is privately funded and held. |
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| 14. |
Who are Teliris’ customers? |
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| Teliris has designed and implemented VirtuaLive™ solutions for global brand leaders in the fields of finance, media, utilities and manufacturing in locations throughout the world. Current customers include Pearson plc, Lazard, GlaxoSmithKline. |
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