Product Evaluations
The VTAS advisors carry out unbiased evaluations of ISDN/IP videoconferencing products. The results of the tests and a number of other resources intended to provide assistance to purchasers are available:
Evaluations of hardware CODECs for room installations or rollabout:
- CODEC Summary Table - summary of the main features of the evaluated products
- Product Evaluation Reports - the full evaluation reports along with responses from the manufacturers
- Evaluation Test Procedure - the full comparison result tables
- Test Procedure Outline - description of the tests carried out for evaluations purposes
Evaluations of desktop videoconferencing software
- Overview document
- provides a description of the test procedures. - Summary comparison of Mirial 7.0 and Skype 4.0.
- Skype 4.0 - detailled document
- Mirial Softphone 7.0 - detailled document
- Coming Soon Emblaze-VCON and Polycom PVX
Evaluations of desktop videoconferencing hardware
The USB-connected echo-cancelling loudspeaker/microphone systems in the table below were evaluated
and
assigned a rating (maximum 35) according to setup procedure, connectivity, echo cancellation, value for money, etc. For a detailed description of the test procedures, please see the overview document
| Product Name | Rating out of 35 |
| ClearOne Chat 50 | 35 |
| Yamaha PJP-25UR | 34 |
| ClearOne Chat 150 | 33 |
| Phoenix Duet | 33 |
| Phoenix Quattro | 33 |
| Phoenix Solo | 31 |
| Polycom C100S | 31 |
Summary
Any one of these systems could be used for small-room video-conferencing applications. The larger more costly systems will provide a better service for larger numbers of attendees and rooms. Differences between the products reflect their cost, and intended purpose. Also, some have slightly better quality of sound reproduction than others. For a more detailed comparison of the products, please see the evaluation document
Note The list of manufacturers represented here is not exhaustive. The presence of a product in this list indicates only that the product has been evaluated by the VTAS product evaluation team and should not be taken as a recommendation. Similarly, the absence of a popular product from the list should not be seen to reflect negatively on that product.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- JANET Videoconferencing Equipment Framework Agreement Guidelines - JANET(UK)'s framework agreement for the supply and maintenance of videoconferencing equipment
- VTAS expert advice - advice or consultancy provided by the VTAS advisory team