Tata, Cisco deal positions companies on forefront of telepresence market
The demand for telepresence services is on the rise and Indian telecom heavyweight Tata Communications Ltd. has forged an early foothold in the industry through its workings with Cisco Systems Inc.
Telepresence takes video conferencing to a whole other level. It provides life-like, high-definition audio and video conferencing. Telepresence rooms are set up so that participants in the conference all appear to be sitting at the same table, with large video screens on one side of the table displaying the participants in other rooms. The video images of participants are life-sized, so people appear exactly as they would if they were physically sitting across from the table. Sound and video is specific to each video screen and individual, so that when someone talks from one end of the video table the sound comes from that position. For those facing the video screens, they do not see themselves on a split screen like video conferencing, but instead only see the telepresence participants across from them.
Telepresence is touted as an alternative to traditional face-to-face meetings and a way for companies to save money on travel costs and time and improve long-distance collaboration.
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