Cisco umi telepresence demo at Valley Fair…
There was a kiosk setup with live demonstrations of the Cisco consumer telepresence solution “umi” at Valley Fair mall. There were two suites setup for private testing of the device and the demo was very well done. Once we sat down – had a brief introduction to the system and had a 3 minute conversation with a remote magician(it was actually pretty fun). This gave us a chance to have some conversation, get a feel for audio/video quality and the interface.
DISCLAIMER: Per the salesperson on site, the network connection was not dedicated and was part of whatever internet infrastructure was in place at Valley Fair (i.e. not ideal – but probably a decent approximation of a typical home user that has a multiple network devices/users in their home).
Since I have experience using other HD “telepresence” solutions (Lifesize, Tandberg) in addition to the usual consumer products (Skype, Sony PS3, iChat, etc.) – I was interested to see what Cisco had put together with this turn-key consumer solution.
Interface: Lots of boxes (there is a set top box, the camera on the TV and a remote – it gets busy). The visual interface is elegant and simple – definitely designed to be comfortable to as wide an audience as possible. The making/answering call functions were very straightforward (something typical telepresence solutions tend to overlook). I appreciated the simple remote layout.
Audio Quality: Audio and video were in sync – sound was good and conversation flowed well. Was initially stymied by not seeing what video we were transmitting – so it just looked like a video feed magically appeared. I am sure there is some sort of PiP setting for this. The demo suite was enclosed but far from soundproof – and audio quality was still good with voices sounding natural without evidence of compression.
Video Quality: This is by far the most subjective, but since i have used other HD solutions in the past I was interested to see what was possible at this price point in the market.
- Colors: A little washed out – it might have been a simple issue of TV calibration and lighting – but I would assume the demo area had been optimized. When I viewed the picture that we were transmitting – the colors seemed more vibrant – so compression/network congestion could definitely be factors.
- Motion: Since this was a live “magic show” that we were watching – there was some motion – but in very small screen areas. The magician was sitting at a desk and performing some basic sleight of hand tricks. There were some block artifacts that showed up – but they didn’t linger and cleared up quickly. The salesperson assured us that this was most likely due to the internet connection quality.
- Detail: This was the biggest disappointment – and makes me really think about the cost structure (initial hardware purchase AND monthly service charge – not including the upgrade to your broadband connection that most will likely need to use this reliably). The screen detail was good – it was a little better than watching a DVD on your HD set before line doubling – so it looked like the best it was getting was 480p. Of note – we were seated about 7 feet away from the screen – so a further distance may be more realistic for larger spaces – but be ready to increase your broadband capabilities to get the most out of this box.
Overall: I think there is some potential here – but it seems like there will be a learning curve given the network traffic that typical households deal with. It may not be realistic to turn off every network device (wired or wireless) so you can do a video call and have it look good. It will be interesting to see what Cisco can do on the software side to optimize call quality with various video sets. As has been echoed before – the camera module is pretty chunky and takes up some serious real estate on the top of the TV. I am trying to imagine a TV setup with a Cisco UMI, Xbox Kinect and PS3 Eye – you would need a huge screen to fit those.
Finally – the monthly fee. The hardware is not cheap ($600) – so the $25/month PER umi device seems like a steep cost structure (Plan details here). The monthly charge is required for umi to even work (provides for unlimited calls and up to 100 minutes of video message recording) – so that is an interesting approach when the consumer will have to also shoulder an increased broadband connection cost to accommodate their minimum requirements.
I am looking forward to seeing some real world testing with some faster broadband connections to see if the picture is dramatically different. Cisco does have a 30 day return policy, so it may get on the demo list once I find another person with a fast enough connection to test it…the high up front cost and significant monthly costs are tough to justify though for a long term purchase – let alone a gift. We’ll see how the umi target market reacts!
Stats to Know:
- Costs (as of 12/27/2010): $599 up front hardware cost and monthly service charge ($25/mo, there is a discount if you pay up front for the year)
- Bandwidth: 3.5Mbps for 1080p, 1.5Mbps for 720p – these are BIDIRECTIONAL – so when you are looking at your broadband connection – the upstream number will generally be your limiting factor. Any doubts? Test your bandwidth connection (Cisco).
- Features: Autofocus, vertical tilt and zoom, Integrates with Gtalk video chat
For more information – Cisco umi microsite
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