CES: Consumers, not businesses adopting IP video conferencing

LAS VEGAS--Consumers will adopt IP video conferencing before business users in large part because they are easier to please, according to Junien Labrousse, senior VP of Video for Logitech.

Speaking at the Consumer VoIP (that would be V for voice, not video) Summit, Labrousse said the industry also may be making a mistake to think of video and voice over IP as similar services in a bundle. Logitech is one of the larger device-makers for the IP video conferencing market. Additionally, the company hosts all IP video conferencing sessions for MSN users and averages 60 sessions every second. Based on that experience, Labrousse said businesses simply are still a little hesitant to adopt IP video as a regular communications tool.

"Video is still a novelty," he said. "And the requirements for quality in video is going to be lower for consumers."

Perhaps most important is that most businesses won’t adopt desktop-based IP video until the industry settles on a way for all the various client software and devices to work together.

"It’s going to have to rely on standards, which seems to be going slow," Labrousse said.

Jeff Pulver, who hosted the event, said the number of devices--particularly of the wireless variety--invading the corporate market that can run video are also making it more difficult to manage. At the same time, there hasn’t been a compelling reason for businesses to adopt video yet.

"Seeing your expression isn’t always that important," he said. "Maybe if it’s a loved one that you’re calling from home, but not a business call."

For telcos, the most logical place to start may be in their developing entertainment services or within wireless groups.

"In the short term, the PC and the cell phone I think are going to be the most active," Labrousse said. "But with the PVR capability now available, there will be more compression in the set-top that can be used to make this work."