LifeSize setting telepresence pace

The LifeSize secret sauce is the ability to maximize the quality of a videoconference call over the available bandwidth, said Casey King, chief technology officer.

“At one megabit per second or above, we will always transmit HD at a minimum of 1280 by 720 [pixels] at 30 frames per second,” King said. “As you go down in bit rate, we generate a unique spatial resolution that is optimized for that bit rate. Depending on the kind of equipment we are talking to and the bit rate, we set an optimal frame rate, and we are very flexible in our ability to optimize the video experience at a specific bit rate.”

The LifeSize technology is set up to favor frame rate over spatial resolution, King said, “because higher frame rate will be perceived as a higher quality experience. So at any bit rate, the default configuration is to maximize frame rate. We will automatically downspeed the call based on the quality of the network.”

Usually the differences in picture quality go unnoticed, King said.