HP revlutionises boardroom video conferencing

12 October 2006

Hewlett Packard, in its move to revolutionise boardroom video conferencing, has launched the Halo Collaboration Studio in partnership with animation giant Dreamworks. CNBC-TV18 finds that the new technology comes with an expensive price tag that could limit its appeal in India.

In the new security environment, flying has become a hassle for executives. HP offers an alternative to getting on airplanes. HP calls it the Halo Collaboration Studio.

The concept is simple - why fly thousands of miles for a one-hour meeting when you can walk into in one of these state-of the art-broadcast studios to experience face-to-face interaction through cyber-space.

Halo studios can connect up to four locations around the globe with a click of the mouse, but the experience doesn''t come cheap. A single studio like this one costs $425,000 (Rs1.95 crore) with an additional $18,000 (Rs826,000) monthly fee. Customers are lining up; companies including GE, Canon and Pepsico have bought multiple suites worldwide. For a technology that costs almost half-a-million-dollars, the Halo collaboration studio is remarkably simple. All it has are four plasma televisions, four high-resolution cameras, a table and six-chairs.

Hidden behind the simple set up though is a robust Fiber optic system that allows for a 45-megabit-per-second bandwidth connectivity. The result is crystal clear picture quality that conveys every hand gesture, or a raised eyebrow, even if multiple members are talking at once, all with no audio or visual delay.

But with limited fiber-optic connectivity and an expensive price tag, will Halo work in India? Yes, says HP because it makes employees smarter.