Three self service options are available to Lab users.
- Room Equipment
- Google Hangouts
- ZOOM
Room Equipment
Standard H.323 dedicated room systems.
The Lab standard for Room Equipment is Lifesize (there are several different models to choose from). Point to Point and multi-point video conferences can connect rooms together, as long as the destination site is Lifesize or something that it can connect to.
We have recently implemented an appliance that allows Lifesize users to elect to stream and/or record the conference (which will be publicly available). Call the Help Desk and identify the IP address of the lifesize unit, date/time of meeting and a title. This will allow them to initiate the service. The web link to send to collaborators for viewing is stream.lbl.gov .
It is important to note that everything recorded or streamed is publicly available (we may implement changes to this model at some point, however)
Mac Mini based portable units
As part of an FY13 lab sponsored project,, a mac mini based system was deployed to over 25 locations at the lab. Clients for Skype, ZOOM(see description below), jabber, and other common tools are packaged and managed centrally. The web page that the system displays upon boot has information on the software options, current and future locations, and general guidance on using the system. Please see go.lbl.gov/vc for additional information.
Google Hangouts
One-to One video chat is available through the Gmail web interface (gmail.lbl.gov). If you and your contact both have camera's and both have Google accounts (not necessarily LBL google accounts), this option will work well. It is similar to Skype which is also frequently used.
Note: If you decide to initiate a chat (or Video Chat) with someone, they will have to accept the invitation first.
For users who have Google+ accounts, Hangouts is another option. Up to 15 participants can join a meeting. Google Calendar is a good way to schedule these video meetings.
Restricted to Authenticated LBL users - go here for more on our implementation of Google hangouts
ZOOM cloud service
LBL has a site license agreement that provides ZOOM, a desktop/mobile device video conference service to LBL. The ZOOM client is packaged as part of our mac mini cart offering and the instructions apply to anyone who might want to use the product. For more information, go here.
Go here for the IT service description for video conferencing options
