I’m working with a client at the moment on a messaging and collaboration strategy document, and as part of that we’re having some interactive meetings. Instead of having to travel to the East Coast of the US, I have a loan Tandberg 1700 MXP video conferencing unit in the office.

Executive control center designed for offices, the 1700 MXP features a superior HD camera and a widescreen LCD. This fully integrated system operates both as a video conferencing system and PC display, enabling seamless and real-time face-to-face collaboration at the desktop.

It’s a really cool unit — it looks cool, it is super-easy to use, it is super-easy to set up, and it works very well. I’m set up so that I have an extension on my client’s internal video conferencing network (I’m registered to their Tandberg Border Controller).

We had our first meeting a couple of days ago. Being able to see their reactions to my questions was very helpful … even more than I thought it would be … I haven’t met any of these people in person before, so having a face to put a name to, and seeing how they evidence thinking was very powerful. It was almost as good – almost – as being there. I got to see what the office looked like, what books they had on their desks, and so on. All of the cues that you get when visiting in person but miss with an audio conference or phone call were back. I felt … like … part of the team … even though I was thousands and thousands of miles away.

The quality of the video was good. The picture pixelated a few times, but given that we’re merely going out over a DSL line and the public Internet, it was absolutely brilliant. And the speech quality was very high.

I could see myself having one of these as a permanent fixture in the office … for remote interaction with clients for meetings and service delivery. I’m impressed Tandberg!