What is TelePresence?

TelePresence is a term that has developed within the technology industry to describe a new form of digital communications. The LifeSize TelePresence system creates unique, "in-person" experiences for people in their business and personal lives. It is enabling the "human network' by changing the way we live, work, learn and play. The LifeSize Communications (www.lifesize.com) TelePresence products, Conference and Room, use high-definition video and audio technologies--including life-size plasma TV screens, sophisticated spatial audio, and advanced cameras that provide eye-to-eye contact. In addition, the bandwidth required by LifeSize systems is lower (i.e., less costly) than its major competitors––Cisco, HP and Polycom.

All combined, these innovations radically reduce the barriers that have limited the effectiveness of traditional analog and digital communications for remote meetings. Participants can easily perceive the subtlest facial and body expressions of their counterparts. The audio realistically replicates sounds, so, for instance, if someone on the left side of a table speaks, you hear the sound on your left. There are no technical issues with managing how and when people speak, so participants can talk in their normal tone and style. All this combines to make it seem as if all the participants are actually in the same room together.


In short, LifeSize Conference TelePresence provided by CinemaWorks catapults the concept of virtual communications to a remarkable new level. It is something you have to experience to appreciate. On paper it may seem like just a high-end videoconferencing system, but anyone who uses it immediately recognizes the radical difference. One industry analyst used this analogy: videoconferencing is like riding a 10-speed bike while TelePresence is like driving a Ferrari. For me, I like a different analogy. It’s like trying to describe chocolate. There's no substitute for having a taste. Once you do, you'll understand what all the fuss is about.

"The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that U.S. businesses spend some $179 billion on corporate travel annually. If TelePresence replaces only 25% of this travel, the TelePresence opportunity for the U.S. business segment, alone, represents almost $27 billion annually".