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March 03, 2009
Call for Speakers: The HD VoIP Summit - May 21 2009 in New York City
Today I am announcing a new event, The HD VoIP Summit, an event which will explore issues associated with the widespread deployment of HD VoIP.
I believe HD voice holds the same promise for the telecom industry as format changes in the entertainment industry. With enough interest, together we can trigger a replacement cycle like the one observed currently with HDTV.
At the HD VoIP Summit there will be vendors demonstrating their products and their platforms and we will take a look at the issues and challenges for the transformation of the existing communications infrastructure into one which supports HD.
From mobile handsets and Enterprise desktop phones to the core infrastructure that drives the communication network, the advent of HD VoIP can and will transform communications. If we dont invest the time to change the communications infrastructure, traditional communication networks will be at risk of becoming disintermediated as better sounding means of communication naturally evolve without the restrictions imposed by the legacy of the AT&T network.
There is a lot of work ahead for all of us. From helping to educate the worldwide consumers about the promise of HD VoIP to the issues surrounding widespread adoption and implementation issues.
One thing is clear to me - if we as an industry to sit idle and not address this topic, nothing will happen and it will be another generation or two before there is a chance to introduce HD VoIP into the communications network.
So Im putting out this Call for Speakers and looking for creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to come forward and pitch me about a HD VoIP topic they are passionate about and would like to speak about. (Practical talks are also welcome.)
So please think about what YOU could contribute to the dialog regardless of where you see yourself inside the ecosystem - be it - end user / handset maker / carrier / telecom equipment maker / next generation services provider and pitch me to have your voice heard at this event.
What I hope to bring together is a gathering of people with a variety of backgrounds and together explore the future of where things are going and what business models will be used to provide the dollar returns needed to get us there.
If you are interested in speaking at HD VoIP Summit, and or would like to suggest a speaker, please contact me ASAP. The deadline for speaking proposals is Friday, April 3rd but the first to approach me will be the first I consider for the event.
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Tags: HDVoIPSummit, voip, Jeff Pulver
Posted by jeff on March 3, 2009 09:39 AM | Permalink
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Comments
There are some interesting parallels here. HD Radio permits more channel in existing bandwidth. Newer codecs, like G.722.1, G.722.2 & AMR-WB offer reduced bandwidth cost, allowing more calls in a given pipe than the more traditional G.711 encoding.
Some people have criticized G.722 as being too old and poorly suited to IP networks. If that's true then it's most certainly also true for G.711.
In its most basic form can we agree that HDVoice is a registered trademark of Polycom. The generic term should be "wideband telephony." Further, that should mean any scheme capable of delivering >7 KHz usable audio passband.
Posted by: Michael Graves at March 16, 2009 05:45 PM
HD Voice is going through the same cycle that HDTV and HD Radio went through. Everyone thinks sure... it can't be tht much different to worry about some "gimicky" High Definition difference, yet everyone I demonstrate the Polycom HD line to is baffled at the difference! Your efforts to bring this to a mainstream is a great effort! Anyone interested in hearing the difference can contact us to hear. "Hearing is believeing!" www.sipadvantage.com
Posted by: Tim Sisneros at March 5, 2009 11:56 AM
HD may be an over used term but, in reality,there is a true benefit of increased audio bandwidth.
Traditional 8k VoIP suffers a filtering process that makes it very hard to distinguish certain sounds over the phone. (Ever try to tell someone a number or your email address over the phone and they get it wrong 10 times?).
I wrote this article about a year ago. Since then we now can support phone calls and conferences at 8,16,32 and 48khz all for the same network bandwidth cost as a normal g711 ulaw VoIP call.
Posted by: Anthony Minessale at March 5, 2009 10:47 AM
Binyamin,
The does-telecom-need-HD debate is not something that can get resolved without actually giving end users the choice.
I will vote for HD being much bigger than HD in TV and video, but this needs to get proven with direct experience.
HD Radio did go toward stations between stations, but keep in mind FM did displace AM as the venue for music (albeit after several decades). Telephone voice quality is worse than AM radio.
Keep in mind the mediocre status quo of telephone voice quality shapes what we presently do with telephones. The question is not whether we need HD for the same old uses.
The question is whether HD will bring new uses of the telephone to life.
Considering the state and trends facing the telecom equipment business, I think there should be a lot of people hoping there is a long list of new applications and content enabled by HD.
Posted by: Daniel Berninger at March 3, 2009 10:22 AM
Jeff, can you define HD VoIP?
Do you really think it is as significant as HD is for visual content?
Isn't it true that real promise of VoIP has little to do with "HD", but is difficult to encapsulate into a marketing term that will capture people's attention today?
Isn't this similar to what is being marketed as "HD Radio", the primary benefit of which is the "stations between the stations" and not the improved sound quality?
Posted by: Binyamin Bauman at March 3, 2009 09:35 AM