Paul’s Bi-weekly (or whenever I feel like it) 5  tips for Sony Videoconferencing.   I will randomly throw out pieces of information about the Sony videoconferencing products, some may have come up from calls this week, or they may be off the top of my head.  Anybody has any questions please feel free to let me know.

1.        The camera signal from the CXG80 camera (EVI-HD1) to the CODEC is COMPONENT: Red, Green and Blue.  On all standard def systems, the camera signal from the EVID-100 is luminance/chrominance  (S-video).

2.       The max data resolution the XG80/XG55 (high definition systems) will accept is SXGA, 1280 X 1024.  The max on all the SD systems is XGA, 1024 X 768.

3.       The USB slots on the XG80 can NOT support a mouse to go through the menu. The reason is there are no drivers loaded, or capability of loading drivers up on the CODEC.  The only drivers present are for the Wacom pen tablet.

4.       There are TWO types of “RGB”  (Red Green Blue).  VIDEO RGB is otherwise known as COMPONENT, and is connected by three RCA-type connectors, (colored Red, Green and Blue).  DATA RGB is your standard computer-monitor connector, otherwise known as 15 pin (or sometimes, errantly, VGA, this is not technically correct but people refer to VGA like they refer Xerox to copy machines).  This is explained below.

RGB – When computers first came out, they had a resolution referred to as CGA, Centered Graphics Array, and (I think) the resolution was 288 X 166.  They quickly advanced to EGA, then VGA, then SVGA (super VGA), then XGA, SXGA (super XGA), UXGA, (Ultra XGA) WXGA so on and so forth.   When monitors first really started being popular, the standard was VGA, so everyone referred to it as a VGA cable.  Some people still do, although the actual resolution might be much higher, like SXGA.   Just verify when someone says “RGB” whether they are referring to the VIDEO- COMPONENT Red Green Blue, with the three colored RCA connectors, or the DATA – 15 Pin (VGA standard computer monitor cable).

5.       The G70 is the only CODEC to offer a tracking camera.  It is also the only one to offer 9 monitors out, 1 S-video for each of the five external multi-point sites, 1 RGB for presentation, 2 S-videos for near and far end, and 1 composite, for far end.

Remember!  Those that live in Glass houses grow no moss.