This document discusses the transition to HD Voice and overcoming hurdles to implementing it. It notes that while video equipment makes up a small percentage of revenues, audio usage dominates with over 25 billion minutes of conference calls. The document outlines why HD Voice will provide significant benefits to call centers and conference calls by improving comprehension and productivity. It also discusses various codec options and considerations for HD Voice implementation. Overall, the document argues that HD Voice is essential for high quality communication experiences and its deployment is imminent.

1. It s all Gone HD!
It’s all Gone HD!
Overcoming the hurdles
to supplying HD Voice and
to supplying HD Voice and
resolving the Codec war
July 14 2009

2. Speakers
Elliot Gold
Elliot Gold
– President TeleSpan Publishing Corp
Dovid Coplon
– Senior Director, Product Management
, g

3. Why HD Voice is about to be “it”

4. I’ve learned something after 30+ years in the
industry
i d t
• Early to market stake in the ground works
Early to market, stake in the ground works
– If you recognize the right trends
– If you team with the right people
– If you have common sense about how people really meet, face‐to‐
f h b h l ll f
face, or virtually

5. Allow me to tell you a story
• In the late 1970s, AT&T was testing PMS (not the disorder, the
Picturephone Meeting Service)
Picturephone Meeting Service)
• They wanted to deliver the best video, customers could afford
• So they ran focus groups

6. AT&T told the audience
• “Ok, you saw our first video quality”
• “Allow us to take a moment, and change the quality, and run
the video by you again to see what you think.”
• AT&T then changed “the quality”, and ran it by the audience
• Overwhelmingly, the audience liked the second video quality
Overwhelmingly, the audience liked the second video quality
• What did AT&T change?

7. The Audio Fidelity!
y

8. Then AT&T introduced Picturephone Meeting
Then AT&T introduced Picturephone Meeting
Service
And ended up with PMS, because they
failed to increase the audio fidelity
The system is gone now

9. Spin the calendar forward 30 years
Look at HD Video as a % of Group Sales
k id % f l
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40% Legacy
g y
30% Technology
20% HD Video
10%
0%
Q4 07 Q1 08 Q2 08 Q3 08 Q4 08 Q1 09

10. But…
• Video equipment is
– Only 20.7% of revenues
• Video usage is
g
– Only 2.6% of revenues
• Audio usage on the other hand is
Audio usage on the other hand is
– 51% of revenues
• And over 25 billion minutes of audio conference call use
And, over 25 billion minutes of audio conference call use

11. Dovid Coplon
Senior Director, Product Management

12. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives nor the
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the
most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most
adaptable to change” – Charles Darwin

13. What is HD Voice?
Quality
CD ‐
Audio
GIPS Wideband Speech
Std Wideband Speech
(e.g. G.722.2)
(e g G 722 2)
GIPS Narrowband Speech
b d h
Std Narrowband Speech
Implementation (PSTN) Frequency
3.4 kHz 4 kHz 6.4‐7.0 kHz 8 kHz 22.1 kHz

14. Standard Technology has not Progressed by Leaps
and Bounds over the years…
and Bounds over the years
… and Traditional Technologies are not
designed to run over IP networks

15. HD Brings Everything into Focus – Maximizing the
User Experience
User Experience
HD Voice is Essential to Overall Experience
especially when combined with video
especially when combined with video

16. Here Comes HD Voice

17. May 2009 Industry Professional Poll Question
What has been your experience with HD‐Voice?
13%
47 % Never Tried it
11%
47% 30% Have tried it once or twice
11% Use it all the time or whenever I can
30%
13% Not sure if I've tried it
I ve
g g y,
Potential of HD Voice Light Reading Webinar- May, 2009
• 90 % of the audience had very limited HD Voice experience

18. May 2009 Poll Questions
Where do you think HD‐Voice will make the biggest
impact?
16%
45%
16 % Call Centers
6%
45% Conference calls
33% Video conferencing
33%
6% International-placed phone calls
g g y,
Potential of HD Voice Light Reading Webinar- May, 2009
• Highest expected impact on conference calls and video
conferencing

19. How to Get the Most Out of HD Voice
1. HD capable microphone
2. High quality HD Voice codec
2 High quality HD Voice codec
– Suitable for usage scenario
3. HD Voice Quality Enhancement
– Echo cancellation, noise suppression, gain control…
4. End‐to‐end network HD Voice support
– Preferably no transcoding
– Absolutely no narrowband
5. Network clean‐up
– Jitter buffer and packet loss concealment
p
6. HD capable speaker

20. So Many Codec Options
iSAC
RTAudio
G.729.1
29
iPCM‐WB
G.719
BV 32
BV 32 G.722.1 (Siren)
G 722 1 (Siren)
Speex
G.722.2 (AMR‐WB)
AAC LD
AAC‐LD
G.722
SILK G.718
SVOPC G.711.1
EVRC‐WB

21. HD Voice Codec Selection
• Not one codec fits all scenarios
• Packet loss robustness important for VoIP
Packet loss robustness important for VoIP
• Variable bit rate attractive for IP networks
− Automatic adaption to available rate attractive
p
• Packet overhead significant (5 – 32 kb/s)
− Makes low bit rate codecs less attractive
• Low delay very important
• Standard versus proprietary
− Standards usually come at a higher cost
• Complexity an important issue in Mobile VoIP

22. Codecs compared
MUSHRA test results for different codecs
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

23. VoIP Design Considerations
Speech Quality
Time to Market Cost
Quality
Ease of Use
Ease of Use Cost Signaling
Flexibility Infrastructure
Network
Features
Impairment
Power Device
Consumption Considerations

24. Advancements in Speech Processing Design
More Than Just a Codec
Hardware Issues
Speech Codec
Codec
(Processor, OS,
Acoustics, etc.)
Acoustics etc )
Network Hardware
Coping with
Network VoIP Design
VoIP Design
Power Consumption
Degredation Challenges
Power
Echo
Echo Cancellation
Environment –
Additional Voice Background Noise,
Processing Components Voice Environment Room Acoustics, etc.

25. Why Bandwidth Estimation is Important
• When properly utilized, bandwidth estimation can ensure
consistent, high quality experience
− Fixed bit rate solutions estimate bandwidth once at the beginning of
the call (or not at all) – no flexibility
− Variable bit rate HD codecs adapt to the network
1) Fixed Codec Detects Bandwidth 2) Then Determines Bit Rate 3) Begins Sending Media
32 kbps?
32 kbps it is!
…but bottleneck appearance during the call can cause delays if bit rate is not adjusted

26. HD is Everywhere and the Benefits are Clear
… Except for our Phones
Except for our Phones
• Better comprehension
• Identify who’s talking
• Higher productivity
• Lower fatigue
• Overcome accents
• p p
Speakerphone solution!

27. Poll Question
Poll Question
•When is your organization planning to utilize or deploy HD
y g g y
(wideband) voice?
• A) 6 - 12 months
• B) 1 - 2 years
• C) 2 - 3 years
) y
• D) 3 - 5 years
• E) Don t Know
Don’t