Hi Chris, Based on your needs let me see if I can describe how BlueJeans may or may not fit. At least then you can figure out which tool will be the "lesser evil".
BlueJeans, like Zane mentioned, allows up to 100 connections and has unlimited recording. *Access*: Dial-in cell, smartphone app (apple or android), web. Only the organizer needs an account for BlueJeans. Web and Smartphone users need a file installed which may or may not be a hurdle depending if they have administrator rights to their machine. *Reminders:* BlueJeans doesn't send out reminders, but it will add it to people's calendar (definitely google calendar, let me confirm Outlook) which will then provide reminders based on the person's settings. But these would have to be individual email invitations in order to receive the calendar item. *Pin the speaker*: One of the moderator tools is to be able to pin the designated speaker if they are the presenter such that if they are coming over computer, the screen will always show that person's window. Generally, whoever is speaking has their video pop to the front unless you have it set to what I call the "brady bunch" mode and then only the first 9 active speakers will be presented until they get bumped down. Sharing external screens is built in. *Opting*: One way to structure this in BlueJeans is to create a published meeting that will show up on the moderator's bluejeans home page (ex http://ucberkeley.bluejeans.com/oski) You can also set a participant code which they can use to access that meeting. You can see an example here: https://bluejeans.com/mbautista/ You can use the participant code 1014 to access that meeting. This can also be a repeating meeting and stay "open" for the length of time all meetings are scheduled. Another way to schedule is to create a bcal event, create a bluejeans event and copy and paste the info to access bluejeans into the bcal event. From the bcal event you can then pull the URL that allows people to add it to their bcal calendar. Here's an example: https://www.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=ajVuMmgxcnM4MTJjYzVydGRybnZicXQwZjAgbWljbWFjNzRAYmVya2VsZXkuZWR1&tmsrc=micmac74%40berkeley.edu Actually a shareable link to any bcal event is available by opening the event and going all the way to the bottom and click on "Publish event". It pops open a window that gives you a Google button that references a link which I pulled out above. I don't know how it works for Outlook calendars. Based on the issues you've described I don't think BlueJeans is all that perfect either. But I hope this write up gives you some ideas on how you might utilize the tool. We do have extensive use of BlueJeans with faculty. In fact, the largest user of BlueJeans is Dr Saul Perlmutter in Astrophysics. Unfortunately, I don't have a way of pulling out which users are professors. His name I just happened to recognize. -Michelle On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 2:50 PM, Christopher Brooks <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Michelle, > > I'll probably give BlueJeans a try some time in the future when my user > communities have forgiven me for the WebEx experiment. > > We don't use video conferencing and we have calls with up to 30 people on > them. A number of them are dial-in via cell, some are via Skype and Google > Voice. So, BlueJeans is not a perfect fit, but it might be worth a try. > > The biggest issues that I'm facing seem to be with the web interface with > these systems, for example that WebEx can't send reminders to invitees. > The client applications and the quality of the phone service are less of an > issue. > > ReadyTalk called me today and we had a chat about a few of the issues I'm > having. > > The biggest news is that they do have a call back feature that should > help. My understanding is that when the call starts, I can select either > a 1:N presentation or a collaboration. The collaboration mode allows the > first 25 participants to see who is speaking. I'll give this a try. > > Another helpful thing is that it should now be possible to share just the > external screen. This is useful for running PowerPoint in presentation > mode where the presenter sees the current slide, their notes and the next > slide, but the audience sees the only the current slide. > > I've asked for an enhancement to handle opting better. The issue here is > that I have a mailing list with 250 people on it. I'm not going to export > that list and upload it to ReadyTalk each time I want to set up a call for > a combination of privacy and usability. So, I send the invitation to an > single email alias that expands to a moderated email list that I manage. > The problem is that if one of the recipients clicks on the ReadyTalk > supplied opt out message, then they opt out the entire list. To fix this, > I need to change the alias to point to just me, send an opt-in message to > the alias (which goes to just me), opt in and then change the alias back. > This is a chore. One workaround is to use an email address like > [email protected]. But this is a > hack. I've asked ReadyTalk to set up notification so that I get email when > someone opts out. > > There is also an interface to Google Calendar and Outlook, but as I > communicate with people behind corporate firewalls, these tools are of less > interest to me. > > I'm no ReadyTalk fan boy, but the fact that they called me illustrates > that they do provide good service and that they do take our account > seriously. > > We will see how it goes. > > Thanks for all the tips and the details about BlueJeans. > > _Christopher > > > > On 11/17/14 5:24 PM, Michelle Bautista wrote: > > Hi Christopher, > > We're currently working on updating the website and sending > announcements on the change in BlueJeans to various lists. > > We were concerned in the early launch that customers wouldn't utilize > the video conferencing and only dial-in. Now that we have over 1000 > meetings/month, we're fairly confident the campus is adopting video > conferencing well and will monitor usage. > > BlueJeans certainly is optimized for video conferencing, but I've used > it extensively in conference calls that look more like voice over computer. > Audio over internet is not considered dial-in. When I connect to meetings > from my office it's easier for me to connect audio through my computer > rather than phone in. > > Also, in mid-sized conference rooms we encourage the use of polycom > phones as the microphone for the meeting room rather than using a web cam > mic. > > I continue to have regular meetings with the vendor to report any issues > or concerns that the campus may be experiencing in utilizing BlueJeans. > > If you have any questions about the service or experience problems > connecting, please feel free to email Campus Shared Services > [email protected]. > > Regards, > Michelle Bautista > Campus Shared Services IT > BlueJeans Service Manager > > > On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 4:09 PM, Christopher Brooks <[email protected] > > wrote: > >> Cool, good to know that dial in is now available with Blue Jeans. It >> was not previously available. >> >> Maybe http://ist.berkeley.edu/videoconferencing/bluejeans could be >> updated. >> >> That page says: >> >> * Blue Jeans is geared toward video conferencing and not intended for >> audio only use. >> >> >> From your email, it looks like dial-in only is supported. >> >> At this point, the PIs have had enough experimenting with >> teleconferencing, so I'll need to stick with with ReadyTalk for a bit. >> >> _Christopher >> >> >> On 11/17/14 4:01 PM, Zane Cooper wrote: >> >> Hi Christopher, >> >> The Blue Jeans services at Berkeley have lately changed. Blue Jeans >> increased the maximum number of endpoints in a meeting session to 100 - not >> 25 as published on the Berkeley web site. You also now have the capability >> to record meetings. Also, dial-up is available -- when I set up a Blue >> Jeans meeting, my participants are offered dialup as an option, as you can >> see in the following example: >> >> [image: Inline image 1] >> >> If you want to test this out in Blue Jeans, I'd be happy to help. >> >> Best Regards, >> Zane >> >> >> >> *Zane Cooper* >> Chief Technology Officer >> U. C. Berkeley - Haas School Of Business >> t: (510) 642-7280 m: (510) 333 9146 [image: Twitter] >> <http://s.wisestamp.com/links?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Fzane_cooper&sn=emFuZUBiZXJrZWxleS5lZHU%3D> >> e: [email protected]| >> w: http://staff.haas.berkeley.edu/zcooper >> >> >> On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 3:35 PM, Christopher Brooks < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> As some of you may remember, I was not that happy with ReadyTalk. We >>> tried WebEx and are now going back to ReadyTalk. >>> >>> We tried WebEx because WebEx has an easy way for phone in callers to be >>> identified in the app and all participants can see who else is on the >>> call and who is speaking >>> >>> ReadyTalk calls from a cell phone into the system had lower audio >>> quality than WebEx and AT&T. >>> >>> Our usage model is that we have 2-3 calls per week for two different >>> centers. We send out email to the center-wide mailing list. The calls >>> have 8-28 participants on them. We do not require people to >>> register. Typically we have as many as 5000 minutes per month, with >>> most people dialed in as opposed to using VoIP. >>> >>> The down sides of WebEx are below. >>> >>> WebEx has at least three different products that all have slightly >>> different interfaces. We ended up using the Event Center, so my >>> feedback is mostly about that product. I've also used the Training >>> Center. >>> >>> We went with EventCenter because we have more than 25 callers. With >>> Meeting Center, there was an additional charge for for more than 25 >>> callers. >>> >>> My understanding is that none of the WebEx products have a way to send >>> out reminder email to the invitees. Instead, they expect people to >>> register and then get reminded. Our model is that we don't ask center >>> participants to register for these regular meetings. Readytalk has a >>> way to remind invitees with an email message, (BTW - ReadyTalk wants me >>> to upload each email address and send invitations individually. I >>> consider the list of participants to be somewhat restricted and am not >>> comfortable passing this list to ReadyTalk. ReadyTalk's invitation does >>> allow people to opt out, but when people reply, they opt out the entire >>> list. So, ReadyTalk is not perfect here, but better than WebEx). >>> >>> The lack of invitation reminders is the primary thing that is driving me >>> back to ReadyTalk. >>> >>> WebEx's Event Center does not have an easy way to preview the invitation >>> emails, or at least I have not found it. >>> >>> Event Center is really for a 1:N style meeting where you don't want the >>> participants to be able to speak. It is possible to enable all the >>> participants to speak, but the person running the meeting needs to >>> enable this for each participant. One needs to keep an eye on a window >>> that does not resize and select a check box and then select enable. As >>> people call in this is trick. >>> >>> If I select all and then unmute, all the participants are unmuted, >>> including people that have selected mute. This is bad because all of a >>> sudden what ever people are saying is heard by everyone. >>> >>> We wanted to set up a recurring meeting so that the URL did not change. >>> My understanding is that with WebEx's Event Center, there is no way to >>> set up a recurring meeting. We would need to upgrade to Training Center. >>> >>> WebEx changes $0.075/minute/person for toll free calling. I believe >>> ReadyTalk is $0.023/minute/person. >>> >>> I've also used WebEx's Training Center. It works a bit better, but we >>> were quoted $225/month + long distance charges. I believe that for >>> 3000 minutes, we were quotes $225/month, so going with TrainingCenter >>> for 5000 min would be $225/3000min. * 5000min. + $225 = $600. By >>> comparison, I had 5032 minutes of ReadyTalk in September for $146. I >>> don't see WebEx as 4x better than ReadyTalk. >>> >>> TrainingCenter does not have the 1:N problem in EventCenter. Training >>> Center does have a Call Me button that is helpful. >>> >>> One place where ReadyTalk really shines over WebEx is that ReadyTalk's >>> support is excellent. When I've had issues with ReadyTalk, their >>> support has contacted me promptly. I did not speak directly with WebEx >>> support, but my staff stated that WebEx support was not that familiar >>> with product. I feel that ReadyTalk support really try to address >>> problems and get feature requests into the system. >>> >>> Also, ReadyTalk's email includes calendar entries that easily work with >>> Bcal, I just click on the link and it gets added to the calendar. >>> WebEx's email has an iCal attachment that I need to save and then import >>> separately. >>> >>> It would be really great if ReadyTalk made it easier for people to be >>> identified in the call. Also, the participants should be able to see >>> the names of the other speakers and who is speaking. ReadyTalk has >>> other issues, such as the invitation opt out issue. >>> >>> ReadyTalk has international dial in numbers that are easily included in >>> the invitation email. >>> >>> I think WebEx is geared towards a different use case than my use case. >>> It expects people to register. It is not geared towards collaborative >>> meetings of more than 25 people. WebEx is over 4x the cost of >>> ReadyTalk. WebEx support is not as good as ReadyTalk support. >>> >>> BTW - Blue Jeans is out of scope because there is no dial in option and >>> it is limited to 25 people. For a comparison between ReadyTalk and >>> BlueJeans, see http://ist.berkeley.edu/videoconferencing/comparison >>> >>> Also, AT&T's teleconferencing solution on the Mac is abysmal. One of our >>> corporate collaborators uses AT&T. Under Mac OS X Firefox, when I go to >>> the AT&T URL, the page does not open, it continually refreshes with a >>> status bar at the top about allowing a plugin or something. I have to >>> use Safari with AT&T. AT&T email uses iCal and the mail that is sent >>> does not include the time and date of the meeting in an easily read >>> format. >>> >>> _Christopher >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Christopher Brooks, PMP University of California >>> Academic Program Manager & Software Engineer US Mail: 337 Cory Hall >>> CHESS/iCyPhy/Ptolemy/TerraSwarm Berkeley, CA 94720-1774 >>> [email protected], 707.332.0670 (Office: 545Q Cory) >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> The following was automatically added to this message by the list server: >>> >>> To learn more about Micronet, including how to subscribe to or >>> unsubscribe from its mailing list and how to find out about upcoming >>> meetings, please visit the Micronet Web site: >>> >>> http://micronet.berkeley.edu >>> >>> Messages you send to this mailing list are public and world-viewable, >>> and the list's archives can be browsed and searched on the Internet. This >>> means these messages can be viewed by (among others) your bosses, >>> prospective employers, and people who have known you in the past. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Christopher Brooks, PMP University of California >> Academic Program Manager & Software Engineer US Mail: 337 Cory Hall >> CHESS/iCyPhy/Ptolemy/TerraSwarm Berkeley, CA >> [email protected], 707.332.0670 (Office: 545Q Cory) >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> The following was automatically added to this message by the list server: >> >> To learn more about Micronet, including how to subscribe to or >> unsubscribe from its mailing list and how to find out about upcoming >> meetings, please visit the Micronet Web site: >> >> http://micronet.berkeley.edu >> >> Messages you send to this mailing list are public and world-viewable, and >> the list's archives can be browsed and searched on the Internet. This >> means these messages can be viewed by (among others) your bosses, >> prospective employers, and people who have known you in the past. >> >> > > > -- > > *Michelle Bautista* > > Operations Manager > > University of California, Berkeley > > Campus Shared Services - IT > > 510.295-9283 > > > > > -- > Christopher Brooks, PMP University of California > Academic Program Manager & Software Engineer US Mail: 337 Cory Hall > CHESS/iCyPhy/Ptolemy/TerraSwarm Berkeley, CA > [email protected], 707.332.0670 (Office: 545Q Cory) > > -- *Michelle Bautista* Operations Manager University of California, Berkeley Campus Shared Services - IT 510.295-9283
------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following was automatically added to this message by the list server: To learn more about Micronet, including how to subscribe to or unsubscribe from its mailing list and how to find out about upcoming meetings, please visit the Micronet Web site: http://micronet.berkeley.edu Messages you send to this mailing list are public and world-viewable, and the list's archives can be browsed and searched on the Internet. This means these messages can be viewed by (among others) your bosses, prospective employers, and people who have known you in the past.
