AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - Oh, Look, We’ve Created the Codec Again…

Recorded February 19, 2021

(The audio quality gets pretty spotty at times on this recording. Sorry, listeners.)

Years ago, the only way to do video conferencing was via proprietary hardware.  They had limited interoperability— remember the old People + Content model? — but you could always tell when you connecting to a different system. 

Then we started exploring the idea of using PCs as the center of a video conferencing system.  Software and hardware had caught up to where the quality of the call was roughly equivalent to the hardware appliances— and PCs are more flexible and can have added features during a call. 

Now we have systems that want to take control of the PC, essentially turning them back into dedicated appliances.  And at CES this year, Logitech announced a new line of VC appliances that work only with their cameras, and their microphones. 

Are we going back to the proprietary model of appliances?