HP creates Halo effect for life-like videoconferencing

The HP Halo Collaboration Studio enables people in different locations to communicate in a vivid, face-to-face environment in real time. Whether across a country or across the world, users are able to see and hear one another's physical and emotional reactions to conversation and information as it is being shared.

By giving participants the remarkable sense that they are in the same room, the Halo Collaboration Studio is already transforming the way businesses such as PepsiCo, Advanced Micro Devices and DreamWorks communicate across the globe. Halo significantly increases team effectiveness, provides faster decision-making capabilities and decreases the need for travel.

Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of the Imaging and Printing Group at HP, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks, officially unveiled the collaboration studio in New York City.

"The HP Halo Collaboration Studio enables remote teams to work together in a setting so life-like that participants feel as though they are in the same room," said Joshi. "To create this experience, HP is harnessing its expertise in color science, imaging and networking in this new category of innovation. It's something we believe will not only disrupt the traditional video conferencing market, but will also change the way people work in a global market."

Early on in the production of the animated film Shrek 2, DreamWorks realized a significant return on investment using the Halo technology. By connecting its California teams in Glendale and Redwood City, DreamWorks was able to speed up many aspects of the production.

"In 2002, while we were producing Shrek 2, we realized that DreamWorks needed face-to-face collaboration between key creative talent in different locations," said Katzenberg. "We weren't satisfied with the available video conferencing systems, so we designed a collaboration solution that would fulfill our needs. HP took the system and turned it into Halo, which is now the only solution on the market that allows this kind of effective communication."

Unlike any other communication tool on the market today, the HP Halo Collaboration Studio is a precisely designed broadcast studio that contains all the components necessary to enhance business communication.

To connect via Halo, organizations purchase at least two Halo rooms set up for six people each. There are three plasma displays in each room that enable participants to see those they are collaborating with in life-size images. The rooms come equipped with studio-quality audio and lighting and participants use a simple on-screen user interface to begin collaborating with just a few mouse clicks.

An intricate software control system ensures Halo rooms work easily and seamlessly together. The control system also provides precise image and color calibration, so participants see each other as they appear in real life. A dedicated HP Halo Video Exchange Network provides a high-bandwidth experience with imperceptible delays between Halo studios worldwide.

To ensure a 24x7 connection and eliminate the need for enterprises to manage the operation and maintenance of a Halo room, services offered include network operations and management, remote diagnostics and calibration, concierge, equipment warranty and ongoing service and repair.

Participants can easily share documents and data directly from their notebook PCs with individuals in other rooms using a collaboration screen mounted above the plasma displays. The rooms also contain a high-magnification camera that enables individuals to zoom in on objects on a table, revealing the finest of details and color shading, and a phone that opens a conference call line to those not in one of the Halo rooms.

Source: HP

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HP creates Halo effect for life-like videoconferencing

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