What is a Video Conference?

Hands on with Cisco’s TelePresence SX10 Video Conferencing System

The Cisco TelePresence SX10 Quick Set is an all-in-one unit that combines with any flat panel display to video-enable small collaboration spaces. It offers affordability for small-to-medium-sized organizations just starting out with telepresence, or in extending telepresence throughout an enterprise.

TL;DR Version

You can equip a four-to-eight person conference room with a Cisco SX10 and a 55-inch-plus display for under $5000, possibly as low as $3000. In other words, you could reasonably equip a conference room in your organization for the cost of a two-person coast-to-coast business trip.

The size of an IP phone, the SX10 offers up to 1080p30 video and WXGAp5 content, a high-quality 2.5x wide-angle camera, built-in and/or external microphone, HDMI and VGA for content sharing, and a new remote or the Cisco Intelligent Proximity iOS app for in-room control. Register it to CDW’s UC cloud for call control, multipoint conferencing and B2B video, or use an on-premises CUCM/BE6K/VCS/3rd-party SIP call control solution.

Cisco priced the SX10 to move and, as a result, it offers a lot of value for the dollar.

Read on for additional information, pictures and more.

The Long Version

Cisco’s SX10 stole the show at Enterprise Connect and beyond. No other device or product from the show generated as much buzz or as many calls from CDW clients. In my opinion, this little package contains the power to rewrite the story of video conferencing in the enterprise space.

CDW was fortunate enough to participate in the SX10 Early Field Trial (EFT) and received a SX10 for testing. So let’s start with the hardware – that’s what it’s all about!

The (Small!) Hardware Package

For those accustomed to bulky video conferencing codecs or solution kits, the SX10 is small and compact. It’s about the size of a Cisco IP phone or the standard Cisco 7-inch TelePresence Touch.

In this package you get:

• Up to 1080p30 main video with up to WXGAp5 (720p) content
• Integrated 2.5x Optical or 5x Digital zoom camera with 83-degree field of view
• Built-in microphone with echo cancellation and automatic gain control, with optional standard Cisco wired mic-pod
• HDMI or VGA with stereo audio connectivity for content sharing (both cables could be run out to the conference room table)
• The new TRC6 remote control with simplified UI
• Support for Cisco’s new Intelligent Proximity iOS app
• PoE for power (!), just 12 watts (!!)
• Wall Mount Kit or optional Screen Mount Kit for free standing screens