Cisco - umi telepresence

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  Good product but needs minor software improvements

  • Incentivized

  This review is primarily based on my first impressions after using the device for a day. I'm staring with some of the things I see as more important and ending with what I would consider minor issues. SUMMARY: There are a number of minor software bugs to be worked out and some features missing that one might expect for a device in this price range. However, since this is the first version of the Umi it is to be expected that the software and feature set is not yet mature. I would expect future software updates to add missing features and fix minor bugs. All of that aside, the core functionality of the device does what it is supposed to do -- make high quality video calls. DETAILED NOTES (GOOD AND BAD): Connection Information Not Available This device requires fairly high bandwidth to provide the best quality video. Unfortunately, nowhere does it actually tell you either (1) what quality video it is sending, or (2) how much bandwidth it is using. This means that during any given call, you don't really know what quality the other side of the connection is getting. An on-screen display of the connection status would be useful. Good Quality Video For a device in this price range, I expect a lot from the video quality and I was not disappointed. The camera can zoom in and pan/tilt to frame your sofa or desk for video calls, eliminating unwanted clutter from the picture. There is a limit to how far it will pan and tilt... if you're trying to pan more than 30 degrees from the center you might have trouble (I didn't measure the maximum pan but this is my approximate observation). Also keep in mind that if you zoom in, the maximum visible angle is reduced since the camera goes from wide angle to narrow. Easy to Use One of the neatest things about this device is that it works great for people that are not technologically savvy or who might not have a fast computer to do video conferencing. It is drop-dead simple to use and should work well for a wider range of users than would a PC-based solution. You could set it up, activate the service, and mail it to your grandmother and she'd probably be able to use it with minimal help -- it just works. Camera Shutter Problems This is probably something that could be fixed in a future software update, but the camera shutter can sometimes get 'stuck open' (and generally becomes unresponsive) and the only way to get it closed again is to power off the console, turn it back on, go into a mode that would otherwise open the shutter, and then exit that screen to tell the camera shutter to close. It should be noted that when the device powers up, it does not automatically close the shutter if it was open -- you must actually go into a screen that uses the camera and then exit that screen to get it to close. Google Users Cannot Leave Video Messages When calling a Umi from a Google video chat account, the Google video chat user will receive a message "At xx:xx pm USERNAME was not available for a video chat.". This shows up after about 60 seconds of ringing if the Umi user does not answer the call. There is no opportunity to leave a video message for the Umi user, as there is with Umi-to-Umi calls. Remote Control Delay When using the remote control, you need to give a short, deliberate pause between pressing buttons. For example, if you press the zoom out button, you need to wait a second before trying to zoom in. Same thing when navigating the menus - if you press up and then want to press down, you need to pause for a split-second before pressing the next button. Not a big deal, but it was something that was noticeable. Self-View Window Positioning The Umi lets the user show a self-view window on the screen during a video call. This is great because you can see how you look to the other user. However when I tried this during a Umi video call with a Google video chat user on the other end, the self-view was initially positioned on the right side of the TV (to the right of the Google user). Over the course of the video chat, the self-view moved to the upper-right corner of the screen and hid the 'clover' menu which made it impossible for me to access on-screen menu settings (like telling it to hide the self-view window, etc). To get the self-view to disappear, I had to remember where the menu option was and to try and navigate the menu without actually seeing it show up on the screen. Seems like a software bug with the positioning of the self-view window. Also, during the call, the self-view moved around the screen randomly, and the screen showing the Google user shrunk and grew as the self-view moved around... seemingly to accomodate the positioning of the self-view window. Very distracting. I think it's probably just a bug though and hopefully can be fixed in a minor software update. Menu Click Sounds Cannot be Turned Off This is a small annoyance, but the 'ding' noise that happens every time you click the up or down arrow on the screen menus cannot be disabled. Ding ding ding ding ding click ding ding ding ding ding ding click ding ding ding click. Was okay for the first few times I used the device, but quickly started to bother me after using it for a few hours. Ring Volume Cannot be Changed The Umi console contains a speaker so that it will play a ringing noise when you receive a call, even if your TV is off. This is a really great idea, but the volume cannot be changed from the settings menu. This isn't a big issue for me, but if someone had the Umi console in a cabinet and wanted a louder ringing sound, they'd be out of luck. No Power Switch The Umi is designed to be always-on, but it would still be nice if there was a power switch so that when you have to reboot the device you don't have to unplug it. Video Mail Auto-Answer is Not Configurable If you call Umi-to-Umi and the remote user does not answer after about 50 seconds, it goes to their video mail. Some people might want to adjust this to either a shorter or longer delay. I'm fine with 50 seconds, but it seems like it should be configurable. Expensive Monthly Fee Cisco is basically providing a directory service and some hard drive space in a data center somewhere for twenty five per month. This is a little pricey and is the single-most discussed negative I saw in every review on the Internet. Let's face it -- running the directory service costs pennies a year for Cisco, and storing video messages can't be that much more either. Cisco's margin on the service fee must be huge. One 'feature' of the monthly service that is noted on Cisco's site is that you get software updates as they enhance the service. But I get free software updates for any device I buy, whether it's my LG TV, my blu-ray player, or my iPod. I expect a product I buy to work and I expect to get software updates that fix problems. The only justification I can think of for such a massive monthly fee is that in the future they're going to be giving Verizon and other service providers a healthy portion of this service fee to push, advertise, distribute, and support these units in their customer's homes, and without this recurring revenue the service provides don't have as much of a reason to push this product to their customers. No Multiparty Call Support For the first version of this product, I don't see this as a major issue since they can add it later with a software update. But -- if video conferencing is to take off, they really need to add multiparty call support where you can have 3 or more people on the same call. No Skype Support The only people you can call are Umi and Google video chat customers. It would be fantastic if Skype, MSN, and Yahoo users could also call to my Umi. No Bandwidth Requirements other than 1080p The Umi website or materials should tell you the quality level you can expect (1080p, 720p, 480p) at different bandwidths. It provides guidance for achieving 1080p calls, but does not tell you the bandwidth for lower quality calls. This is important since someone may want to try Umi on a slower connection before deciding they want to upgrade their connection for full HD calls. HDMI Pass-Through and Boot Speed The Umi can take 30 seconds or so to fully boot up after applying power. This isn't a huge deal since the device is intended to be always-on. However, keep in mind that if you use the HDMI pass-through capability of the Umi, there will be 30 seconds after the device powers on until you can watch regular TV since the device must fully boot before the pass-through works. Camera Box Interior Color I'll admit that this is an idea I haven't really thought too much about, but with the glossy finish on the outside of the camera, it's hard to tell sometimes whether the camera shutter is open or closed because of glare or just because the camera box interior is black. It might be nice if the camera box's interior were either blue or red so that when the camera shutter is open it's obvious to anyone in the room. This is a fairly minor issue though since the camera shutter is *supposed* to be closed when there is no active call. Blue Indicator Light on Console There is a blue indicator light on the console. Since the Umi is intended to be always-on, it would be good if this could either dim after being on for an hour, or perhaps be configured to be inactive (for example, my LG TV lets me turn off the power indicator in the settings menu). The reason I mention this is that my Umi box sits right below my TV and the blue light can be distracting when watching TV in a dark room. I'll admit though, that this is a fairly minor issue. I hope this helps folks understand some of my experiences so far with the Umi. Admittedly some of these things are very minor, but I expect a certain amount of configurability and feature-set maturity for a device in this price range. I hope that future software updates fix some of these issues described above.

  Posted 14 years ago by ordinaryuser

• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  massive bandwidth requirements

  • Incentivized

  I dont think people quite realize just how much bandwidth this thing uses. Here are my observations based on my own use and based on Cisco's website: * 480p requires 700-800 Kbps bidirectional (observed) * 720p requires 1.5 Mbps bidirectional (observed) * 1080p requires 2.5 Mbps bidirectional (based on Cisco's site) I have yet to actually experience full 1080p as my upstream speed is 2.0 Mbps. Also it will allow one side of the call to have lower resolution than the other (it will not reduce to the lowest common resolution) - for example, I could be sending 720p while receiving 480p. There's no easy way to tell what quality is being sent except look at the bandwidth on your router during the call. I also learned that if your bandwidth is near one of these cutoffs, it may start the call at the higher resolution and look terrible (splotchey, pixelated, slow) for about 10 seconds until it realizes that it can't maintain that resolution, and then it downshifts and starts working. This is annoying because it happens on every call with a specific person, so whenever I answer a call I have to wait 10 seconds for it to recognize that it needs to adjust the bandwidth usage before the video is workable. I can't overemphasize that this thing consumes a MASSIVE amount of bandwidth and you really need to purchase one of the premium internet plans from your cable modem or fiber optic provider. The 'economy' plan or even the 'standard' plans will likely NOT work well. Run speed tests (google for 'broadband speed test' to find a site) before buying to ensure you have both the proper upstream and downstream bandwidth, keeping in mind that if you're close to the threshold for a certain resolution, you might not reliably get that when you use the product. The other thing to mention is that you not only need to ensure that you have the premium internet plan with the right amount of bandwidth, but also that EVERYONE you call with an Umi has a premium internet plan. This can be a tough sell, and some people might be "trying it out" with a lower bandwidth plan to see how well Umi works. If you use your low bandwidth economy or standard internet plan, or the person you are calling doesn't have a premium plan that meets the requirements, you will have a terrible experience. If I haven't said it enough, you need to ensure that you have plenty of bandwidth on both sides of the connection (both upstream and downstream) to make this thing work. There's no way around it. Your internet bill is going to be huge with this high-bandwidth premium plan, which may not be the worst thing since it will make the expensive monthly umi service fee look small. I also see that periodically the umi loses touch with the mothership. I came back from a vacation and noticed that the umi had an overlay displayed on my TV saying that it was 'connecting to umi services...' and it sat there for at least a half hour, unable to make or take calls. My laptop, TV (netflix), and other computers were able to connect to the internet fine, so I think the umi either got confused, crashed, or the umi servers had a problem. I unplugged the umi and re-plugged it in and it connected without any problems, so it must have just got confused. I'm giving a 3-star rating because it works at high bandwidths, but there is a high monthly service fee that will hinder adoption which in turn makes it harder for me to use my own umi since nobody else has one. There are also some problems with it losing touch with the mothership and there is no diagnostic information available to figure out why. If the service fee were eliminated I would recommend this to a friend, but at this price each month I cannot do so.

  Posted 14 years ago by

• Rated 2 out of 5 stars

  A Good Start for HD Video Conferencing

  • Incentivized

  I think this product works great for Umi to Umi calls, but doesn't yet work well for Google Video Chat to Umi calls. Google Video Chat Unexpectedly Ends: I have an Umi that several others have called using Google Video Chat. Every so often the call will end, and the Google user receives a message saying that Google had a server error and would like you to provide some information to help them figure out what went wrong. This is something that Cisco should have already worked out with Google. If I am going to pay a premium price for a premium product it needs to work. This degrades the user experience. Designed for Umi to Umi Calls: This product is clearly designed for Umi to Umi calls. The Google Video Chat integration seems to be a stop gap measure until more dedicated HD conferencing devices are plugged into living rooms. The Umi video quality is excellent, but if you're doing Google Video Chat calls, don't expect anything special from the webcam user. This isn't Cisco's fault since they're at the mercy of Google's service, drivers, and the other user's webcam, but this is an important point to make if you are considering buying this product. It is worth mentioning though that the person signed into Google will get a nice quality (not HD though) picture from the Umi camera. Final thought: you really want Umi on both ends of the connection. Missing Technical Details: The Cisco website does not tell you much about the technical details... does the Umi encrypt conversations between the endpoints such that you should feel comfortable talking about bank account numbers over the Umi? Does this change if you do Google Video Chat to Umi calls? What kind of encryption is offered? What is the minimum speed required on your cable to get the lowest quality call going (I only saw the HD speeds mentioned). Cisco should provide a chart with what you can expect quality wise at different bandwidths and at what speed the call will simply not be established. The Cisco website seems to be more focused on the average home user and neglects the technical details that early adopters like me want. Requires Separate Google Video Chat Account: Since you can't call yourself with Google Video Chat, you need to have a second Google account that your Umi can use to sign into Google Video Chat, and then your Umi looks like just another Google user in the buddy list. This lets you call your Umi from your laptop using your normal Google account if needed. I found that periodically the sign in by the Umi would disappear from my buddy list on Google, meaning that either Google had a problem or that the Umi lost it's connection to Google. It always reappears after a minute or two, but I would have expected the Umi to always stay signed in and not to have minute-long blips of non-service. Voice Mail Light: The blue light on the camera turns on when you have a voice message. This means that even if your television is turned off you know you have a message waiting. Also, there is an 'umi' overlay on your TV display to remind you that there is an Umi message. This works well so that you don't have to constantly check for voicemail. You can also configure the service to send you an e-mail or SMS when you have a missed call or a voicemail.

  Posted 14 years ago by david859