Isabel

Resources

Isabel product sheet: in English and Spanish

Isabel example videos: Teleconference and Teleclass (quality is lower than real Isabel)

You can download Isabel to participate in Isabel sessions organized by other people, or even organize your own sessions using the included demo license.

The Introduction to Isabel includes a quick description of Isabel, the licensing schemes and the requirements. Check also our pricing information and the technical documentation for Isabel Isabel 4.9 and technical documentation for Isabel Isabel 4.10.

Hint: Isabel Plaza has compiled a list of supported USB webcams

Contact agora-2000@agora-2000.com for comercial information or visit the Isabel Plaza for community support.

The ISABEL CSCW application is a group collaboration tool for the Internet, based on advanced videoconferencing features. Isabel uses standard TCP-UDP/IP Internet protocols and allows efficient organisation of working procedures over the public broadband Internet, Intranets, corporate VPNs, satellite networks, etc, allowing

  • Minimization of travel or movement of persons
  • Timely organization of meetings when needed
  • Increase in the overall productivity of an organization
  • Reduction of project and activity lead times

Isabel CSCW is much more than plain videoconferencing:

  • A rich set of interaction modes is included, allowing the application to fit exactly the needs for a given moment: videochat between participants, presentation modes, remote questions, enhancement of a given participant,...
  • A set of shared applications:
    • Built in notepad
    • Built in whiteboard, with connection to hardware blackboards
    • Linux application sharing
    • Windows application sharing

ISABEL uses an innovative service concept, which integrates all the audio, video or shared media components needed for a given collaboration in a unique floor as illustrated in the figures.

Isabel Services

Isabel has service definitions for different usage scenarios. Each service will support the specific behaviours and characteristics of a given usage. For example

  • The Isabel Tele-meeting service allows a fairly free way of interacting, supporting the typical interactions of a presential meeting, such as presentation, open discussions, demos, question rounds, etc.
  • The Isabel Tele-class service allows a tight control of participating sites by the educator or lecturer, who decides the interactions taking place. The student or trainee must request intervention to the lecturer before being allowed to participate.
  • The Isabel distributed congress service provides a strict control program to be followed. The service is script driven and has centralized control to guaranty a timely delivery of the program.
  • The Isabel service definition language allows an easy modification of existing services, as well as the definition of new ones.

Competitive Advantages

Isabel can be used over the public broadband Internet, Intranets, corporate VPNs, satellite networks, etc. ISABEL platforms use standard TCP-UDP/IP Internet protocols and can mix unicast and multicast with IPv4, IPv6 as well as with IPv4 to IPv6 transition scenarios. Isabel platforms may also include Streaming servers based on MPEG or on a high quality Web Antenna, gateways to SIP or H323, as illustrated in the figure.

ISABEL offers the following advantages over standard videoconferencing or collaboration tools:

  • ISABEL makes multi-point collaboration more effective and manageable than standard SIP, H320, H323 or T120 platforms.
  • Isabel gateways allow communication with standard SIP, H323 or T120 terminals.
  • ISABEL introduces a new service concept, which has proven most effective in corporate tele-meeting or tele-training; distance learning; or distributed congresses.
  • ISABEL multipoint platforms are significantly cheaper than H320 or H323 platforms, because it is a plain software technology running on PCs where every Isabel terminal includes a multipoint unit.

Characteristics

  • Software for creating multi-point collaboration platforms with PCs.
  • Platform components: Interactive terminal, Flow-Server (MCU), Web Antenna, SIP-Gateway, H323-Gateway, MPEG Recorder.
  • Isabel runs on PC with Linux (included in the Isabel Autoinstallation CD)
  • Hardware requirements for máximum quality and performance: Pentium IV, 1.4 GHz, RAM 256 Mbyte.
  • Each Isabel interactive terminal includes a multipoint unit (MCU), avoiding the need of explicit MCUs.
  • Connectivity: TCP-UDP/IP over unicast or multicast. IPv4, IPv6 and dual stack supported.
  • Needed bandwidth: between 128Kb/s and 10Mb/s.
  • Supported services: tele-meeting, tele-class, tele-conference. Customer defined services can be developed.
  • Supported peripherals: Electronic whiteborads (MIMIO), Sony robotized cameras.