OmniJoin
Website:
www.brothercloud.com/omnijoin
A web browser
plug in was required and installed with no issues.
Guests
can click the link in their email, download the plug in if it’s the first time
using it and they get into the meeting quick.
This
product really seems meant for data sharing over video communications as the
layout seems to be built around sharing. It appears at first to be a little
over complicated as far as the user interface is concerned. A part of it is
intuitive, other parts not so much. After spend a few minutes with it though,
it doesn’t seem so daunting as originally thought.
Ease of
Use
Starting
a meeting requires going to the website, logging in and clicking “start
meeting”. Easy enough. Joining a meeting requires clicking on a link provided
by the host. The room id is always the same for the host, so I didn’t have to
send multiple invites for multiple separate meetings with the same person.
During a
live demo with someone from Brother, I had to call into an audio bridge, adding
an extra step. When asking about audio capabilities, they recommend an external
audio device with built in echo cancellation. This leads me to believe that
their audio during a video conference is not so hot. The audio bridge, by the
way, has an upcharge to it, where you buy a package of minutes monthly.
There is
a whiteboard function, available only to the host to control (or maybe a
registered user).
There is
a ‘region’ sharing function which is pretty cool to allow sharing only a
particular segment of your desktop, application, etc. Size of region is dynamically
adjustable.
Quality
of Product
During
the live demo, our video was both set to 640x480. The web site lists “up to
720p” but I could not figure out how to adjust it. The person from Brother was
able to set both to 720p and the video really suffered. We had a split screen,
his video was fine, but mine was choppy. Most likely this was due to my cable’s
upload speed. The content sharing is where this product really shines. If your
business relies on data sharing with occasional video, this product may be
right for you. Video conferencing seems like an afterthought so it is not right
for me.
At this
time there are no mobile app for any device but it’s on the radar for a late
2012 release.
Pricing
OmniJoin
has two products for video chatting, one called OmniJoin and the other is
OmniJoin Pro. Pricing is $49/mo and $79 respectively. OmniJoin allows for 12
way video calls (20 for Pro) and resolution “up to” 720p (“up to” 1080i for
Pro).
Due to
lack of tablet apps, video as an afterthought and the audio dial in upcharge, I
can’t recommend this product if your goal is video conferencing.
Bryan
Hellard Design
Bryan
Hellard Design