12 inputs, 12 outputs, 8 microphone/line input channels

See http://andrew.triumf.ca/AG/vortex/ for some very useful configuration advice.

The bigger version to the Chat 50. It has three built-in microphones for full 360-degree pickup, compared to the Chat 50’s single microphone. It also features a larger speaker, which produces more volume. It can deliver microphone and speaker coverage up to 8-12 feet away (depending on room conditions), which would accommodate groups up to 8-10 people.

It's easy to use and works perfectly under Windows XP & MacOSX

Tested on Ubuntu 7.10 and it works good. However there is a slight hiss sound when sending, but that could just be due to audio settings. Need to investigate further.

Easy to use USB echo cancellation device. Works perfectly under Windows XP & MacOSX

Tested on Ubuntu 7.10 and it works good. However there is a slight hiss sound when sending, but that could just be due to audio settings. Need to investigate further.

USB, small footprint, desktop, good quality echo cancellation, relatively cheap ($129US).

Chipset: BT878 - read specifications of this chipset here

4 x BT878 chips

Camera Input: 4 (BNC) Video in

Video supported: NTSC/PAL

Watchdog Support: Yes - Hardware

Windows Support: Yes, WDM / SDK drivers

Linux support: Yes, Kernel 2.2 / 2.4 / 2.6
** No special modprobe commands required **

Resolutions: 640 x 480 (NTSC) / 720 x 576 (PAL)

A Quad PCI-E 1x Card. Tested it out, seems to perform well in systems for AG purposes where the PCIe slot is only a few X in size (such as in 1U or 2U systems). Only issue was that I had to trim the plastic slightly on one of the connectors just inside the card so it would slide all the way into the slot of the Dell 850's I was testing (which only had PCIe 4x slot).

I'll be testing it more extensively - but so far, it's done well. Better than some 128Mb AGP and PCI cards I've had. I haven't had a chance to test it in anything but a Win XP system.

-John Q.

PCI card that offers echo cancellation of a microphone source (or mixer output) referenced to PC sound card output. The card seems only to take power from PCI bus and so does not put any processing demands on the PC. It comes with cables to connect it to the PC sound card (a pre-requisite); installation is very simple and requires no drivers or software, again reducing the complexity of the system.

I have tested this card in one of our nodes and neither local nor remote sites noticed any audible difference from that produced by our standard setup.

4 BNC connectors - parallel framegrabbing of four cameras
Each video stream can have a resolution up to 768x576 at 30fps
4 x Conexant 878 video capture chips
Video formats: NTSC, PAL, SECAM
Up to 16 (4x4) inputs - slot extensions for video input 5-16 available as options
Drivers for Windows and Linux
PCI connector
PCI express (1x) version available as IDS FALCONquattroExpress

- Designed for suspension over choirs, instrumental groups and theater stages
- Superior off-axis rejection for maximum gain before feedback
- UniGuard™ RFI-shielding technology offers outstanding rejection of radio frequency interference (RFI)
- UniSteep® filter provides a steep low-frequency attenuation to improve sound pickup without affecting voice quality
- Accepts interchangeable elements to permit angle of acceptance from 90° to 360°
- Low-profile design with low-reflectance finish for minimum visibility
- Available in two colors: black (U853A) and white (U853AW)