"What IP data rates does the AuPix AP-100 and AP-500 support?"
128 kbps to 2 Mbps

"What IP data rates does the AuPix APS-50 support?"
128 kbps to 1 Mbps

"What type of IP network do I need?"
Any local area network (LAN) can support the needs of a few videophones. A switched 100Mbps network is desirable. IP videophones can be used across corporate WANs, VPNs, wireless networks, and broadband connections including ADSL, Cable, and SDSL. It is important to consider the impact of the use of videophones on a shared network with limited bandwidth. Facilities exist in all videophones to limit the call bandwidth available to the user.

"Can I run other applications on the phone?"
Various bespoke applications can be developed for all videophones. The AP-100 additionally supports Java applications and a web browser. If you would like to discuss your application please contact AuPix.

"Do the videophones support fixed and dynamic IP addressing?"
Yes. The videophones support static and dynamic (DHCP) IP addressing.

"How do I talk to the outside world?"
There are several ways to talk to the outside world – via the IP network (as used for email, internet, etc), via ISDN, or via PSTN.

ISDN requires a ‘gateway’ to be installed in the company’s IP network to allow connection to the ISDN network, or connection to a public gateway service. This gateway then converts from IP to ISDN and also from H.323 to H.320.
This makes it possible to call from an IP videophone to virtually any ISDN videophone or videoconferencing system, anywhere.
PSTN networks via gateways. Application notes are available to provide instructions on interfacing the mm745 with a PSTN gateway.

"What are the issues surrounding firewalls?"
In order to communicate with a phone outside the company network, it is necessary for the phone to be able to pass data through the company’s security systems. In order to do this, the firewall must be configured to allow video traffic (see Resolving Firewall and NAT Issues (SOHO) and Resolving Firewall and NAT Issues (Office).

"Can I make telephone calls to ordinary telephones from an IP videophone?"
Yes, as long as there is a suitable gateway connected somewhere on the IP network. This may be a separate item, or it may be an IP-PBX.

"Can I make video calls to my company’s ISDN videoconferencing systems from an IP videophone?"
Yes, as long as there is a suitable gateway connected somewhere on the IP network.

"What IP-PBXs does it work with?"
The videophones work with any IP-PBX that supports H.323. In many cases a gatekeeper is required to interface with the IP-PBX system. Please contact AuPix if you would like information on interfacing to IP- PBX systems.

"Does it connect to wireless LAN?|"
All IP videophones have been tested and work with wireless bridges from various manufacturers. The wireless bridge connects to the Ethernet port of the videophone.

"Will the IP videophone work with H.324 (POTS) equipment?"
Yes, as long as there is a suitable gateway connected somewhere on the IP network. This may be a separate item, or it may be an IP-PBX.


"Can I make an ordinary voice call using this phone?"
Yes. The phone supports H.323 VoIP (voice over IP) as well as video.

"How can I connect an IP videophone to my home broadband line?"
Please see the WhitePapers on the AuPix website.

"What does ‘Quality of Service’ mean?"
IP networks have traditionally been used for carrying email, web content, and file transfers – all applications where a delay of a few 100ms or even a second or two is not a problem. However, when IP is being used to carry voice and video it is critical that the information gets from one end to the other quickly, without delay – otherwise there will be a break-up of the speech or pictures. To allow such time-critical content to breeze through an IP network and jump any queues that emails etc may be waiting in, the network needs to be able to tell the difference between an email packet and a voice / video packet. Quality of Service (QoS) refers to the various different methods that can be employed to prioritise, measure, and ensure timely delivery of time-critical information. QoS mechanisms can be costly and time consuming to implement. The AP- 100 employs rate control mechanisms for use over non- QoS networks allowing users to immediately enjoy the benefits of toll-free video communication.

"How do I call someone? i.e. what information do I need to know?"
You will need to know their IP address so that you can dial this. Alternatively if you both have access to the same gatekeeper or linked gatekeepers, you may call using a regular phone number (an E.164 number) or an alias (many people use an address similar to their e-mail address).

"What is SIP?"
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an alternative protocol to H.323 for making calls. It is proving popular today for the provision of Internet based voice services with SIP based video services beginning to emerge. SIP and H.323 use common components such as video and audio codecs, and devices to bridge between the two protocols are available. AuPix products all feature flash memory allowing upgrades to support different protocols as they are adopted.

"Multi-way conferences: how are they managed, do I still need an external organiser?"
The majority of MCUs (Multipoint Control Units) available today support H.323 calls over IP and H.320 calls over ISDN. They are also capable of bridging between the two formats. You can use either your own MCU or subscribe to an external service from a conference service provider. IP videoconferencing reduces the cost of MCUs because there is no need for the MCU to support a separate physical connection for each participant- they all share a single IP connection into the MCU.