1
A: SETUP
PROCEDURE
The Zydacron OnWAN Z340 is a PC card based CODEC specifically designed for
IP (H.323) networks only. The plug in card requires a spare PCI slot in the users
PC. Connectivity for the camera, audio, auxiliary video output and an optional
audio headset are provided by a
Breakout cable
.
Set up was straightforward. The camera (including an integral microphone) was
plugged into one breakout cable and positioned on top of the PC visual display unit.
Software was supplied on a CD ROM but following advice from Zydacron a later
version was downloaded from the Zydacron web site (
www.zydacron.com
) and
installed on both systems.
The Zydacron OnWAN Z340 card and the host PC share a common IP address.
During the set-up procedure user information including the IP address of the
Gatekeeper, if one is deployed on the network, and the address of any on line
directory are keyed into the OnWAN software menus.
The test procedure was carried out using PCs running Windows 98 in Edinburgh
and Windows 2000 at Newcastle.
During the set-up period some serious problems were experienced that required the
assistance of specialist network staff to diagnose and rectify. Very poor video
quality was experienced between the two Zydacron OnWAN Z340 units. This was
traced to auto negotiation problems between the host PCs and the local area
network switches. Changing the switch settings to
Fixed Full Duplex
significantly
improved the video performance. It was found that the OnWAN Z340 CODECS
were also less tolerant of received packet loss than has been our experience during
the evaluation of other manufacturer’s equipment.
The technical details of the PC platforms were:
Newcastle RM Pentium III 1GHz PC
512Mb RAM Windows 2000
Edinburgh Dell Pentium III 933MHz PC
256Mb RAM Windows 98
Approximate set-up time:
45 minutes (excluding network debugging)
Documentation quality:
The unit is supplied with a comprehensive Installation
Guide, and a Video Camera User Manual. On
completion of the software installation, online help
and a Software User Guide in PDF format are also
available.
