BlueJeans Meetings enables easy-to-use video, audio, and web conferencing — all with high definition Dolby Voice audio. In this video review, Wainhouse Research shares the results of their hands-on testing of BlueJeans Meetings, focused specifically on Desktop App 2.0.
Transcript
Ira [0:09-5:08] Hi there, this is Ira Weinstein. BlueJeans is a leading enterprise video communications provider. Recently, BlueJeans asked us to evaluate its meeting service and specifically its new 2.0 desktop application. BlueJeans Meetings is a cloud-based, meet-me video collaboration service with intergrated Dolby voice HD audio. All BlueJeans meetings are hosted on the company’s video bridges and virtual meeting rooms. Key features of the BlueJeans service include: 720p video support and 1080p content support, one-click meeting scheduling and join, support for BlueJeans Rooms systems, support for SIP and H.323 video systems, support for WebRTC users and phone-only participants, real time and historical analytics, and much more. There are several ways to schedule BlueJeans meetings from within Outlook (for Exchange and Office 365 users), from within Chrome (for Google Calendar Users), and from within the BlueJeans Portal directly. The System automatically inserts a BlueJeans meeting join link and other information into the Calendar invite. Note how this calendar invite from within Outlook within Windows provides a click-to-join link, direct aisle IP information, and even phone dial-in options for this user. For desktop and mobile users, joining a scheduled meeting requires just a single click: no app to open, no meeting ID to enter. SIP and H.323 can join by dialing a simple url like 1234@bjn.vc or by using the free bluejeans relay solution which offers one touch to join capabilities for most H.323 and SIP systems and skype for business users can dial directly into BlueJeans meetings. We joined BlueJeans calls from Window machines, from Mac machines, from IOS and Android devices, from SIP and 323 systems using skype clients from within chrome and over the phone. In all cases, without exception, our calls connected properly. Now, what about the in-call experience? Video quality was strong at all times during our testing and audio quality ranged from very good to exceptional, and finally content sharing worked very well both incoming and outgoing. Now, what about this new desktop app that everyone is talking about? Well, back in the day, joining a meeting took thirty to sixty seconds or more. With BlueJeans desktop app 2.0, joining a meeting takes only six seconds, now THAT is exceptional. The app also offers some interesting work-flow features. For example, it makes it quick and easy for users to join via the phone and share content. This makes life very easy for those on the go or on marginal data networks. The app also includes a helpful “check your hair” function that lets users preview their camera image before joining the meeting; no need to hide from the camera at the start of the meeting anymore, very smart. Also, BlueJeans offers a preview of multiple cameras simultaneously and it displays a pop-up window whenever a new camera or audio device is connected. This makes it easier for users to manage their AV devices. In terms of look and feel, the new user interface is clean and its tight. With a single click, users can see their personal meeting info, their scheduled meetings, their camera mike and speaker selection options. But the rest of the time, and I like this the most, the menues and controls stay out of the way, allowing participants to see what they really care about: the people and the content in the meeting. And for Mac users, BlueJeans also offers two new features: whiteboarding and annotation. The whiteboard offers the features you’d expect to find including different colors and pen sizes, erase, clear, and undo. And the annotation function lets users annotate on a screenshot of any shared content. These features work very well during our testing and support for windows is expected soon. We are avid BlueJeans users and have been for many years. We tested BlueJeans meetings and specifically the new user interface in both our test environment and in production. We placed calls from various devices and systems, and throughout our testing, BlueJeans Meetings performed extremely well, and the new the 2.0 desktop application takes the windows and Mac user experience to an entirely new level. BlueJeans Meetings is a cloud, meet-me bridging service for hosting video, audio, and content sharing sessions and it does that extremely well. Thank you and have a great day.
