We spent some time looking at different options. We tried a few high-end solutions, that deliver great quality, but they are too expensive to rollout to many offices.

Surely you can choose to have a few video conferencing hubs so you can cut down on intercontinental travel, but research that shows if people need to travel anyway they generally choose to travel all the way instead of doing the shorter travel to a VC location.

Hence we decided to investigate alternative, more cost efficient solutions. We ended up with LifeSize and Tandberg as close contenders based on desk research and demos. The final choice was made after having test units of both vendors in house and using them on our own network. Tandberg is more mature and polished, but we found LifeSize to work better with low bandwidth and they are a little cheaper.

The great news is that almost all our offices joined the project and we are looking to implement most of them in the first quarter of this year. Even better news is that our staff is eager to start using it. So I look forward to see many of them on screen soon – and to break even on the project in the first year.

Last week at CES, Cisco unveiled its TelePresence system for consumer homes. The system used a set-top device, a remote control, a high-def camera, microphone, and a standard HDTV.

The device is expected to cost around $1,000 excluding the cost of the TV and consumers’ monthly Internet bills. The company plans to trial its telepresence technology with Verizon in the U.S. and with France Telecom in Europe before releasing it to a wider consumer base.

The announcement came on the heels of Skype launching its own HD video calling feature for PCs and on LG and Panasonic Internet-enabled HDTVs. So yes, Cisco is feeling Skype is becoming a contender.

Skype users can now make high-definition video calls as long as they have an HD webcam and sufficient bandwidth and processing power, Skype said on Tuesday. The company also announced that HDTVs will ship later this year with its Internet calling software embedded on them.

This is exciting as it proofs the walls between personal and business use is coming down like the Berlin wall. This movement was started by social networks and instant messaging. Now Skype is extending that to video conferencing.

Clearly Skype is already used in many businesses. At when scared corporate CIO’s are not trying to block it. But it has never been a contender for ‘real’ video conferencing systems, due to the lack of quality and multi party video conferencing calls. One of these issues is now solved.

And if the scared CIO’s think for a moment, it makes their lives much easier. It is out of the box, cheap and easy to use. How’s that for driving down your operating and support costs?

Now there is a few more things for Skype to solve, in order to really get their feet between the business doors. For one a connection to popular directory services, another is better support for multiple accounts (private, business) or a way to link these cleverly. And clearly a more refined directory service where you can search for your corporate colleagues or share contacts with them.

More on the Skype blog, their press release and on skype.com/go/tv.

Send information in advance. Make clear when and where the meeting will take place and how to ‘dial in’ remotely. Keep in mind people may dial in from another city or country. Send presentations and accompanying information well in advance as telecommuters may be on the move on the meeting day.

Start in time. Telecommuters are stuck listening to music-on-hold for ten minutes, during which they wonder, “Was today the right day? Did I miss the meeting?”

Start with a roll call, instead of asking “who is there” leaving everyone wonder when it is their turn or have everyone speak at once. Just start saying: “Steve, are you there? You hear us fine?” and move on to the next. Do not forget to introduce who’s there at the other end either.

Lead the meeting. A teleconference should be led much more rigorously then a face-to-face meeting. Start with ground rules. Ask people to mute their phone when they don’t speak, not to make noise by moving chairs or rumbling papers and to speak up.

Make room for everyone’s questions and feedback. Telecommuters have no access to your nonverbal cues. Ask telecommuters actively. Not by asking “anyone in the line with questions?”, but by saying “Steve, have question? No? Marie?”.

Explain what you do when referring to visuals like a presentation. Distribute the presentation in advance of the meeting. Tell the audience which presentation you use and where you are. Explain what’s on the sheet.

Clearly wrap up the meeting. Prevent people at the other end wondering if the meeting is finished and stay on the line only hearing noises and people talking through each other.