Citrix Adds HD To Its Web Conferencing Services

High resolution video has been making its way from the enterprise down to the small and medium business market sector. As evidence of this shift, Citrix announced HDFaces, which works with its GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, and GoToTraining Web conferencing services.The new feature enables participants to view up to six high-resolution video conferencing streams of 640p x 480p each in one session, a maximum resolution of 1920p x 960p. A video conferencing viewer that is integrated into the content screen so attendees can collaborate on shared content and see each other at the same time without the need to switch between the two. The service features one-click web, audio and video conferencing. A video optimization feature automatically adjusts each picture so they can be best seen by the participants. A resizable viewer and layouts can be adapted to various monitor and projection configurations. Pricing for GoToMeeting starts at $49 per month, GoToWebinar from $99 per month and GoToTraining $149 per month.

Online conferencing services have become quite popular lately because they enable corporations to reduce the time that employees travel and can increase productivity. Citrix has been a prime supplier in that market, and GoToMeeting has been quite popular because of its ease of use and widespread availability. The new HD features are in line with enhancements that vendors have been making, so their services appeal to a wider range of customers. While many small and medium businesses may find the six stream service overkill for their present needs, it does provide them with a growth path if their use of HD video becomes more important in the future.