Fine Tuning
To test the device's performance, technology editor Sean Doherty and I installed a pair of systems: one connected to a DSL broadband connection in my California office, the other in our Syracuse University Real-World Labs®. Setup was straightforward. I used the TV-style remote to navigate through the installation menus and enter data; alternately, you can configure the system using a Web browser or over telnet. By default, the system makes a DHCP request on boot.
Network configuration for a simple LAN environment was a breeze. However, Network Address Translation caused problems. The H.323 protocol used by the VSX 3000 isn't designed to work in a NAT environment--the packets it sends contain the sender's address in their payload. The VSX 3000 or a compatible router must replace the private address with a valid WAN IP. I set the IP manually, and the interface displayed my correct WAN IP once the network connection was established. When changing from PC display mode to videoconferencing mode, the image occasionally became corrupt, but cleared up after switching from one mode to the other a few times.
Not Picture-Perfect
Unfortunately, the device's camera left something to be desired. I encountered chromatic aberrations that were magnified by the device's block-based H.264 compression, which produced blotchy areas of color in the display.
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