Another reason for videoconferencing's limited application is that the technology is still far from perfect. A video transmission from down the road can look as bleached and grainy as a broadcast from the space shuttle and be equally prone to disconnecting. Latency, the annoying lag between when words are spoken and when lips move, can plague even the fastest links. In addition to Hartness and other companies that have tapped into videoconferencing as a sales medium, the medical profession is using video to diagnose and, in some cases, treat patients in remote areas. Manufacturers are installing video equipment on shop floors to help fix and maintain machinery.
Security companies use videoconferencing equipment to help deter crime.
But Hartness's MacDonald points out that because videoconference demonstrations are live, potential customers trust them more than they do a prepackaged sales video or still photos. If we start dropping bottles, they get to see how we shut down and start up again. Hartness CEO Bern McPheely saw so much potential with videoconferencing that he formed a division to enter the video business in January 1996. The division, Hartness Technologies, assembles and installs video systems for other manufacturing companies. Hartness Technologies doubles as a support group in-house, helping Hartness use videoconferencing for its own sales initiatives, such as with South African Breweries.