Polycom V500 User manual

Getting Started Guide
for the V500™System
July 2004 Edition
3725-21742-002/A

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR THE V500 SYSTEM
WWW.POLYCOM.COM/VIDEODOCUMENTATION
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Trademark Information
Polycom® and the Polycom logo design are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc., and V500™ and
VSX™are trademarks of Polycom, Inc. in the United States and various other countries. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Patent Information
The accompanying product is protected by one or more U.S. and foreign patents and patents pending
held by Polycom, Inc. Polycom Siren™ 14 (patent pending).
© 2004 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Polycom Inc.
4750 Willow Road
Pleasanton, CA 94588-2708
USA
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written
permission of Polycom, Inc. Under the law, reproducing includes translating into
another language or format.
As between the parties, Polycom, Inc. retains title to, and ownership of, all
proprietary rights with respect to the software contained within its products. The
software is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty
provision. Therefore, you must treat the software like any other copyrighted material
(e.g. a book or sound recording).
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate.
Polycom, Inc. is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Information in this
document is subject to change without notice.

© Polycom, Inc. iii
Contents
System Basics.......................................................................................1
Using the Remote Control...................................................................................................... 1
Getting More Information ...................................................................................................... 3
Calling and Answering ..........................................................................3
Answering a Video Call..........................................................................................................3
Placing a Video Call .............................................................................................................. 4
Ending a Video Call............................................................................................................... 6
Types of Video Calls You Can Make ......................................................................................... 7
Placing and Ending an Audio-only Call ..................................................................................... 8
Controlling What You See .....................................................................9
Adjusting a Camera ..............................................................................................................9
Switching Between Full Screen Video and the Home Screen...................................................... 10
Showing, Moving, and Turning Off the PIP ............................................................................. 10
Controlling What You Hear .................................................................11
Adjusting Volume ............................................................................................................... 11
Muting the Microphone........................................................................................................ 11
Receiving Content...............................................................................11
Working with Directory Entries...........................................................12
Adding, Editing, and Deleting Directory Entries ....................................................................... 12
Categorizing Directory Entries .............................................................................................. 14
Participating in Calls with Multiple Sites .............................................14
Supplying a Password for External MCU Calls.......................................................................... 15
Using Chair Control for Multipoint Calls.................................................................................. 15
Changing the Way Calls Are Answered ...............................................17
Temporarily Refusing Calls .................................................................................................. 17
Answering Calls Automatically.............................................................................................. 17
Muting Automatically Answered Calls .................................................................................... 18

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR THE V500 SYSTEM
Scheduling Meetings...........................................................................18
Customizing Your Workspace .............................................................19
Specifying When to Display the PIP....................................................................................... 19
Displaying the Far Site’s Name When the Call Connects ........................................................... 20
Hearing Audio Confirmation When You Dial ............................................................................ 20
Adjusting for Room Lighting................................................................................................. 21
Setting Camera Brightness .................................................................................................. 21
Changing the System Color Scheme...................................................................................... 22
Enabling Dual Monitor Emulation .......................................................................................... 22
Video Conferencing Tips .....................................................................23
Tips for Great Video............................................................................................................23
Tips for Great Audio............................................................................................................23
WWW.POLYCOM.COM/VIDEODOCUMENTATION
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Getting Started Guide
for the V500™System
When you connect a Polycom® V500 system to your TV, you’re providing
your home office or small business with all the essential tools you need for
video conferencing. With a V500 system, you can meet with people anywhere
in the world, as if they were in the room with you. Everyone’s productivity
increases, without any travel required.
It’s easy to place video calls with the V500 system. You also have the
flexibility to create your own directory of numbers, change the way calls are
answered, and customize what you see on the screen.
Before you place your first call with your V500 system, use this guide to get
some basic “how-to” information. This guide includes overview information
that you may find helpful when you’re just starting to learn about the
capabilities of the system or when you have experience, but you need a quick
refresher.
System Basics
Using the Remote Control
The remote control lets you perform meeting tasks, such as placing a call and
adjusting the volume. You can use the remote control to navigate screens and
select options.
You can also use the remote control to type text by pressing the number
buttons using the text-entry method commonly used with cell phones. For
example, to enter a “b”, press the number 2 button twice.
©POLYCOM,INC. 1

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR THE V500 SYSTEM
WWW.POLYCOM.COM/VIDEODOCUMENTATION
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V500 System Remote Control
Place a call End a call
Confirm your current selection;
perform functions on
highlighted items
Navigate through menus
Return to the Place a Call
(home) screen Return to the previous screen
Increase or decrease the
sound you hear from the
far site
Mute the sound you’re
sending to the far site Show, move or hide the
Picture-in-Picture (PIP)
See the video in the full
screen; swap the video
between the PIP and
main screen
Enter a dot in an IP address
Display the onscreen
keyboard so you can enter
text
Delete letters or numbers
Enter letters or numbers
Access the online help; see the
current system status while in a
call

CALLING AND ANSWERING
© Polycom, Inc. 3
Getting More Information
If you need additional information about using the V500 system, try these
resources:
To view help while you’re using the system, press Help.
For network questions, contact your network service provider.
For system questions, contact Polycom Technical Support at
www.polycom.com/support.
Calling and Answering
Answering a Video Call
When a call comes in, you hear a ringing sound, and you may see a message
that includes the number of the person calling. If the person is listed in the
directory, you’ll also see the person’s name.
The V500 system can answer incoming calls in one of these ways:
The system prompts you to answer the calls manually.
The system answers incoming calls automatically.
To answer the call manually:
>> When the system notifies you that a call is coming in, select Answer or
press Call on the remote.
To answer the call when your system is set up to automatically answer
calls:
>> You do not need to do anything. The call connects automatically.
If you see Near on your screen, then your system is configured to automatically
mute your audio when a call comes in. To unmute your system, press Mute on
the remote control.

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR THE V500 SYSTEM
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Placing a Video Call
You can use your system to place a video call in any of these ways:
Using the directory
Entering a name or number
Choosing from a list of recently called sites
Choosing a site from the Contacts or Speed Dial list on the Place a Call
screen, if you have configured your system to have one
Calling by Using the Directory
The directory is a list of names and numbers that’s stored locally on the V500
system.
When a call ends, you can save call information to the local directory. This
information is then available to all other users of the system. Depending on
your system configuration, you may also be able to remove or edit names or
dialing information in the local directory.
If the system is registered with a global directory, the directory also includes
entries from the global directory. Global entries are marked with . For both
types of entries, the name appears with its corresponding number, IP address,
or both.
To place a call from the directory:
1. Select Directory from the Place a Call screen.
2. Find the entry to call by:
Spelling the first or last name using the number buttons on the remote
control.
Pressing Keyboard to use the on-screen keyboard to spell the
name.
Scrolling through the list of names using the arrow buttons on the
remote control.
Using the alphabet tabs to move through the directory and then
scrolling to the name you want.
3. Press Call to place the call.
Depending on your system configuration, when you make a call using an entry with both
ISDN and IP dialing information, the system may prompt you to choose which way to
place the call.

CALLING AND ANSWERING
© Polycom, Inc. 5
Calling by Entering a Name or Number
To place a call by entering a name or number:
1. From the Place a Call screen, enter one of these:
•The ISDN number (for example, 19784444321).
•The system name (for example, Ascot Conference Room).
•The IP address (for example, 255.255.255.255).
The system automatically determines the type of call to make based on
the information you enter.
To learn about entering characters, see Using the Remote Control on page 1.
2. Enter any additional information needed for the call. The available
settings depend on the type of call and your system’s configuration.
Not all calls require these settings:
•Call Quality – Specify the bandwidth for this call. For most
calls, choose Auto to let the system determine the best quality
for the call.
•Second ISDN number – Use two numbers only when the
person you are calling instructs you to do so.
•Gateway extension – If you need to dial an extension, enter
the extension in the second entry field. If your system is not
configured with a second entry field, you can enter the
extension when the gateway prompts you.
3. Press Call to place the call.
Call progress indicators appear on the screen to show that the call is in
progress. When the indicators turn green, the call is connected.

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR THE V500 SYSTEM
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Calling from the Recent Calls List
Depending on how you configured your system, you may be able to choose a
number to call from a list of the sites you have called recently. The Recent
Calls screen provides details of all incoming and outgoing calls, including the
time of the calls.
To place a call from the Recent Calls screen:
1. Select Recent Calls from the Place a Call screen.
2. Scroll to the entry you want to call.
3. Press Call to place the call.
To see details about a call listed on the Recent Calls screen, select the call and
press Help.
Calling from the Contacts or Speed Dial List
Depending on how you configured your system, you may be able to quickly
access calling information for specific sites using the Speed Dial or Contacts
list on the Place a Call screen.
To place a call using the Speed Dial or Contacts list:
1. Select Speed Dial or Contacts from the Place a Call screen.
2. Scroll to the entry you want to call.
3. Press Call to place the call.
Ending a Video Call
To hang up from a call:
>> Press Hang Up.