standard and examine its ongoing efforts to stay current with enhancements. Has the supplier played a role in shaping a given standard? Here are a few sample questions that relate to standards: Are proprietary algorithms the real basis for the product or do standards provide the product's foundation? Is the product in transition from a proprietary implementation to a standards-based one? (Note: If a supplier is in the conversion process, ask for contractual assurances that you will be able to migrate gracefully and economically). Does the product support the ITU-T's T.120 Transmission Protocols for Multimedia Data (audiographics) suite? Is the product compliant with the entire H.320 standards family? What audio algorithms (e.g., G.711, G.722, and G.728) are supported? Does the product offer full CIF resolution or just QCIF/SQCIF? Does it implement error correction framing or motion prediction encoding? Does the product operate over a non-guaranteed quality-of-service packet- switched network (e.g., Ethernet, Internet)? If so, does it conform to the entire ITU-T H.323 Recommendation (H.225, H.245, H.261, H.263, G.711, G.722, G.723, G.728, and G.729)? Does it also support IETF protocols (RTP, RTCP, and RSVP)? If the product offers still-image compression, does it compress and decompress using JPEG? If not, what does it use? If the product supports playback video, is it stored and decompressed in MPEG format? If not, what compression techniques are used? Does the manufacturer belong to audiographics or video communication consortiums (e.g., IMTC) or ad hoc groups that develop standards? If so, to which group(s) does the manufacturer belong and what is the history and extent of its involvement? Do employees of the manufacturer sit on standards bodies (e.g., ECMA, IEEE, ISO, North American ISDN Users' Forum)? Has the supplier successfully contributed its technology to the ITU-T for adoption? Technical Considerations What hardware does the product require? Specify the platform (e.g., Pentium Evaluating and Buying a Per