Do MCUs Make Sense?

May 22, 2013 by Dave Michels

The MCU, or multi-point control unit, has been the heart of modern videoconferencing. The MCU decodes the video streams and then encodes an appropriate mix of video streams for each participant into a single stream. But there are several factors that threaten the future of MCU hardware. It’s becoming questionable if they still make sense.

By Dave Michels

Dave is an independent analyst and founder of TalkingPointz which is focused on enterprise communications. In addition to this (free and paid) content on TalkingPointz, he contributes to industry sites, can be found at major industry events, and provides advisory services to vendors and financial analysts.

Look ma, no ads!

Admit it! You just can’t look away. Yet, there’s so much more.

Become a subscriber to TalkingPointz for access to reports and premium posts.

There are several ways to stay informed:

Visit this site regularly.
Receive new posts in your email once a week.
Become an Insider or All Access Subscriber for alerts and access to uncensored content.

Become a Member from $49 / month

TalkingHeadz Podcast

The TalkingHeadz podcasts are @DaveMichels and @EvanKirstel chatting with interesting guests. These are unsponsored and unscripted for your enjoyment. You can subscribe on most podcast apps including iTunes.

Listen on iTunes

Podcast mitel TalkingHeadz

TalkingHeadz Podcast with David Petts of Mitel

February 13, 2023

Mitel is back in the news again – this time for its planned acquisition of Unify from Atos. This podcast only touches on that – the news was very fresh and the deal hasn’t closed yet. However, it’s an interesting…