Videoconferencing solutions that demonstrate business value have a consistent balance of quality, repeatability and ease-of-use. Although each of these attributes is difficult to perfect, improving video quality has been the primary focus of videoconferencing vendors. Standard-definition systems with direct-view displays offered compelling eye contact only for callers willing to pan-tilt-zoom, while content shared on standard definition was virtually unreadable. New internet protocol (IP) video codecs (such as H.264) promised "the same quality for half the bandwidth"; however, they were implemented by customers for "better video quality at the same bandwidth," indicating a latent desire for improved video quality.

Although telepresence did not mark the end of improvements in video resolution, it marked the point at which video quality became sufficient for most use cases. Emphasis has now shifted to multiple (and larger) displays of like quality, with product development and marketing messages moving to bandwidth efficiency. Polycom's implementation of the Hi-Profile codec is a recent example of this trend, underscoring an "HD for half the bandwidth" value proposition that makes HD video practical below the T1 data rate.