Webinar Software Review: Adobe Connect and ReadyTalk

Posted on February 14, 2011 by WebinarListings.com

Last week, we reviewed GoToWebinar and Webex webinar software in our post Webinar Software Review: GoToMeeting and Webex. Again, every host has a different set of criteria, so if you’re clear on what you want, you can more easily select the software that is the best fit for you.  So, over the next couple of months, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the major software companies.  We’ll look at the same criteria each time, and look at 2 each time we do a review — this time is Adobe Connect and ReadyTalk.

Criteria
Adobe Connect
ReadyTalk
Has different products?Adobe Connect includes 3 components: Adobe for Web Meetings, Adobe Connect for eLearning and Adobe Connect for Webinars , they have an Adobe Connect Events, Meeting, Training, Webcast and MobileAll services are bundled into a single product (web conferencing, audio conferencing and webinars)
Pricing (by mo/attendee volume)100 people at $55/month or $45/mo pre-paid or pay per use at .32 per user/minute25 people for $49/mo; 2,000 people for $99/mo; OR $0.20/minute/person
Screenshare or uploadedBothBoth
Ease of Installation - Need Plugin or all webNo plug-in or download requiredNo plugin or download required
Interactivity (polls, breakout groups, highlighting, raise hands, Q&A)Polls, chat, white board and media tools are available as well as breakout roomsHas polls, highlighting, hand raising, Q&A
Has integrated Twitter stream?Yes, if you use their free add-onNo
Recording file typeRecordings are automatically created and archived and available to access off their server or you can take them off-line and store them yourself. Recordings have built-in recording tools. Quizzes and polling remain interactive even in the recording.Variety of formats: mp3, flash, wav, mp4. Also have a Ready Talk embeddable media player (allows you to embed the recording on blogs, etc). Archiving service allows for playback regi atration, and automated podcasting (additional fee)
Has moderator on webinar?Available for add'l cost - called Event Services TeamYes, live event monitoring and support
Branded Presentation roomYes - customizable and able to save for later useYes, and registration form
Audio options (phone AND computer)?BothPhone and Broadcast Audio (similar to VoIP)
Drawing ToolsYes, including white boardYes
Video streamingAudio and video streaming is fully integrated.Only via screen share (but uploaded video capability is coming soon)
Webcam integrationYesNot now (only in Beta now), but will be available Q2 2011
Post-session survey or quizYesYes
Browser compatabilityMicrosoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8; Mozilla Firefox 2.x or 3.x; or Google Chrome,Safari 2.xInternet Explorer (6.0+, 7.0+, 8.0+ 32-bit*) Firefox (3.0+), Safari (3.0+, 4.0+, 5.0+) (no Chrome)
Document sharing? (for participants to download)Screen application and desktop sharing availablePresenters can make documents available for download on the event archive page
Clickable links in slideshows?YesNo
Scheduling/Registration - Ability to register participants for a fee?Registration and reminders as well as on-line content library to store all types of files you want to make available to attendees.No
Ease of Use by AttendeeInterface very intuitiveEasy; no downloads, but does require flash or java
Ease of Use by Host (i.e. alternating tools, etc)Interface very intuitiveDownload required
Trial Offer Available (how long? includes all features?)30 day trial - support not included in trialYes; 25 people for 30 days; all features
Ability to use animation in slidesWith screen sharing, yes.Via screen-share
Full Service (includes registration, reminders, facilitator...)Event Services team available to assist with pre, during and post session functions. This is an additional service.Registration, reminders, see http://www.readytalk.com/services/event-services.php for full details of event services
Customer Service/Tech Support (accessibility/Knowledge) - during, after, before webinarIn-meeting phone and email support available. Direct contact available depending on needVery knowledgeable; 24/7
Reporting Functions - Attendee attendance trackingReports and alerts are availableWho attended, who didn't attend, how long they came for
Mobile enabled?Yes, through Adobe Connect Mobile productNo, only for playback
Max # of participants100 but with hosted license 15003000
(Above chart put together in conjunction with Workshop University)

Please let us know if you find any errors in the above!



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  • http://www.thesocialcraft.com/ Cindy Meltzer

    We use Adobe Connect to host webinars and live chats and as administrator I’ve been happy with it. We are a B2C company so we needed a solution that would have very few barriers to participation– I like that Adobe Connect has VOIP capability, there’s no download necessary, and it works across all browsers and even via mobile.

    We’ve used it with a few hundred customers so far and have almost no technical issues. On occasion the VOIP is not optimized because users need to download a plug-in and Adobe doesn’t make that very clear (it’s a teeny tiny green arrow on the top right corner of their classroom window). But now that I’m aware of it I can point it out to participants. Our presenters have also found it easy to use.

    My only complaint is on the admin side– I find the setup very UN-intuitive and I feel like it took me ages to figure everything out. There is so much functionality some of the basics get buried and there is no written manual or dummies book for beginners. Tech support is responsive but they prefer to talk by phone rather than resolve issues online and I’ve found their accents very thick and difficult to understand on three separate occasions that I’ve had to talk by phone. Also, they have recently upgraded the product but we’re still running the old version and it’s unclear whether or not we’ll be upgraded without paying an additional fee. Still, overall we’re sticking with the product as our customers have been very happy with the interface on webinars and chats.

    • http://www.rachel-levy.com Rachel Levy

      Thanks for the great insights Cindy!

    • Jody Barkin

      Hi Cindy,

      Glad to hear that you are happy with Adobe Connect. I’d like to address a few things you commented on:

      1) Re: There is so much functionality some of the basics get buried and there is no written manual or dummies book for beginners. –

      We do provide online help (for our latest version http://help.adobe.com/en_US/connect/8.0/using/index.html and for our previous version it is http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AcrobatConnectPro/7.5/Using/index.html ; we also have posted a number of intro videos on the Adobe Connect channel of Adobe TV (http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-adobe-connect-8/what-is-adobe-connect-8/) and finally our user community http://connectusers.com/ includes many tutorials.

      2) Thank you for your feedback on the admin area. I have shared your input with our product management team. This is an area we plan to address in future versions.

      3) Thank you for your feedback regarding support. One recent addition to our support offering is to access support via twitter – I encourage you to follow us @ConnectSupport and direct mail us any questions. I am also following up with our team regarding your concerns about how it works today.

      4) Regarding Upgrades to Adobe Connect 8 — If you are on our hosted service, we will your upgrade your account at no charge. You can look up your anticipated upgrade date on our Adobe Connect 8 Migration Center http://www.adobe.com/special/adobeconnect/migration/index.html . On premise customers who are active on maintenance & support also get the upgrade free of charge. The timing of the upgrade is determined by your own service administrators.

      -Jody Barkin
      Senior Product Marketing Manager, Adobe Connect

      • http://www.rachel-levy.com Rachel Levy

        Thanks for your comment Jody!

      • http://www.thesocialcraft.com/ Cindy Meltzer

        Hi Jody,

        Thanks so much for your reply and sorry I didn’t see it until today! (Need to sign up for email alerts on comments next time…)

        Thanks for the link re: upgrade date for Adobe Connect 8. I found out we’re scheduled for next month and I’m very excited! I’ve viewed several of the videos outlining new features/functionality for v. 8 and I’m really looking forward to making use of the changes. It looks like the interface is going to be even more user-friendly for our customers which is wonderful.

        Thanks for your response to my concerns– I have used the manual and the tutorial videos that Adobe provides and have found them helpful. I have contacted support through Twitter but they responded by contacting me by phone. I much rather get support via email or Twitter exclusively.

        Thanks again for your reply. You are listening to your customers and that is much appreciated.

  • The Connect Guru

    Ok. Found some errors in your analysis of Adobe Connect. Here they are.

    Has integrated Twitter stream?
    The functionality of Adobe Connect can be extended. Developers can design pods that add funcionality to the meeting environment. One such pod that has been developed is TwitterConnect. It’s a free download. So Connect does have a Twitter stream.

    Document sharing? (for participants to download)
    There is a files pod that allows participants to download files to their own systems.

    Clickable links in slideshows?
    Links in PowerPoint slideshows or Flash content are absolutely clickable in the live meeting and in the recording.

    Ability to use animation in slides
    Almost all PowerPoint animations are supported when the PPT is uploaded into the meeting room, and this uses less bandwidth than screen sharing.

    • http://www.rachel-levy.com Rachel Levy

      Thanks!! I’ll confirm and make the updates. I appreciate your time.

  • Bo Bandy, ReadyTalk

    Hi Rachel,
    Thanks for including ReadyTalk in the comparison. We spend a lot of time working on product features designed specifically for webinars and webinar organizers. You could a lot of those features above. I’d love to hear more about the types of features people would like to have.

  • MattH

    Slideshow links are clickable in Adobe Connect, FYI (with no special setup). And the video streaming works great; we’ve streamed several recordings for the APAC region (record live in morning for US, playback for APAC) and never had any complaints that it wasn’t “live.”

    We’ve been using it for a while now, and the biggest hurdle is the presenter interface. You can move the pods all around, but every presenter we’ve had has struggled to get enough screen real estate to present comfortably. If they move a pod then it moves for all of the other admins. So if the host wants to monitor Q&A and attendees for example, the presenter has to see those pods to and they end up consuming screen space that the presenter would like for presenting.

    Unfortunately, we’re moving away from it now because the price to support >100 attendees is ridiculously out of line with G2W and Webex; literally 10x what those 2 vendors charge.

    • http://www.rachel-levy.com Rachel Levy

      Thanks for the comments! I’ll make those changes now.