A videoconference or video conference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of messages, over significant distances, for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as smoke, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, or sent by loud whistles, for technologies Technology is a term referring to whatever can be said at any particular historical period, concerning the state of the art in the whole general field of practical know-how and tool use. It therefore encompasses all that can be said about arts, crafts, professions, applied sciences, and skills. By extension it can also refer to any systems or which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware Collaborative software is a concept that greatly overlaps with computer-supported cooperative work . Some authors argue they are equivalent. According to Carstensen and Schmidt (1999) groupware is part of CSCW, since CSCW addresses "how collaborative activities and their coordination can be supported by means of computer systems.".

Videoconferencing differs from videophone calls A videophone is a telephone with a video screen, and is capable of full duplex video and audio transmissions for communication between people in real-time. It was the first form of videotelephony, later to be followed by videoconferencing, webcams, and finally telepresence in that it's designed to serve a conference rather than individuals. It is an intermediate form of videotelephony Videotelephony comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time, first deployed commercially by AT&T AT&T Inc. is the largest provider of fixed telephony in the United States, and also provides broadband and subscription television services. AT&T is the second largest provider of mobile telephony service in the United States, with over 85.1 million wireless customers, and more than 210 million total customers during the early 1970s using their Picturephone A videophone is a telephone with a video screen, and is capable of full duplex video and audio transmissions for communication between people in real-time. It was the first form of videotelephony, later to be followed by videoconferencing, webcams, and finally telepresence technology.

Contents

History

See also: Videophone A videophone is a telephone with a video screen, and is capable of full duplex video and audio transmissions for communication between people in real-time. It was the first form of videotelephony, later to be followed by videoconferencing, webcams, and finally telepresence and Videotelephony Videotelephony comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time Videoconferencing first demonstrated in 1968.

Videoconferencing uses telecommunications of audio and video to bring people at different sites together for a meeting. This can be as simple as a conversation between two people in private offices (point-to-point) or involve several sites (multi-point) with more than one person in large rooms at different sites. Besides the audio and visual transmission of meeting activities, videoconferencing can be used to share documents, computer-displayed information, and whiteboards.

Simple analog videoconferences could be established as early as the invention of the television Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission. The word is derived from mixed Latin. Such videoconferencing systems usually consisted of two closed-circuit television It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point wireless links. CCTV is often used for surveillance in areas that may need monitoring such as banks, casinos, airports, military installations, and convenience stores. It is also an important tool of distance education systems connected via cable. An example of that was the German Reich Postzentralamt (Post Office) network set up in Berlin and several other cities from 1936 to 1940.[1][2]

During the first manned space flights Spaceflight or space flight is the use of space technology to achieve the flight of spacecraft into and through outer space, NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an Executive Branch agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006 NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and used two radiofrequency (UHF Ultra high frequency designates a range of electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 300 MHz and 3 GHz (3,000 MHz), also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres (10 cm to 1 metre). Radio waves with frequencies above the UHF band fall into the SHF (super high frequency) and EHF ( or VHF VHF is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency (HF), and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency (UHF). The frequency allocation is done by ITU) links, one in each direction. TV channels routinely use this kind of videoconferencing when reporting from distant locations, for instance. Then mobile links to satellites In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon using specially equipped trucks became rather common.

This technique was very expensive, though, and could not be used for applications such as telemedicine Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred through interactive audiovisual media for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations, distance education Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy, technology, and instructional system designs that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically "on site" in a traditional classroom or campus. It has been described as "a process to create and provide access to learning, and business meetings. Attempts at using normal telephony In telecommunication, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide voice communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other networks to transmit slow-scan video, such as the first systems developed by AT&T AT&T Inc. is the largest provider of fixed telephony in the United States, and also provides broadband and subscription television services. AT&T is the second largest provider of mobile telephony service in the United States, with over 85.1 million wireless customers, and more than 210 million total customers, failed mostly due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression Video compression refers to reducing the quantity of data used to represent digital video images, and is a combination of spatial image compression and temporal motion compensation. Video compression is an example of the concept of source coding in Information theory. This article deals with its applications: compressed video can effectively techniques. The greater 1 MHz bandwidth Bandwidth is typically measured in hertz, and may sometimes refer to passband bandwidth, sometimes to baseband bandwidth, depending on context. Passband bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies of, for example, an electronic filter, a communication channel, or a signal spectrum. In case of a lowpass filter or and 6 Mbit/s bit rate In telecommunications and computing, bitrate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time of Picturephone in the 1970s also did not cause the service to prosper.

It was only in the 1980s that digital telephony Digital telephony is the use of digital electronics in the provision of digital telephone services and systems. Since the 1960s a digital core network has almost entirely replaced the old analog system, and much of the access network has also been digitized. Digital telephony was introduced to provide voice services at lower cost, but was then transmission networks became possible, such as ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network is a set of communications standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network. It was first defined in 1984 in the CCITT red book, assuring a minimum bit rate In telecommunications and computing, bitrate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time (usually 128 kilobits/s) for compressed video and audio transmission. During his time, there was also research into other forms digital video and audio communication. Many of these technologies, such as the Media space Media spaces are "electronic settings in which groups of people can work together, even when they are not present in the same place and time. In a media space, people can create real-time visual and acoustic environments that span physically separate areas. They can also control the recording, accessing and replaying of images and sounds from, are not in as wide of use today as videoconferencing but were still an important area of research.[3][4] The first dedicated systems started to appear in the market as ISDN networks were expanding throughout the world. Videoconferencing systems throughout the 1990s rapidly evolved from very expensive proprietary equipment, software and network requirements to standards based technology that is readily available to the general public at a reasonable cost.

Finally, in the 1990s, IP (Internet Protocol) based videoconferencing became possible, and more efficient video compression technologies were developed, permitting desktop, or personal computer (PC)-based videoconferencing. In 1992 CU-SeeMe CU-SeeMe is an Internet videoconferencing client. CU-SeeMe can make point to point video calls without a server or make multi-point calls through server software first called a "reflector" and later called a "conference server" or Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). Later commercial versions of CU-SeeMe could also make point-to- was developed at Cornell by Tim Dorcey et al. In 1995 the First public videoconference and peacecast between the continents of North America and Africa took place, linking a technofair in San Francisco The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,977. The only consolidated city-county in California, it encompasses a land area of 46.7 square miles on the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, giving it a with a techno-rave and cyberdeli in Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. Cape. At the Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. These Games marked the return of the Winter Olympics to Japan since 1972, when the games were held in Sapporo. This was the third Olympic Games to be held in Japan with the first being the 1964 Summer opening ceremony in Nagano, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is, Seiji Ozawa Seiji Ozawa is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera conducted the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony simultaneously across five continents in near-real time.

In the 2000s, videotelephony was popularized via free Internet services, web plugins and on-line telecommunication programs which promoted low cost, albeit low-quality, videoconferencing to virtually every location with an Internet connection.

In May 2005, the first high definition High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1280×720 pixels (720p) or 1920×1080 pixels (1080i/1080p). This article discusses the general concepts of high-definition video, as opposed to its specific applications in television video conferencing systems, made by LifeSize Communications were displayed at the Interop trade show A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities. In contrast to consumer fairs, only some trade fairs are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company in Las Vegas The Las Vegas metropolitan area, also known as the Las Vegas-Paradise-Henderson Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of Clark County. A central part of the metropolitan area is the Las Vegas Valley, a 600 sq mi basin in which is located the metropolitan area's largest, Nevada Nevada is the seventh-largest state in area, and geographically covers the Mojave Desert in the south to the Great Basin in the north. It is the most arid state in the Union. Approximately 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government under various jurisdictions both civilian and military. As of 2008, there were about 2.6 million, able to provide 30 frames per second Frame rate, or frame frequency, is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems. Frame rate is most often expressed in frames per second (FPS) and in progressive scan monitors as hertz (Hz) at a 1280 by 720 display resolution.[5][6] Polycom introduced its first high definition video conferencing system to the market in 2006. High definition has now become standard, with all serious players in the videoconferencing market offering it.

Technology

Dual display Polycom VSX 7000 camera used for videoconferencing with two displays for simultaneous broadcast from separate locations.

The core technology used in a videoconferencing system is digital compression of audio and video streams in real time. The hardware Hardware is a general term for the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware or software Computer software, or just software, is the collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions telling a computer what to do. The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware . In contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it "cannot be touched". Software is also sometimes used in a more that performs compression is called a codec A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of 'compressor-decompressor' or, more commonly, 'coder-decoder' (coder/decoder). Compression rates of up to 1:500 can be achieved. The resulting digital stream of 1s and 0s is subdivided into labeled packets In information technology, a packet is a formatted unit of data carried by a packet mode computer network. Computer communications links that do not support packets, such as traditional point-to-point telecommunications links, simply transmit data as a series of bytes, characters, or bits alone. When data is formatted into packets, the bitrate of, which are then transmitted through a digital network Digital electronics are systems that represent signals as discrete levels, rather than as a continuous range. In most cases the number of states is two, and these states are represented by two voltage levels: one near to zero volts and one at a higher level depending on the supply voltage in use. These two levels are often represented as "Low& of some kind (usually ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network is a set of communications standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network. It was first defined in 1988 in the CCITT red book. Prior to ISDN, the phone system was viewed as a way to transport or IP). The use of audio modems A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data. Modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog in the transmission line allow for the use of POTS Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in most parts of the world. The name is a retronym, and is a reflection of the telephone service still available after the advent of more advanced forms of telephony such as ISDN,, or the Plain Old Telephone System, in some low-speed applications, such as videotelephony Videotelephony comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time, because they convert the digital pulses to/from analog waves in the audio spectrum range.

The other components required for a videoconferencing system include:

There are basically two kinds of videoconferencing systems:

  1. Dedicated systems have all required components packaged into a single piece of equipment, usually a console with a high quality remote controlled video camera. These cameras can be controlled at a distance to pan left and right, tilt up and down, and zoom. They became known as PTZ cameras. The console contains all electrical interfaces, the control computer, and the software or hardware-based codec. Omnidirectional microphones are connected to the console, as well as a TV monitor with loudspeakers and/or a video projector. There are several types of dedicated videoconferencing devices:
    1. Large group videoconferencing are non-portable, large, more expensive devices used for large rooms and auditoriums.
    2. Small group videoconferencing are non-portable or portable, smaller, less expensive devices used for small meeting rooms.
    3. Individual videoconferencing are usually portable devices, meant for single users, have fixed cameras, microphones and loudspeakers integrated into the console.
  2. Desktop systems are add-ons (hardware boards, usually) to normal PCs, transforming them into videoconferencing devices. A range of different cameras and microphones can be used with the board, which contains the necessary codec and transmission interfaces. Most of the desktops systems work with the H.323 standard. Videoconferences carried out via dispersed PCs are also known as e-meetings.

Echo cancellation

A fundamental feature of professional videoconferencing systems is acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). Echo can be defined as the reflected source wave interference with new wave created by source. AEC is an algorithm which is able to detect when sounds or utterances reenter the audio input of the videoconferencing codec, which came from the audio output of the same system, after some time delay. If unchecked, this can lead to several problems including:

  1. the remote party hearing their own voice coming back at them (usually significantly delayed)
  2. strong reverberation, rendering the voice channel useless as it becomes hard to understand and
  3. howling created by feedback. Echo cancellation is a processor-intensive task that usually works over a narrow range of sound delays.

Multipoint videoconferencing

Simultaneous videoconferencing among three or more remote points is possible by means of a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). This is a bridge that interconnects calls from several sources (in a similar way to the audio conference call). All parties call the MCU unit, or the MCU unit can also call the parties which are going to participate, in sequence. There are MCU bridges for IP and ISDN-based videoconferencing. There are MCUs which are pure software, and others which are a combination of hardware and software. An MCU is characterised according to the number of simultaneous calls it can handle, its ability to conduct transposing of data rates and protocols, and features such as Continuous Presence, in which multiple parties can be seen onscreen at once. MCUs can be stand-alone hardware devices, or they can be embedded into dedicated videoconferencing units.

Some systems are capable of multipoint conferencing with no MCU, stand-alone, embedded or otherwise. These use a standards-based H.323 technique known as "decentralized multipoint", where each station in a multipoint call exchanges video and audio directly with the other stations with no central "manager" or other bottleneck. The advantages of this technique are that the video and audio will generally be of higher quality because they don't have to be relayed through a central point. Also, users can make ad-hoc multipoint calls without any concern for the availability or control of an MCU. This added convenience and quality comes at the expense of some increased network bandwidth, because every station must transmit to every other station directly.

Problems

Some observers[7] argue that two outstanding issues are preventing videoconferencing from becoming a standard form of communication, despite the ubiquity of videoconferencing-capable systems. These issues are:

  1. Eye Contact: It is known that eye contact plays a large role in conversational turn-taking, perceived attention and intent, and other aspects of group communication.[8] While traditional telephone conversations give no eye contact cues, videoconferencing systems are arguably worse in that they provide an incorrect impression that the remote interlocutor is avoiding eye contact. Telepresence systems have cameras located in the screens that reduce the amount of parallax observed by the users. This issue is also being addressed through research that generates a synthetic image with eye contact using stereo reconstruction.[9] Bell Communications Research owns a patent for eye-to-eye video conferencing using rear projection screens with a camera behind it. This technique eliminates the need for special cameras or image processing.[10]
  2. Appearance Consciousness: A second problem with videoconferencing is being on camera, with the video stream possibly even being recorded. The burden of presenting an acceptable on-screen appearance is not present in audio-only communication. Early studies by Alphonse Chapanis[citation needed] found that the addition of video actually impaired communication, possibly because of the consciousness of being on camera.

The issue of eye-contact may be solved with advancing technology, and presumably the issue of appearance consciousness will fade as people become accustomed to videoconferencing.

Standards

The Tandberg E20 is an example of a SIP only device. Such devices need to route calls through a Video Communication Server to be able to reach H.323 systems, a process known as "interworking".

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (formerly: Consultative Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony (CCITT)) has three umbrellas of standards for videoconferencing

ITU H.320 is known as the standard for public switched telephone networks (PSTN) or videoconferencing over integrated services digital networks (it is accessible to anyone with a high speed Internet connection, such as DSL).

H.264 SVC (Scalable Video Coding) is a compression standard that enables video conferencing systems to achieve highly error resilient[11] IP video transmission over the public Internet without quality of service enhanced lines. This standard has enabled wide scale deployment of high definition desktop video conferencing and made possible new architectures[12] which reduce latency between transmitting source and receiver, resulting in fluid communication without pauses.

In addition, an attractive factor for IP videoconferencing is that it is easier to set-up for use with a live videoconferencing call along with web conferencing for use in data collaboration. These combined technologies enable users to have a much richer multimedia environment for live meetings, collaboration and presentations.

ITU V.80: videoconferencing is generally compatibilized with H.324 standard point-to-point video telephony over regular phone lines.

Impact on the general public

High speed Internet connectivity has become more widely available at a reasonable cost and the cost of video capture and display technology has decreased. Consequently, personal videoconferencing systems based on a webcam, personal computer system, software compression and broadband Internet connectivity have become affordable to the general public. Also, the hardware used for this technology has continued to improve in quality, and prices have dropped dramatically. The availability of freeware (often as part of chat programs) has made software based videoconferencing accessible to many.

For many years, futurists have envisioned a future where telephone conversations will take place as actual face-to-face encounters with video as well as audio. Sometimes it is simply not possible or practical to have a face-to-face meeting with two or more people. Sometimes a telephone conversation or conference call is adequate. Other times, an email exchange is adequate.

Videoconferencing adds another possible alternative, and can be considered when:

Deaf, hard-of-hearing and mute individuals have a particular interest in the development of affordable high-quality videoconferencing as a means of communicating with each other in sign language. Unlike Video Relay Service, which is intended to support communication between a caller using sign language and another party using spoken language, videoconferencing can be used between two signers.

Mass adoption and use of video conferencing is still relatively low, with the following often claimed as causes:

For these reasons many hardware systems are often used for internal corporate use only, as they are less likely to run into problems and lose a sale. An alternative is companies that hire out video conferencing equipped meeting rooms in cities around the world. Customers simply book the rooms and turn up for the meeting - everything else is arranged and support is readily available if anything should go wrong.

Sign language communications via videoconferencing

Video Interpreter sign used at VRS/VRI service locations.
Main articles: Video Relay Service, a telecommunication service for deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired (mute) individuals communicating with hearing persons at a different location, and Video Remote Interpreting, used where deaf/hard-of-hearing/mute persons are in the same location as their hearing parties

One of the first demonstrations of the ability for telecommunications to help sign language users communicate with each other occurred when AT&T's videophone (trademarked as the 'Picturephone') was introduced to the public at the 1964 New York World's Fair –two deaf users were able to freely communicate with each other between the fair and another city.[13] Various other organizations have also conducted extensive research on signing via videotelephony.

A deaf or hard-of-hearing person at his workplace using a VRS to communicate with a hearing person in London. (Courtesy: SignVideo)

Using such video equipment, the deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired can communicate between themselves and with hearing individuals using sign language. The United States and several other countries compensate companies to provide 'Video Relay Services' (VRS). Telecommunication equipment can be used to talk to others via a sign language interpreter, who uses a conventional telephone at the same time to communicate with the deaf person's party. Video equipment is also used to do on-site sign language translation via Video Remote Interpreting (VRI). The relative low cost and widespread availability of 3G mobile phone technology with video calling capabilities have given deaf and speech-impaired users a greater ability to communicate with the same ease as others. Some wireless operators have even started free sign language gateways.

Sign language interpretation services via VRS or by VRI are useful in the present-day where one of the parties is deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired (mute). In such cases the interpretation flow is normally within the same principal language, such as French Sign Language (FSL) to spoken French, Spanish Sign Language (SSL) to spoken Spanish, British Sign Language (BSL) to spoken English, and American Sign Language (ASL) also to spoken English (since BSL and ASL are completely distinct), etc....

A Video Interpreter (V.I.) assisting an on-screen client. (Courtesy: SignVideo)

Multilingual sign language interpreters, who can also translate as well across principal languages (such as to and from SSL, to and from spoken English), are also available, albeit less frequently. Such activities involve considerable effort on the part of the translator, since sign languages are distinct natural languages with their own construction, semantics and syntax, different from the aural version of the same principal language.

With video interpreting, sign language interpreters work remotely with live video and audio feeds, so that the interpreter can see the deaf or mute party, and converse with the hearing party, and vice versa. Much like telephone interpreting, video interpreting can be used for situations in which no on-site interpreters are available. However, video interpreting cannot be used for situations in which all parties are speaking via telephone alone. VRI and VRS interpretation requires all parties to have the necessary equipment. Some advanced equipment enables interpreters to remotely control the video camera, in order to zoom in and out or to point the camera toward the party that is signing.

Further information: Sign Language and Sign language interpreting

Impact on education

See also: Distance education

Videoconferencing provides students with the opportunity to learn by participating in a 2-way communication platform. Furthermore, teachers and lecturers from all over the world can be brought to classes in remote or otherwise isolated places. Students from diverse communities and backgrounds can come together to learn about one another. Students are able to explore, communicate, analyze and share information and ideas with one another. Through videoconferencing students can visit another part of the world to speak with others, visit a zoo, a museum and so on, to learn. These "virtual field trips" (see history of virtual learning environments) can bring opportunities to children, especially those in geographically isolated locations, or the economically disadvantaged. Small schools can use this technology to pool resources and teach courses (such as foreign languages) which could not otherwise be offered.

Here are a few examples of how videoconferencing can benefit people around campus:

Impact on medicine and health

Videoconferencing is a very useful technology for telemedicine and telenursing applications, such as diagnosis, consulting, transmission of medical images, etc., in real time in countries where this is legal. Using videoconferencing, patients may contact nurses and physicians in emergency or routine situations, physicians and other paramedical professionals can discuss cases across large distances. Rural areas can use this technology for diagnostic purposes, thus saving lives and making more efficient use of health care money. For example, a rural medical center in Ohio, US, used video conferencing to successfully cut the number of transfers of sick infants to a hospital 70 miles away. This had previously cost nearly $10,000 a transfer. [16]

Special peripherals such as microscopes fitted with digital cameras, videoendoscopes, medical ultrasound imaging devices, otoscopes, etc., can be used in conjunction with videoconferencing equipment to transmit data about a patient.

Impact on business

Videoconferencing can enable individuals in faraway places to have meetings on short notice. Time and money that used to be spent in travelling can be used to have short meetings. Technology such as VOIP can be used in conjunction with desktop videoconferencing to enable low-cost face-to-face business meetings without leaving the desk, especially for businesses with wide-spread offices. The technology is also used for telecommuting, in which employees work from home.

Videoconferencing is now being introduced to online networking websites, in order to help businesses form profitable relationships quickly and efficiently without leaving their place of work. This has been leveraged by banks to connect busy banking professionals with customers in various locations using video banking technology.

Although it already has proven its potential value, research[17] has shown that many employees do not use the videoconference equipment because they are afraid that they will appear to be wasting time or looking for the easiest way if they use videoconferencing to enhance customer and supplier relationships. This anxiety can be avoided if managers use the technology in front of their employees.

Researchers[18] find that attendees of business and medical videoconferences must work harder to interpret information delivered during a conference than they would if they attended face-to-face. They recommend that those coordinating videoconferences make adjustments to procedures and equipment.

Impact on law

Videoconferencing has allowed testimony to be used for individuals who are not able to attend the physical legal settings. In a military investigation in North Carolina, Afghan witnesses have testified using videoconferencing. In Hall County, Georgia, LifeSize video conferencing systems are used for initial court appearances. The systems link the jail and the court room, reducing the expenses and major security risks of transporting prisoners to the courtroom. [19]

Impact on media relations

The concept of press videoconferencing (or press videoconference) was developed in October 2007 by the African Press Organization (APO), a Swiss based Non-governmental organization, to allow African journalists to participate in international press conferences on the subject of development and good governance.

Press videoconferencing permits international press conferences via videoconferencing over the Internet. Journalists can participate on an international press conference from any location, without leaving their offices or countries. They need only be seated by a computer connected to the Internet in order to ask their questions to the speaker.

In 2004, the International Monetary Fund introduced the Online Media Briefing Center, a password-protected site available only to professional journalists. The site enables the IMF to present press briefings globally and facilitates direct questions to briefers from the press. The site has been copied by other international organizations since its inception. More than 4,000 journalists worldwide are currently registered with the IMF.

Videotelephony descriptive names & terminology

Videophone calls (or 'videocalls'), differ from videoconferencing in that they expect to serve individuals, not groups. However that distinction has becoming increasingly blurred with technology improvements such as increased bandwidth and sophisticated software clients that can allow for multiple parties on a call. In general everyday usage the term videoconferencing is now frequently used instead of videocall for point-to-point calls between two units. Both videophone calls and videoconferencing are also now commonly referred to as a 'video link'.

Webcams are popular, relatively low cost devices which can provide live video and audio streams via personal computers, and can be used with many software clients for video calls.[20]

A videoconference system is generally higher cost than a videophone and deploys greater capabilities. A videoconference (also known as a videoteleconference) allows two or more locations to communicate via live, simultaneous two-way video and audio transmissions. This is often accomplished by the use of a multipoint control unit (a centralized distribution and call management system) or by a similar non-centralized multipoint capability embedded in each videoconferencing unit. Again, technology improvements have circumvented traditional definitions by allowing multiple party videoconferencing via web-based applications.[21][22] A separate webpage article is devoted to videoconferencing.

A telepresence system is a high-end videoconferencing system and service usually employed by enterprise-level corporate offices. Telepresence conference rooms use state-of-the art room designs, video cameras, displays, sound-systems and processors, coupled with high-to-very-high capacity bandwidth transmissions.

Typical uses of the various technologies described above include videocalling or videoconferencing on a one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many basis for personal, business, educational, deaf Tele-Relay and tele-medical, diagnostic and rehabilitative use or services. New services utilizing videocalling and videoconferencing, such as personal videocalls to inmates incarcerated in penitentiaries, and videoconferencing to resolve airline engineering issues at maintenance facilities, are being created or evolving on an on-going basis.

See also

References

  1. ^ "German Postoffice To Use Television-Telephone For Its Communication System", (Associated Press) The Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, Fl, September 1, 1934
  2. ^ Peters, C. Brooks, "Talks On 'See-Phone': Television Applied to German Telephones Enables Speakers to See Each Other...", The New York Times, September 18, 1938
  3. ^ Robert Stults, Media Space, Xerox PARC, Palo Alto, CA, 1986.
  4. ^ Harrison, Steve. Media Space: 20+ Years of Mediated Life, Springer, 2009, ISBN 1848824823, ISBN 9781848824829.
  5. ^ http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/high-definition-video-conferencing-is-here/59
  6. ^ http://www.jkcit.co.uk/news/20060522.htm
  7. ^ Jim Van Meggelen 2005, The problem with video conferencing.
  8. ^ Vertegaal, "Explaining Effects of Eye Gaze on Mediated Group Conversations: Amount or Synchronization?" ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2002.).
  9. ^ Computer vision approaches to achieving eye contact appeared in the 1990s, such as Teleconferencing Eye Contact Using a Virtual Camera, ACM CHI 1993. More recently gaze correction systems using only a single camera have been shown, such as. Microsoft's GazeMaster system.
  10. ^ http://www.google.com/patents?id=GqkaAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  11. ^ SVC vs. H.264/AVC Error Resilience
  12. ^ SVC White Papers
  13. ^ Bell Laboratories RECORD (1969) A collection of several articles on the AT&T Picturephone (then about to be released) Bell Laboratories, Pg.134-153 & 160-187, Volume 47, No. 5, May/June 1969;
  14. ^ http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Case_Studies/Case-Study_Village-Church.aspx
  15. ^ http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Case_Studies/Case-Study_Niigata-Seryo-University.aspx
  16. ^ http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Case_Studies/Case-Study_Adena-Health-System.aspx
  17. ^ Wolfe, Mark. “Broadband videoconferencing as knowledge management tool,” Journal of Knowledge Management 11, no. 2 (2007)
  18. ^ [1] Ferran, Carlos and Watts, Stephanie. “Videoconferencing in the field: A heuristic processing model,” Management Science 54, no. 9 (2008)
  19. ^ http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Case_Studies/Case-Study_Hall-County.aspx
  20. ^ Solomon Negash, Michael E. Whitman. Editors: Solomon Negash, Michael E. Whitman, Amy B. Woszczynski, Ken Hoganson, Herbert Mattord. Handbook of Distance Learning for Real-Time and Asynchronous Information Technology Education, Idea Group Inc (IGI), 2008, pg. 17, ISBN 1-59904-964-3, ISBN 978-1-59904-964-9. Note costing: "....students had the option to install a webcam on their end (a basic webcam costs about $40.00) to view the class in session."
  21. ^ Lawson, Stephen. Vidyo Packages Conferencing For Campuses, IDG News Service, February 16, 2010. Retrieved via Computerworld.com's website, February 18, 2010
  22. ^ Jackman, Elizabeth. New Video Conferencing System Streamlines Firefighter Training, Peoria Times, Peoria, AZ, February 19, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010;

Further reading

External links

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'Videoconferencing' News
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We consider how technology can impact workflow and how new technologies can be brought in for enabling collaborative meetings, for video conferencing , ...
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'Videoconferencing' Answers
want code for desktop sharing,videoconferencing in core java?
Q. want code for desktop sharing,videoconferencing in core java?
Asked by ssss - Thu Apr 12 09:18:18 2007 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. class VideoConf { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println("This is a cool desktop sharing and video conferencing application!"); System.out.println("Or at least, it will be once I learn how to code Java, because like an idiot I expect other people to write thousands of lines of code so I can get take the credit for it"); } }
Answered by oracle128au - Thu Apr 12 09:46:09 2007

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