What is video conferencing?



Video conferencing is a communication technology that integrates voice and video to connect the remote users with each other via internet as they are in the same room.  Each user needs a computer, microphone, web cam and a broadband internet connection for participating in the video conferencing.  Users at both the ends see and hear each other in real time allowing natural conversation.  Many communication companies have been dabbling in video conferencing technology.  

Good bandwidth is needed for high quality of the video conferencing.  Video conferencing got more popularity with the release of Microsoft Net meeting.   Now currently there are a numbers of companies that are promoting the video conferencing software.

Video conferencing is very appealing to the educational and business sector.   Video conferencing made it possible to bring the users closer (virtually face to face) hence saving the cost and time.  Many universities have adopted video conferencing as an educational tool.   Businessmen around the world use video conferencing to keep in touch with other people.  

Video conferencing is in more demanding phase and more video conferencing applications and technologies are in the development and improvement process.  Eventually video conferencing will allow the creation of the virtual cities, online places where people can work together without the need of physically present in the same premises.  Using a computer, video camera and a broadband internet connection, you can establish a video conferencing connection. 

Video conferencing is a very useful communication method because it can save the time and traveling cost of the people.  A videoconference between two people is known as point-to-point and among the more people is known as multipoint conference.  Besides the audio and video transmission between the people, videoconferencing is also used to share the documents, computer displayed information.

More improvement is being made in the videoconferencing applications by which people can work and manipulate on the same documents and computer applications at the same time.   IEEE gives standard and guidance for the development of videoconferencing.  The H.320 standard tells that how video conferencing operates over ISDN telephone circuits.  The H.323 standard tells how videoconferencing operates over the Internet (TCP/IP or IP).

The quality of the videoconferencing depends on the characteristics of the circuit between the conferencing sites.  In H.323 world, a high quality conference needs about 768Kbs of bandwidth.  In the universities and college campuses a higher bandwidth connection of 10Mbs is required. 

Following are the some rules for the bandwidth, required for videoconferencing.

Bandwidth                   Usage

768Kbs                        this is used in campuses and gives excellent quality.

384Kbs                        this bandwidth also gives good connection with IP and ISDN lines.

256Kbs                        Audio is okay but video is not full motion.

128Kbs                        both audio and video are not excellent.

If you have to choose between ISDN and IP for your videoconferencing connection you should consider two things quality and cost.  With the IP based connections there is no additional cost. On the other hand, even though there is some additional cost with the ISDN connection, but you get a constant speed and excellent connection quality and with the IP based connection, due to the commodity internet you do not have guaranteed bandwidth. 

Videoconferencing has different advantages.  Here are the some advantages of the videoconferencing technology.

·         By using the video conferencing the faculty members can keep in touch with class remotely.

·         Guest lectures can be conducted in a class from a different institute locally ore remotely.

·         Scientist and researchers can collaborate with each other at different institutes on the regular basis.

·         Researchers and teachers can answers the questions from an agency.

·         Marriages in some countries are being performed by using the video conferencing technology, if the one partner is at one end and the other is abroad.  The people at both ends can see each other.

·         Student interviews with an employer in another city or country.

Telecommuting

Telecommuting is now being used to connote a broader activity, which includes the individual interaction and collaboration that takes places between home based entrepreneur, consultants and business partners 

Telemedicine

Video conferencing is also being used in the telemedicine.

Distance Learning

Educators in elementary, secondary and higher education and corporate training are using videoconferencing.  Video lectures are becoming the commonplace.  There are other applications that virtually getting the remote guests in the class room and conducting the important lectures.  These are great opportunities to add value to the educational process using video conferencing as a tool.   

Career Services

Many major companies cutting back their recruiting budgets and conducting the remote interviews by video conferencing, which is making them possible to screen the right candidate.