Video conferencing

Video conferencing is a way of communicating from separate geographic locations in which the participants are able to see and hear each other in real time. Its technology enables the transfer of audio and video to multiple locations, and—with the use of a whiteboard—the transfer of graphics and data, as well. While it holds great promise for business applications, video conferencing is most often used today by teachers, librarians, physicians, and students for distance learning and telemedicine.

Desktop video conferencing

PCs equipped with a fast Internet connection, a microphone, and a video camera will be able to support two-way or multi-way audio and video, along with document sharing, directly from an employee's desktop.

Room-based video conferencing

The equipment used for large groups requires a more sophisticated system than desktop video conferencing. When the video conferencing service is offered to the public for a fee, it's held in a public room.

Videophoning

When video conferencing occurs between two people, with a direct (point-to-point) connection, it's called videophoning.

Multipoint line

Video conferencing among three or more people requires a network path that interconnects all the devices (computers or cell phones) and provides a path from one to the others. This type of communications network is called a multipoint line.

Multipoint Control Unit (MCU)

A multipoint video conference is coordinated by a multipoint control unit—a device that connects the sites by joining the lines and switching the video to whomever is speaking. This can be done either automatically or manually by the moderator.

CU-SeeMe

A product called CU-SeeMe offers a simple, primitive way for two people to video conference over the Internet. With a small camera attached to the top of the computer, and the CU-SeeMe software installed, the users can view moving (albeit relatively awkward) pictures of each other as they talk.

Audio conferencing

A conference with only voice connections is an audio conference.

Data conferencing/Whiteboarding

When collaboration tools—such as whiteboards for interactive data sharing—are used with video conferencing or audio conferencing, the process is referred to as data conferencing. All participants can draw or paste images or data onto a whiteboard from an onscreen notepad. This data, which can include documents, graphics, crude drawings, and screen shots, is available for viewing and annotating by all participants. In addition to data sharing, application sharing is a possibility. Participants can all see an application that is running on one participant's computer. With application sharing, however, only one participant can edit the document.