IP Video ConferencingHave you ever thought of being at two places at the same time? How would it be that you are out of town yet you can deliver your lecture in town on time? Sounds impossible? It is actually not. IP Video Conferencing has made it possible. This amazing result of modern technology has changed the entire concept of video conferencing. Video conferencing enables you to transfer audio and video data from one location to another that are geographically separate from each other. The conventional methods of such conferencing included reserving special rooms that had to be equipped with high speed telephone circuits and really expensive video conferencing equipment that had a huge per minute usage cost. The modern IP based video conferencing solves your problem at no time and lesser cost. The new IP video conference software has been created with latest techniques and sophistications. Now you can start an IP video conference anywhere and at anytime. You can do it from your desktop, or from any room where there is a proper network connection. High network features and Internet computing have come to replace the older forms of video conferencing. With the use of a simple remote control you operate the video conferencing system easily. The primary components of IP Video Conferencing system are: 1. A video camera- a pan, tilt and zoom camera is preferred for a decent video conferencing. Some systems may require multiple cameras or even a special document camera. 2. A video display- a monitor is the best medium of display for your personal computer system. In case of a room based system you may need large monitors or a computer projector. 3. Audio components- Video conferencing over IP is of no us without an audio system. For personal use you can use standard microphones, and speakers, or a headset. For other purposes, you may need two-way or full-duplex audio that is equipped with echo cancellation feature. 4. The codec (compressor or decompressor)- IP based video conferencing runs on the codec. It is advisable to use hardware codec in place of software-only codec. A hardware codec is a board that is installed in your personal computer. in some conferencing systems, the codec comes built-in. 5. The user interface- it is an integral part of a video conferencing system. The interface allows you to maintain a link with all the distributed terminals. It provides a dial menu and addresses. The user interface can also provide necessary inputs and outputs for additional cameras, VCRs, microphones, notebook computers, and others. IP video conference software is developed in such a way that it increases your productivity by providing a reliable, versatile and easy-to-manage network infrastructure. This technology offers new possibilities for universities that include increase in the traditional methods of instruction such as course delivery, tutoring, and distance education. The excellent network structure also facilitates remote collaboration among research colleagues and provides training over a campus intranet. Video conferencing over IP permits you to hold one-on-one videoconference with any other similar user, or multi-point video conference over the network with three or more sites. For the latter case you need to have a multi-point video conference server. With these tools, you can conference on a wide scale. |