Hotels with Video Conferencing

Video conferencing allows people to communicate over the Internet. It enables two or more persons in different places to engage in face-to-face audio or video interaction. Hotels with video conferencing facilities benefit people who spend considerable time traveling and meeting customers, suppliers or business partners. Hiring a hall in a hotel with a video conferencing facility can help to save time and expense. The main advantage of video conferencing is that it can reduce the need for travel.

Many hotels provide meeting rooms with facilities for video conferencing. These hotels offer video conferencing equipment on rent from their audio/visual provider.

You can hold a business conference or invite key people to speak to your audience no matter where they are located. People who are far away can be seen and heard clearly, in live video format. Video conferencing can be used for holding meetings, conducting interviews and giving lectures. Hotels with video conferencing facilities hire leading companies for technical support.

Video conferencing can be classified into point-to-point conferencing and multipoint conferencing. Point to point conferencing is basically a communication link between two locations. Multipoint conferencing is a communication link between more than two locations. Multipoint conferencing can be further classified into, LAN and Multi Control Unit (MCU). LAN provides a link between different groups or locations. In the MCU environment, audio and video signals can be connected to one or more conferences simultaneously.

Video conferencing facilities in hotels are usually available round-the-clock. These hotels also engage conference and meeting organizers. Hotels with video conferencing facilities serve to bring delegates and speakers together from anywhere in the world, conduct PR events or press conferences and can deliver HR presentations to employees. Video conferencing used to be an expensive procedure. But now, anyone with a fast Internet connection, a camera and a headset can conduct a videoconference at a minimal cost.

Conferencing provides detailed information on Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Audio Conferencing, Video Conferencing and more. Conferencing is affiliated with Online Conference Centers.

How Video Conferencing Works - Multimedia, Interactive Communication Across the Miles

Translate Request has too much data
Parameter name: request

You may think you understand video conferencing pretty well until someone who isn't at all familiar with it approaches you for a simple definition. When they ask, "What exactly is video conferencing?" you could suddenly realize you're at a loss for words. The simplest definition of how video conferencing works is simply by the integration of video, audio and peripherals to enable two or more people to communicate simultaneously over some type of telecommunications lines. In other words, you are transmitting synchronized images and verbal communications between two or more locations in lieu of them being in the same room. How video conferencing works is a little bit harder to explain than answering the question, "What is video conferencing?" Millions of people use video conferencing every day around the globe, but very few people know just how the technical aspects of the process work. The main ingredients of successful video conferencing are video cameras, microphones, appropriate computer software and computer equipment and peripherals that will integrate with the transmission lines to relay the information. The analog information recorded by the microphones and cameras is broken down into discreet units, translating it to ones and zeros. A Codec encodes the information to a digital signal that can then be transmitted to a codec at the other end, which will retranslate these digital signals back into analog video images and audio sounds. The theory's the same, the transmission has changed In the earlier days of video conferencing, T1, ATM and ISDN lines were used almost exclusively but were really only practical for room-based video conferencing systems. These dedicated lines were expensive and only large corporations tended to have the facilities and money to invest in this type of set-up. As the Internet became more a part of the everyday lives of all businesses, however, it changed how video conferencing was conducted. The TCP/IP connections of the Internet are much less expensive and can carry large quantities of information, including video packets for conferencing, relatively easily. Because of this, video conferencing has become much more prevalent in small businesses and in desktop packages that can be set up with software for computer-to-computer networking. Compression makes video transmission practical The problem that arises when you convert analog to digital for transmission is the loss of clarity in an image. Analog signals are a continuous wave of amplitudes and frequencies showing shades and ranges of color as well as depth and brightness. When you convert to digital, which is strictly 0's and 1's, you then need to develop a grid to represent values, intensities and saturations of different color values so that the image can be interpreted and reformed at the receiving end. This vast amount of digital information requires huge bandwidth and means that the time it would take to transmit video images would be impractical for most applications. That's where compression is crucial. When determining how video conferencing works, one of the most important elements is the compression ratio. The higher the compression ratio, the more quickly the information is capable of being transmitted. In many cases, however, this also means some loss in clarity or audio/video quality. For instance, a compression ratio of 4:1 would be terribly slow but have a fantastic picture quality. But by the time it was transmitted, everyone at the other end would probably have left the room for a cup of coffee. Lossy compression discards unneeded or irrelevant sections of a signal in order to transmit only the essentials, speeding up the transmission time significantly but sometimes resulting in loss of quality. Compression can either be intra-frame or inter-frame for material that is repetitive or redundant, such as that wall behind the conference participant. Since the wall remains static and never changes, this image is redundant and can be eliminated from transmissions to an extent with proper compression. Intra-frame compression assumes the redundancy will be present in parts of a frame that are close to each other. Inter-frame compression assumes that there is redundancy over time (i.e., like that wall). Either of these can achieve a fairly high degree of accuracy and reduce the bandwidth needed for transmittal of signals. A newer version of compression/decompression is SightSpeed technology, developed by Cornell University. SightSpeed compresses only images considered essential and eliminating what is considered 'filler,' relying on the brain to fill in the decompression at the other end. Based on an artificial intelligence model, SightSpeed achieves compression of about 90:1, compared to the typical 15:1 for video conferencing. Any video conferencing session you use will provide compression of the transmission signal. The key is determining the balance between speed and video picture quality that is right for your needs. Point to point video conferencing Point to point video conferencing is just what it sounds like - a link between two different points on the planet, or two different video conferencing terminals. It could be between an office in New York City and a conference room in Munich. Point to point video conferencing can easily be initiated by someone on one end contacting the other end as though making a standard telephone call. There are no special arrangements to be made other than knowing that the participants will be there. Multipoint conferencing is more complex Multipoint conferencing is more complicated because it has to coordinate several different locations simultaneously. Since you can't be in direct contact with several places at once while they are all in contact with others, you need one source that will tie them all together. In video conferencing, this is called a multipoint bridge or multipoint conferencing unit (MCU). An MCU enables multi-location video conferencing by providing a sort of "central processing center" for all of the locations through which all the information flows. The MCU receives all information from the various locations and then sends it out to each location. In some cases the MCU is located on a particular PC, and in other cases it is located on a remote server (the most common structure, particularly for more powerful MCU networks). Audio is usually sent and received simultaneously in all locations with an MCU with no problem because of the relatively small bandwidth needed for transmittal. It is broadcast in what is called "full duplex" mode, meaning everyone can talk and hear at the same time with no cutting off when one person or another speaks. Video transmission, however, can be broadcast in a number of ways with an MCU depending upon the quality of the software and the complexity of the system. Some common types of video transmission for video conferencing include:

Continuous Presence video conferencing, which allows up to four conference sites to be seen simultaneously on split screens. This is usually used if you have a small group or individuals in separate locations and will primarily be seeing close-up shots.
Universal Control video conferencing is controlled by the initiating conference site. The primary site determines who sees what at all other sites.
Voice Activated video conferencing is by far the most common type used today. The image with these systems shifts to the site that is currently activating the microphone so that you can always see whoever is speaking. However, if there is a good deal of background noise participants should mute their microphones when they aren't talking in order to avoid the image jumping about needlessly. Overcoming the language barrier Obviously, communicating through video conferencing can't be achieved unless both ends of the conference are "speaking the same language." That is, whatever is being transmitted electronically will need to be reassembled properly and heard and seen clearly at the other end. The Codec system (Coder-Decoder) is useless if both ends aren't using the same virtual language to interpret the signals. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) developed a set of standards in 1996 dubbed H.323 to outline specific guidelines for Video Conferencing standards and protocols so that compliance and support across networks would be easier to achieve and maintain. Since then, many manufacturers and developers of video conferencing tools have adopted the H.323 guidelines as their own. Web conferencing solutions such as Click to Meet, Lotus's SameTime, and WebEx also offer corporate solutions that are based on Internet video conferencing. These systems have shared protocols that can be downloaded and used anywhere at any location for subscribers through the Internet. These are becoming more popular with companies who like the convenience and user-friendliness. They will no doubt become more and more refined over time, vying with and perhaps surpassing the H.323 standards. Overcoming firewall issues There are, of course, obstacles to overcome when you take a look at how video conferencing works. After all, you're sending vast amounts of translated data either directly or through a gatekeeper system (the MCU) that is switching and transferring information between a variety of computers. Just about any business these days has a firewall system to provide security and protect the system from potential viruses. Trouble is, many firewalls also block the transmission of data for video conferencing. Recent innovations have largely circumvented these problems by designing firewall solutions that recognize video conferencing signaling requests and allow the information packets to bypass the firewall or router without disabling the firewall protection for other traffic. Even with this, however, there may be occasions when packets are dropped because of heavy traffic on the system, so investing in a firewall system that can handle substantial traffic is essential to quality video conferencing performance. How video conferencing works will certainly evolve over time and improve in the coming years, but a basic understanding of what it is and how it works now will help you make the best choice for you when you're ready to begin using video conferencing yourself. This article on the "How Video Conferencing Works" reprinted with permission.

Copyright © 2004 Evaluseek Publishing.

About the Author

Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her job because it
gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now,
she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a lot about
video conferencing,

video teleconferencing, and

desktop video conferencing. She has two dogs who are spoiled
and one teenager who is not. She does her video conferencing in pink bunny
slippers.

The Basics of Video Conferencing

Modern business operations all share the same rapidly depleting commodity: Time. When time is leveraged, productivity and output invariably increases within a business organization. Technology continues to provide workers and businesses with new tools to help leverage time. Video conferencing could prove to be one of the most important time leveraging business tools of the 21st century.

Once a luxury for only the largest companies, video conferencing is beginning to change the landscape of how businesses communicate with both employees and clients. In its simplest form, video conferencing allows two individuals to be thousands of miles apart yet still effectively communicate as if they were in the same room. Systems in use today can now connect multiple parties across multiple continents - in real time with excellent and high quality video and audio.

The Origins of Video Conferencing

Video conferencing capabilities originated in the 1970s. Similar to every other technology in use today, video conferencing has changed dramatically since first being developed. Early proponents of video conferencing technology had no standards or protocols to rely on. This fact made a teleconference via video an expensive proposition - one that only huge companies and government agencies could afford. In a time where cell phones were still a decade away for most consumers and businesses, video teleconferences were few and far between.

Today, affordable networks and systems are widely available across the globe. Interoperability of video teleconferencing systems is virtually guaranteed now that standards and protocols have been clearly established.

Specific Standards and Protocols for Video Conferencing

To make any technology usable for the masses, standards and protocols are required to insure systems, software and hardware are ubiquitous across the board.

To help guarantee video teleconferencing compatibility between manufacturers, the International Telecommunications Union developed and defined a series of video conferencing standards. In place since the mid-1990s, current standards are defined in terms of H.3xx.

H.3xx are "umbrella" recommendations for video conferencing. They include the protocols for coding video/audio, multiplexing, signaling, and control.

The core H.3xx recommendations are as follows:

H.320 - Narrow-band video conferencing over circuit-switched networks (N-ISDN, SW56, dedicated networks) H.321 - Narrow-band video conferencing over ATM and B-ISDN H.323 - Narrow-band video conferencing over non-guaranteed quality-of-service packet networks (LAN, Internet, etc.) H.324 - Very narrow-band video conferencing over the general (dial-up) telephone network H.310 - Wide-band (MPEG-2) video conferencing over ATM and B-ISDN H.323 is a standard for audio, video, and data communication over IP-based (Internet Protocol) networks.

All major video conferencing manufacturers produce ITU compliant equipment. When choosing video conference equipment, be sure that you select a system that does not offer only proprietary methods of operation.

How Video Conferencing Works

The success of a video teleconference depends entirely on the equipment and network capabilities behind that equipment.

Since real-time video contains a tremendous amount of data, it is imperative that the system being used can handle a high amount of bandwidth at any given time. Fortunately, video conferencing systems are designed to "sample" and "compress" a certain portion of data (such as the unchanging "background' of the room) to help conserve bandwidth. This compression is accomplished through what is commonly known as a "codec". A video codec is the device or software that enables video compression and or decompression for digital video.

It is the job of the codec to "sample" data at specific time intervals (fractions of a second) and then compress this data so that it can be delivered across the network. The codec on the receiving end then reassembles audio and video for transmission onto a television or computer screen. To conserve bandwidth, the codec focuses on the most important data - i.e. moving objects such as people, props, etc. Moving objects take a considerable amount of processing power, so the better the codec, the higher quality your video conference will appear.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Video Conferencing Solution

A wide variety of video conferencing systems are available in the marketplace. Before purchasing equipment or services from vendors, consider the following as a starting point to narrow down the requirements of a system that fits with your business needs:

How will you be using video conferencing? A simple video conference between employees in the same town, building or area will require a more basic solution than video conferencing multiple parties across the vast distances. Determine the maximum video conference scenario you will be utilizing to narrow down bandwidth and equipment requirements.

How large is the meeting room where you plan to conduct video conferences? Camera capabilities will depend on the size of the room and number of people involved. Conducting a video conference in a small auditorium with dozens of participants will require a quite different solution than 1-2 individuals transmitting from a small office.

On what type of network will your video conference be hosted? The network you choose to host your videoconference will play a key role in overall reliability and performance. Most video conferencing systems sold today include an IP interface with ISDN as an option. Determine the capabilities of your network before deciding on any one specific video conferencing solution.

The Future of Video Conferencing

Increasing productivity while reducing costs will always be an important part of any business. The popularity of video conferencing will undoubtedly increase in the coming years. Virtually all industries will eventually utilize video conferencing in some form to help bring people together - at considerably less cost than physical travel for face-to-face meetings. As more corporations, health care providers and governments experience the value in video conferencing as a time and money-saving tool, the technology will become more necessity than luxury. The age of the video conference has just begun!

Karen Thatcher is President and CEO of TelCon Associates, Inc., a 35 year old telecom consulting and bill management firm. For a variety of free tools to help manage and reduce your corporate telecom expenses, visit http://www.telconassociates.com

Video Conferencing Guide - Learn About Video Conferencing

Video conferencing allows people at two or more locations to interact through two-way transmission at the same time. Video conferencing is also known as video teleconferencing or visual collaboration. Users require a computer, web cam, microphone, and a broadband connection to participate in videoconference. They can generate natural conversations by seeing and hearing each other. Videoconference of two persons is known as point-to-point while the conference of more than two people is called multipoint conference.

Videoconferencing is very useful way of communication because it saves money as well as time. People can do several business activities or meetings with two or more persons while sitting at office table. They don't need to go anywhere to meet someone. Basic requirements for video conferencing are guaranteed latency, synchronization and broadcast. It enables people to have face-to-face meetings from a wide distance. Prices of teleconferencing are generally less than costs of travel. It's an easy way to hold meetings, conduct interviews, give lectures and address employees.

Video conferencing is the best way of communication in medical, legal and educational fields. Normally there are three ways such as computer-based system, desktop system and studio-based system to set up a videoconference. There is a limited field of vision in Computer-based system that is why it is the cheapest way of video conferencing. Desktop system improves the quality of audio and video transmission due to dedicated hardware installed on the computer. Most expensive method of video conferencing is studio-based system that offers best quality conferencing. It is mostly used in large-scale companies and universities. Studio-based system is just like a room that is fully equipped with control systems, document viewers, overhead cameras, vision switchers and slide viewers.

An organization, company, educational facility or individual requires some basic components to take complete advantages of video conferencing. Necessary equipment for videoconferencing is camera that lets user to capture video information at his or her site and transmit to someone on the other site. Video display is used to display video at their site and a microphone to hear the audio material.

Videoconferencing terminals require a compressor/decompressor interface that helps in compressing the information while passing from audio to video to make transmission of materials sufficient over net. It is useful in sending the large files from one computer to another. Codec machine also works for decoding and encoding the useful information. A computer and high-speed Internet connection are essential for a successful video conferencing. High-speed Internet connection makes your video conferencing effective and interesting.

Video conferencing is reliable and an excellent method of communication. Videoconference can easily connect you with other companies. You can generate your business from one place and give instructions to your subordinates. It makes bright future for your business and institution. This pioneering technology keeps your company up to date.

Video conferencing is currently an affordable way of communication. A large range of videoconference units is available in the market. Buyers should check company expansion and system compatibility while choosing the best video conferencing unit.

About Author: The Author owns a website on Video Conferencing. The website provides useful information about video conferencing. For more information you can visit his site about Web Conferencing [http://www.cheapvideoconferencingguide.info]

Video Conferencing - It Finally Works

Remember those bulky, expensive video conferencing systems you would see in well-equipped conference rooms not too long ago? You know, the ones the office manager never allowed you to touch? Every now and then, you were invited to sit in on a video meeting and you would curiously await the pixely face on the screen. By all accounts, the one-time fuzzy, unreliable and inaccessible technology known as collaborative technologies are making a more pronounced and permanent impression on organizations of all sizes. Regardless of what industry you work in, conferencing technologies are quickly becoming a smart and efficient way for you to improve the way you work.

The appeal of collaborative capability is not new. Collaboration technologies like Web and video conferencing have been around for some time, the latter for more than a decade. The fact is that face-to-face meetings are vital to the success of all business relationships and work-related projects. However, collaborating in today's fast-paced, ever-connected world demands that we be at all places at once. The only way to maintain this level of communication without ringing up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs and losing hundreds of valuable hours in productivity every year is by incorporating conferencing technologies into the mix.

Video conferencing, for its part, has redefined the face-to-face meeting. Over the course of three years, Wainhouse Research, an independent market research firm covering the conferencing and communications fields, conducted a detailed study into the incorporation of collaborative technologies in the work environment. The data revealed that people are increasing their reliance on these technologies and this demand is coming from various industries, including legal, government, education, and manufacturing, among others.

There are several trends that have spurred the recent growth in conferencing:

More Reliable

Most companies using video conferencing conduct their meetings over ISDN lines (Integrated Services Digital Network). Although it has always been the most affordable medium for video communication, ISDN is plagued by performance, reliability and image quality issues. For years, the typical conferencing user has had to deal with the dreaded dropped call. Imagine being in the middle of an important board meeting with senior-level, international attendees and the call abruptly ends due to a service interruption. For this reason, large corporations accepted the initially higher costs of IP Networks (Internet Protocol), and enjoyed relatively uninterrupted service.

For the last few years, however, there has been a significant migration to these IP networks, a medium that is much more robust and has recently become more affordable. Used almost exclusively by larger organizations to-date, video over IP is rapidly gaining adoption among mid and small-sized companies. The image quality of the video calls is superior, the point-of-entry is significantly lower and the call connections are more reliable. Some service providers even guarantee their network's uptime. IVCi, LLC, for instance, touts a 99.99% guaranteed network uptime behind flagship service IntelliNet, which is used by some of the nation's largest companies.

Industry-Standard Increased

Video call quality is constantly improving, with this trend continuing due to H.264, a newly ratified video compression standard by the Switzerland-based International Telecommunication Union. H.264 aims to cut the necessary bandwidth for sending video during a videoconference in half. This translates into improved call clarity/definition and an increase in simultaneous call capacity. It also means that there is a substantial reduction in the bandwidth needed to hold video conferences. This year a call placed over a 256k IP connection (substandard economy class) looks as good as if it was placed on a 384k IP connection (quality business class) last year. This means that companies of all sizes can now enjoy the same quality only larger corporations had access to. Due to the fact that less bandwidth is needed to conduct better quality video calls, IT departments are more interested than ever since they can now devote less departmental resources and reduce the recurring operating costs associated with implementing video conferencing.

More Affordable

With escalating international violence and terrorism still a point of concern for many business professionals around the world, conferencing companies realize that the technology is more relevant than ever, and with enhanced quality and reliability, demand will only continue to grow. What is happening in the conferencing technologies space can be best described as a communications phenomenon; akin to the boom of the home computer in the 80's. It was only a couple of years ago that revolutionary technologies like video conferencing were only available to large companies with equally large budgets. This has changed in the advent of the 'consumeration' of conferencing technologies.

Two years ago, you could have expected to spend $30,000 on two video conferencing units and many thousands of dollars on monthly network usage fees for a modest package linking two offices. Although big firms were happy to pay these prices to eliminate travel cost and productivity loss, the formidable upfront costs were a barrier to entry for smaller companies. Entry-level products start at as little as $400 and maintenance-free, unlimited-use services packages start at $500 per month. One year ago, a simple package linking two offices in different geographical regions with the high-end IP service would have cost tens of thousands of dollars in set-up, network integration and maintenance. Today, the same package can be purchased for as little as four thousand dollars. Last year, a study by Wainhouse Research, showed that companies could expect to break even twelve months after implementing a video conferencing system, factoring in cost savings associated with business travel, lodging and dining. Today, companies can easily break even after two to three months after implementation.

A Different World

It's a different world out there. All accounts suggest that people around the world feel less safe and they are turning to efficient methods of communications that will allow them to communicate without taking the risks and drawbacks associated with traveling to their meetings. If it's safer, more affordable and efficient to meet face-to-face over video than it is face-to-face in person, companies will always select the former because both accomplish the same result and provide the same effect. A recent report showed that employees still would prefer not to fly to their next out-of-town business meeting. Employers also prefer that their employees not fly since it is estimated that companies can reduce their traveling expenditures by more than fifty percent every year by simply introducing video conferencing to their overall communications program. In many cases, the savings equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For most companies, that's all the proof they need.

For many years, Harold German has been recognized as a knowledgeable source for information on corporate branding methodologies. A director at IVCi, LLC, whose divisions include IVCi Audio Visual and IVCi Home. Mr. German is a renowned author and contributor, with appearances in noted international publications such as The Economist, and on news stations such as CNN. Mr. German covers IP networks and the future of conferencing technologies.

Video Conferencing - The Impact On People And Businesses

Video conferencing is considered to be one of the most effective forms of communication using electronic means.

Video conferencing utilizes a camera, a microphone and a connection, which can be via phone lines or through the Internet to allow people to communicate both orally and visually. Today, video conferencing has become very effective, because of the deep penetration of the Internet. Add to this, the decreasing prices of video capture devices such as web cameras and you will easily find that video conferencing is now a household name.

When a large number of people want to communicate with each other, video conferencing makes it possible. When an

organization wants to have an internal meeting of all its members, in which all its attendees are in different areas and are not able to reach the location of the meeting or in case it is not possible to bring them all in one location at all, what does it do so that all thse members can effectively communicate with each other in real-time?

It schedules a meeting through the use of video conferencing. With video conferencing, it is now possible for people who are aurally or vocally challenged, to communicate among themselves using sign language. These people can make use of a video conferencing service, even if both the parties have such vocal and aural problems.

Video conferencing solutions have had considerable impact in the area of education. The major impact of video conferencing has been in the area of distance education as well as in courses which are obscure and thus it is difficult to arrange teachers for them. Video conferencing allows the deployment of a centralized course and makes it possible for students to interact with the best teachers without the need to go to the places they teach at.

A number of universities in the United States provide the general public with access to recordings of video conferencing. Video conferencing also allows researchers to collaborate with each other from anywhere in the world to carry out their projects. You can find out more about video conferencing and webcasts at http://www.whatisawebcast.com

Video conferencing has also significantly contributed to the field of health care. Video conferencing has made telemedicine and telenursing a reality. It has also made it possible to optimally use health care funds in rural areas. Through the use of video conferencing technologies it is now possible for doctors to communicate and discuss cases with each other.

Business however is the area which has been radically impacted by the video conferencing technologies. With the globalization of businesses and their top brass spread all over the world it has become more and more difficult to

synchronize the work flow in companies. Thanks to video conferencing, however, now these businesses are able to

function in a smooth manner and especially their sales departments, whose personnel are always on the go as they are now able to telecommute to work.

Video conferencing has made the process of communications both economical and effective for people and businesses around the world.

Article by Dean Forster of http://www.whatisawebcast.com You can find out more about webcasts and video conferencing technology at => Streaming Video

Getting Some Knowledge About Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is the process of communicating through visual and audio capabilities. This is not to be mistaken for video telephony as conferencing denotes a group of people simultaneously conferring over a network and video telephony, though capable of transmitting video as well as voice, is the technology that only allows two people to talk and view each other simultaneously. Therefore video conferencing is rather different and there is a lot to be known about video conferencing and the many uses it can be put to effectively. There are many ways to go about video conferencing, by 'ways' we mean the many technologies that can be put to use when a group of people need to go about video conferencing. Starting from the basic telephony video conferencing to state-of-the-art satellite systems, the trick is to pick the most economical of the technologies available for the business.

Knowing about video conferencing will require a bit of research if you are deciding on setting up a video conferencing system for your business. Video conferencing is also known by the term 'video teleconferencing'. Tele denotes 'from a distance' and this distance can be half way around the globe. There is no limit to where teleconferencing can be delivered with the satellite technology becoming so advanced and economic to use even for the smallest of businesses. Small businesses have very limited knowledge about video conferencing and its cost implications. Some don't even know the advantages and the availability of video conferencing. The fact is that video conferencing has been around for many decades with NASA being the first to put it to practical use. Simple analog video conferencing was established with the invention of television. Then video conferencing was setup between two or more stations using closed circuit television systems. Closed circuit means the signal was not transmitted wirelessly, it was transmitted through a pair of cables. This system, like today used input devices for video and sound. The video input device was a camera and the sound input was the microphone. The sound proof studio was a necessity, unlike today.

The technique was very expensive and so people brushed the idea aside instead of trying to know more about video conferencing. However, some people saw the advantages and started investigating and experimenting with ways to develop a more cost effective method to use video conferencing in order to make it a viable way of communications. These experiments and trials brought video conferencing to the forefront of telecommunications and businesses and institutions started enquiring about video conferencing and were considering using the technology for business meetings, which started seeming like a cheaper option as compared to having their business executives fly over to a destination to attend the conferencing. This saved a lot on time as well as money. Governments started using video conferencing to communicate with other government heads across the globe. This cut down on travel and security costs.

With the advancement of technology more and more people are becoming aware about video conferencing and as the Internet becomes more advanced and faster video conferencing will be a household name that might replace a lot of commuting saving on time and money for businesses and social organizations all over the world.

Shakir A. is writer an independent writer on Internet marketing, Online Video Advertising, Video Conferencing and it's happenings in Internet industry. More Details for Video Conferencing at http://www.tandberg.com

High Definition Video Conferencing - Greater Picture Clarity

Video conferencing can be traced back to the invention of television, which is nothing but a one way video conferencing so to speak. Tele-video conferencing is the process of a group of people located in different parts of the globe of country (distance really does not matter) and being able to simultaneously take parting a two way discussion by observing all the other members of the conferencing on a video screen live and talk to them as if they were all sitting in the same room. In earlier times such video conferencing consisted of closed circuit television systems, which was the technology where by the video and audio signals were transmitted through a cable system and not transmitted through the air. This resulted in the video quality being very poor in quality as well as being very expensive to transmit. This type of communication was very attractive and the demand for better transmission techniques resulted in companies investing in high definition video conferencing techniques.

The first high definition video conferencing was inadvertently tried out by NASA who required to conferencing with astronauts in space. The distance required very high definition video conferencing capabilities and NASA achieved this by using high frequencies to link up and down between the space stations and the earth stations. This kind of high definition video conferencing has been put to wider use by television news channels using this high definition video conferencing between the studios and the mobile news trucks. High definition video conferencing has since become very common with the technology advancing and transforming from analog to digital format the world over.

High Definition Video conferencing was first demonstrated in the early nineties. Though this technique was still very expensive, it could not be put to use for more mundane applications, such as telemedicine, distance education, business meetings, and so on. The use of normal telephone networks to transmit video failed due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression techniques that were available at the time. The greater bandwidth and 6 MBPS transmission rate of the popular though short lived Picturephone in the 1970s did not prosper. These were but stepping stones to the digital high definition video conferencing that the world knows today. The Internet had enabled high definition video conferencing to be put to wider use with more and more people from different walks of life being able to take advantage of this great technology.

High definition video conferencing started out as an important means of communications between scientific, defense and government organizations. The usefulness of this communications technology was realized and so the demand grew by leaps and bounds. So as a result from the early closed circuit low definition video conferencing to the present day high definition video conferencing techniques employed today, high definition video conferencing is being used not only by the high and mighty but by students who are able to use the technology to further their studies by taking part in high definition video conferencing set up by their universities in distant places. House wives are also able to use the technology from the comforts of their homes. The retired and aged people can see and speak to their entire families settled all over the world at the flick of a switch. Yet High definition video conferencing has a long way to go.

Shakir A. is writer an independent writer on Internet marketing, Online Video Advertising, Video Conferencing and it's happenings in Internet industry. More Details for Video Conferencing at http://www.tandberg.com

History Of Video Conferencing - How It Started, Where It Will Go

Video conferencing is also known as 'videoteleconferencing' and is a technique of setting up an interactive telecommunication system comprising of video input and out put devices such as video cameras and screens, audio input and out put devices such as microphones and speakers and transmission and receiving apparatus at two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. This system is also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware. It differs from videophone in that it serves a conferencing (group of people) rather than individuals.

Video conferencing started with the invention of television, which was nothing but a one way communication channel. This technology transmitted video and sound signals to a wide audience but was just a one way communication channel. Video conferencing was the technique of transmitting as well as receiving video and audio signals between a group of people. Each individual in a video conferencing was able to interact with the other members of the conferencing through the hardware which consisted of the above mentioned video, audio and transmitting and receiving equipment. In the beginning of the 1960 there was just closed circuit video conferencing. This soon advanced to wireless communication between people on a video conferencing. The low definition video conferencing reproduction was soon to be replaced by high definition video conferencing technology in the nineties.

Technological advancements in the 1980's made digital telephony transmission possible. These brought technologies such as ISDN that assured a basic minimum bit rate of 128 kilo bytes per second available over a leased line. This technology assured a fair quality of audio as well as video signals to be transmitted over a vast area. The history of video conferencing had begun with the early experiments of NASA trying to simultaneously communicate with all its base stations and it's astronauts in space. This video conferencing enabled scientists to communicate and instruct the astronauts with the experiments underway. It was the contribution of companies such as AT&T Picture Tel and the like that has made video conferencing what it is today. From the early history of video conferencing the technology has come a long way. Video conferencing equipment expanded through out the 90's and evolved into the internet video conferencing we have today. In fact, video conferencing cannot be possible in most parts of the world with out the Internet as this is the main tool of communications in vogue today.

VOIP is the main technology that has advanced the communications techniques all over the world and contributed to the history of video conferencing. Today video conferencing is available to the general public at very reasonable costs and ease. Internet Protocol, popularly known as IP, made video conferencing available to the world through the Internet in the mid 1990's. This enabled more efficient video compression possible leading to better transmission of video signals. Desktop video conferencing came into existence setting another milestone in the history of video conferencing.

Shakir A. is writer an independent writer on Internet marketing, Online Video Advertising, Video Conferencing and it's happenings in Internet industry. More Details for Video Conferencing at http://www.tandberg.com