The history of video conferencing has gone from expensive video equipment and "in room" systems that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars back in the 70's and 80's to the recent advent of desktop video conferencing services that use the Internet, web cams and cost under $100. per month for unlimited usage. Finally, the price point has come down to where small businesses and consumers can utilize this technology and not be burdened by the huge costs.
The new technology works like this. Each participant has a desktop or laptop computer, equipped with Internet access and a web cam. A web cam can be purchased from any office supply store for as little as $35. The moderator would then subscribe to a desktop video conferencing service, where they would receive login and password information. A fifteen to twenty minute training session would bring all of the parties up to where they are ready to start their own conferences.
The leader or account holder can have up to one hundred parties on his conferences. Approximately eighteen videos can be displayed simultaneously on everyone's screens. There is a "real estate" issue in that the limited screen size only allows eighteen videos. In addition, the more videos being displayed bring a drag on bandwidth. The optimum size is about eight videos being viewed at the same time.
Now the moderator is ready to hold as many video conferences as he needs. He will have to schedule each of his conferences just like he would with an audio conference call. At the appropriate date and time of the meeting, everyone invited would log on to the URL and input their meeting identification code and password and possible other identifying information. Everyone will then be connected to each other over the Internet. Their videos will be displayed and the video conference can begin. The audio portion of the conference can either be carried over the Internet as VOIP or voice over Internet protocol or the moderator can use an audio conference line, which will provide top quality sound.
The beautiful aspect of the technology is that the service works extremely well. Everyone can see all of the parties on the conference and they can talk and gesture just like they would in a live face to face meeting. Small businesses and consumers alike will find this service exciting, functional, simple to use and certainly easy on the budget. Desktop video conferencing has certainly arrived and now is the time to take a test drive.
Mike Burns has been in the conferencing industry since 1971, having originally worked for Southwestern Bell and AT&T. In 1989, Mr. Burns founded Conference Pros International and in 2000, Mr Burns founded A+ Conferencing, a conferencing provider that sells audio, web and desktop video conferencing services exclusively through master agents and resellers. Mr Burns speaks and writes about the conferencing industry frequently.
888-239-3969. http://www.aplusconferencing.com
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