Everything You Need to Know About Video Conferencing

Imagine, you have a meeting with your boss who is travelling in Japan and instead of simply relying on a messenger system or expensive telephone calls; you can sit at your computer and speak face-to-face with him! That is the wonder of video conferencing.

What is Video Conferencing?

Video conferencing is, in its most basic form, a compressed audio-video stream that is transmitted real-time. The most common way to do this nowadays is through the use of a webcam. Several online companies offer this service for free or a low fee.

Advantages of Video Conferencing

There are numerous advantages to video conferencing. Being able to see and read facial clues during a conversation eliminates much of the confusion of regular text chatting. Because you are basically having a face-to-face conversation, misunderstandings are limited.

The visual clues are also very useful when communicating between countries where different languages might cause problems. This way, there are physical signals to help the speakers understand each other.

What Can I Use Video Conferencing for?

Video conferencing technology is used for many purposes. It is a great way to connect with friends and family who live too far away to see on a regular basis. Long-distance grandparents love the ability to see their rapidly growing grandchildren, even if it is only on a computer screen.

Business meetings between offices are good candidates for video conferencing as well. This is particularly useful when the offices are located in separate countries.

Online education is a growing trend, with the ability for teachers to teach entire classes of students from home. Outside of regular classes, online tutors can communicate with their students using video conferencing. An excellent example is English as a Second Language tutoring, where the ability to see and hear is vital.

How do I get started?

To begin video conferencing, you need the following:

- a video camera

- speakers or headphones

- TV or monitor

- a microphone

- a method of connection to the other person or people

One of the most popular ways to connect on a one-to-one basis is through the internet. This is also the cheapest way to go. Services such as MSN Messenger automatically offer the option of video conferencing. However, the sound and video quality varies widely, depending on the speed of the computer and the internet connection.

A desktop system is another way to go. This is a system dedicated exclusively to video conferencing. It allows the possibility of speaking with more than one person at a time, which is useful for a virtual classroom situation. Unfortunately, these systems can be fairly expensive. The quality is much higher than internet conferencing, though.

There is another option, which is a group system which connects to your television set to provide access to a group of people. It is a self-contained system and can be very expensive. It also has the highest level of quality in both sound and video.