Unit 7. Videoconferencing

George Jetson, a character in the 1970s cartoon, was not terribly futuristic when he used his telephone that enabled him to see the person to whom he was talking. Videoconferencing, as it is known today, has been under development in the research labs at Pacific Bell since the 1920s. The project, referred to as “picture phone”, is in the form of a desktop videoconferencing system. Videoconferencing rooms have been in existence at AT&T since the 1960s, where they are used to support large corporate meetings, including the annual shareholder’s meeting.

Videoconferencing is conducting a conference between two or more participants at different sites by using computer networks to transmit audio and video data. For example, a point-to-point (two-person) video conferencing system works much like a video telephone. Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the network and delivered to the other speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in a window on the other participant’s monitor.

Multipoint videoconferencing allows three or more participants to sit in a virtual conference room and communicate as if they were sitting right next to each other. Until the mid 90s, the hardware costs made videoconferencing prohibitively expensive for most organizations, but that situation is changing rapidly. Many analysts believe that videoconferencing will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the computer industry in the latter half of the decade.

Conduct effective meetings, make presentations to clients, and meet new business prospects in distant cities without leaving town. Videoconferencing makes it possible. By eliminating travel time, you can actually complete one-hour meetings in one hour, increase the impact and results of your presentation, and save on the costs of travel, lodging and entertainment.

Other benefits of videoconferencing include:

Conduct several meetings in one day instead of traveling to attend just one

Express your ideas clearly with slides and other visual aids

Present graphs or other documents right on your laptop

Access Internet information during your videoconference

Videotape your conference for future viewing

Instant access to live online help at the touch of a button

Schedule and check room availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week

The Meeting - Meeting Tips

Some things to remember once your meeting gets going:

Introduce each of the participants in the conference within the first 5 minutes.

Establish meeting etiquette immediately. Remember most people have not experienced videoconferencing. For example: ask each site to mute their microphone until they ask or respond to a question. Participants should identify themselves when asking a question or making a comment. When prompting for questions, state the order that will be followed.

Take as many questions from the distant site as you take from the local site. Ensure everyone gets equal time.

Answer questions by repeating the question before answering it to make sure everyone heard the question. Avoid interrupting when participants speak.

Encourage discussion and make the meeting interactive.

As the meeting progresses, give the people at the distant locations an opportunity to participate. Watch their body language and gestures. Stop and invite their questions or comments.

When you speak, look into the camera. Let the tone of your voice be expressive, but don't overdo it. If you are normally soft spoken, make the effort to speak louder and add a little energy to it.

Move and gesture normally. Avoid swaying, rocking, pacing, rapid or continuous movement that can cause ghosting or the picture to become fuzzy.

When presenting visual graphics, allow enough time for the participants to read your material at least twice.

At the end of your meeting, be sure that your microphone is muted.

Participants in a videoconference should wear solid-colored clothing in dark or neutral colors to enhance the camera's focus. Movements should be slow and smooth, and caution should be taken not to block the camera's line of sight.

Participants should always maintain appropriate on-camera positioning, adhering to the elbows and wrists rule: When you stretch out your arms, the edge of the screen should fall between your elbows and wrists.

Task1. Match videoconferencing terms with their definitions.

1.codec (Coder-Decoder or Compression - Decompression)	a. videoconference with more than two sites.
2.multipoint videoconference	b. a feature supported by many systems that allows participants at both ends of a videoconference to view and/or edit the same computer document. It’s important to decide who has control over the document at any given time. At the end of the session, it is usually possible to transmit the document to videoconference participants.
3.point-to-point videoconference	c. videoconferencing hardware uses a codec to code the outgoing video and audio signals and decode the incoming signals. Prior to transmission, the codec converts analog signals to digital signals and compresses the digital signals. Incoming audio and video must be decompressed and converted from digital back to analog.
4.room-based videoconferencing	d. videoconference between two sites.
5.desktop videoconferencing	e. videoconferencing using a large, sophisticated system. Appropriate for large groups
6.document sharing	f. communication across long distances with video and audio contact that may also include graphics and data exchange.
7.videoconferencing	g. videoconferencing on a personal computer. Most appropriate for small groups or individuals

Task 2. Put different components of a videoconferencing system into the right line of the table.

Video input	computer monitor
Video output	microphones
Audio input	webcam
Audio output	projector
Data transfer	LAN
	video camera
	loudspeakers
	television
	Internet