Communicating face to face without being in the same location
has become easy with the arrival of video conferencing
technology and its related software. For business, it is the
best way to interact with colleagues worldwide for meetings and
conferences. For medical professionals, it provides an
invaluable service in that patients can be treated long distance
in real time by specialists without the time and hassle of
travel. And now for the everyday person, video conferencing
software has given opportunities for education and communication
like never before.
A video conference is achieved with a set of interactive
telecommunications tools that give 2 or more parties in
different locations the opportunity to work together using 2-way
video and audio at the same time. The history of video
conferencing can be traced back to the beginning of television.
Video conferencing pretty much began with the advent of the
television, by using closed circuit televisions that were
connected by means of cable. This tended to be expensive to
carry out, and was not the most efficient over long distances
for such functions as business meetings or distance learning.
In the 1980's, digital telephony technology opened the doors to
more efficient and effective transmission of audio and video
over longer distances, with a guaranteed minimum bandwidth
(approximately 128 Kbps). The technology remained expensive and
therefore not highly sought after, especially for smaller
businesses, until the 1990's. The fast progress of the
technology and its capabilities along with the burgeoning
prevalence of the Internet helped to make video conferencing
software and hardware more reasonably priced. In addition, these
factors contributed to making the technology a more appealing
and convenient way to communicate long distance.
For a basic video conferencing setup, there are certain pieces
of hardware and software that are required. These include a
video input for recording video, such as a webcam. There also
needs to be a video output for displaying video images, such as
a monitor or television set. An audio output device, such as a
microphone, is required for recording sound. Audio output
devices such as speakers are needed to playing the audio. And
finally, there needs to be a method of data transmission from
one location to the other. This can be accomplished via the
Internet, or even a LAN (Local Area Network). The more
bandwidth, the better.
For the general population, there are ways to take advantage of
video conferencing. There are lower quality services available
in the form of downloadable programs like Googletalk, Yahoo
Messenger, MSN Messenger, among others. The downloadable
software is usually free of charge, and if you have a webcam, a
microphone, and broadband Internet access, you can be connected
with friends and family sans the long distance phone bills. It
is an ideal way for grandparents to witness the development of
far away grandchildren, and for long distance friends to keep in
touch.
Another use to video conferencing software is for educational
purposes. Students can use the technology to participate in
distance learning programs worldwide, without having to leave
home to do it. This technology offers no limits to the
possibilities of expanding your educational and cultural
horizons, no matter where you are in the world. And yet another
positive use for video conferencing software is in the field of
medicine. The technology allows doctors and nurses to consult
with patients and colleagues in real time and send and receive
x-rays and other pertinent images quickly. In addition, health
problems can be diagnosed by specialists from anywhere in the
world, without the need to travel to do it.
Video conferencing software is not only for business meetings
anymore. The Internet has provided a means of allowing the
average citizen a way of taking advantage of this technology. In
addition, the uses for video conferencing continue to develop
all the time. In business, medicine, education, and personal
computing, video conferencing software is a highly convenient
and easy means of face-to-face communication.
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