Video conferencing
From E-Consultation Guide
It is possible to compess video recordings and send the files across the Internet. This is the technology behind the online video download sites, like YouTube.
Small images can be streamed in real time, as they are recorded. There are three communications situations:
Video conferenced chats
- Everyone has a microphone, speakers or earphones and a web cam.
- They can see small images of everyone else, as shown in the screenshot on the right.
- They take turns to speak, discussing a topic among a small group.
- Consultation applications:
- Online focus groups with illiterates.
- Discussions with key stakeholders who cannot meet in the same place.
- Software
- Some of the VOIP tools, like Skype or Windows Messenger now support video.
- Microsoft ConferenceXP (as illustrated)
- GnomeMeeting
- MarraTech
Webcasting
- One video is steamed to many viewers, such as in Internet broadcasts of parliamentary committees.
- Questions to the speaker come back though another channel, perhaps by typing them into IRC or a chat room.
- Software
- Democaster, streaming audio plus still images every 10 or 20 s.
Video conferenced e-meetings
- The main speaker is broadcast to others, who see the speaker and/or his presentation slides.
- Questions come back via video, audio or text, all integrated in the same software.
- See a simulation of a Breeze meeting
- E-meeting software
- BT Conferencing
- MegaMeeting
- OpenH323 Project
