Video Conferencing Service
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Bow Communications videoconference or video conference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware. It differs from a videophone call in that it is designed to serve a conference rather than individuals.
Bow Communications Videoconferencing uses telecommunications of audio and video to bring people at different sites together for a meeting. This can be as simple as a conversation between two people in private offices (point-to-point) or involve several sites (multi-point) with more than one person in large rooms at different sites. Besides the audio and visual transmission of meeting activities, Bow Communications videoconferencing can be used to share documents, computer-displayed information, and whiteboards.
In the 1980s digital telephony transmission networks became possible, such as ISDN, assuring a minimum bit rate (usually 128 kilobits/s) for compressed video and audio transmission. The first dedicated systems started to appear in the market as ISDN networks were expanding throughout the world. Video teleconference systems throughout the 1990s rapidly evolved from highly expensive proprietary equipment, software and network requirements to standards based technology that is readily available to the general public at a reasonable cost. In the 1990s, IP (Internet Protocol) based videoconferencing became possible, and more efficient video compression technologies were developed, permitting desktop, or personal computer (PC)-based videoconferencing.
The core technology used in Bow Communications videoteleconference (VTC) system is digital compression of audio and video streams in real time. The hardware or software that performs compression is called a codec (coder/decoder). Compression rates of up to 1:500 can be achieved. The resulting digital stream of 1s and 0s is subdivided into labelled packets, which are then transmitted through a digital network of some kind (usually ISDN or IP). The use of audio modems in the transmission line allow for the use of POTS, or the Plain Old Telephone System, in some low-speed applications, such as videotelephony, because they convert the digital pulses to/from analog waves in the audio spectrum range.
The other components required for a VTC system include:
· Video input : video camera or webcam
· Video output: computer monitor , television or projector
· Audio input: microphones
· Audio output: usually loudspeakers associated with the display device or telephone
There are basically two kinds of VTC systems
1. Dedicated systems have all required components packaged into a single piece of equipment, usually a console with a high quality remote controlled video camera. These cameras can be controlled at a distance to pan left and right, tilt up and down, and zoom. They became known as PTZ cameras. The console contains all electrical interfaces, the control computer, and the software or hardware-based codec. Omnidirectional microphones are connected to the console, as well as a TV monitor with loudspeakers and/or a video projector.
There are several types of dedicated VTC devices:
1. Large group VTC are non-portable, large, more expensive devices used for large rooms and auditoriums.
2. Small group VTC are non-portable or portable, smaller, less expensive devices used for small meeting rooms.
3. Individual VTC are usually portable devices, meant for single users, have fixed cameras, microphones and loudspeakers integrated into the console.
2. Desktop systems are add-ons (hardware boards, usually) to normal PCs, transforming them into VTC devices. A range of different cameras and microphones can be used with the board, which contains the necessary codec and transmission interfaces. Most of the desktops systems work with the H.323 standard. Videoconferences carried out via dispersed PCs are also known as e-meetings.
A fundamental feature of professional VTC systems is acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). Echo can be defined as the reflected source wave interference with new wave created by source. AEC is an algorithm which is able to detect when sounds or utterances reenter the audio input of the VTC codec, which came from the audio output of the same system, after some time delay.
If unchecked, this can lead to several problems including:
· The remote party hearing their own voice coming back at them (usually significantly delayed).
· Strong reverberation, rendering the voice channel useless as it becomes hard to understand.
· Howling created by feedback. Echo cancellation is a processor-intensive task that usually works over a narrow range of sound delays.
Multipoint videoconferencing
Simultaneous videoconferencing among three or more remote points is possible by means of a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). This is a bridge that interconnects calls from several sources (in a similar way to the audio conference call). All parties call the MCU unit, or the MCU unit can also call the parties which are going to participate, in sequence. There are MCU bridges for IP and ISDN-based videoconferencing. There are MCUs which are pure software, and others which are a combination of hardware and software. An MCU is characterised according to the number of simultaneous calls it can handle, its ability to conduct transposing of data rates and protocols, and features such as Continuous Presence, in which multiple parties can be seen onscreen at once. MCUs can be stand-alone hardware devices, or they can be embedded into dedicated VTC units.
Some systems are capable of multipoint conferencing with no MCU, stand-alone, embedded or otherwise. These use a standards-based H.323 technique known as "decentralized multipoint", where each station in a multipoint call exchanges video and audio directly with the other stations with no central "manager" or other bottleneck. The advantages of this technique are that the video and audio will generally be of higher quality because they don't have to be relayed through a central point. Also, users can make ad-hoc multipoint calls without any concern for the availability or control of an MCU. This added convenience and quality comes at the expense of some increased network bandwidth, because every station must transmit to every other station directly.
In recent years, IP based videoconferencing has emerged as a common communications interface and standard provided by VTC manufacturers in their traditional ISDN-based systems. Business, government and military organizations still predominantly use H.320 and ISDN VTC. Though, due to the price point and proliferation of the Internet, and broadband in particular, there has been a strong spurt of growth and use of H.323, IP VTC. H.323 has the advantage that it is accessible to anyone with a high speed Internet connection, such as DSL.
H.264 SVC (Scalable Video Coding) is a compression standard that enables video conferencing systems to achieve highly error resilient[1] IP video transmission over the public Internet without quality of service enhanced lines. This standard has enabled wide scale deployment of high definition desktop video conferencing and made possible new architectures[2] which reduce latency between transmitting source and receiver, resulting in fluid communication without pauses.
In addition, an attractive factor for IP VTC is that it is easier to set-up for use with a live VTC call along with web conferencing for use in data collaboration. These combined technologies enable users to have a much richer multimedia environment for live meetings, collaboration and presentations.
Videoconferencing adds another possible alternative, and can be considered when:
· a live conversation is needed;
· visual information is an important component of the conversation;
· the parties of the conversation can't physically come to the same location; or
· the expense or time of travel is a consideration.
Deaf, hard-of-hearing and mute individuals have a particular interest in the development of affordable high-quality videoconferencing as a means of communicating with each other in sign language. Unlike Video Relay Service, which is intended to support communication between a caller using sign language and another party using spoken language, videoconferencing can be used between two signers.
Impact on education
Videoconferencing provides students with the opportunity to learn by participating in a 2-way communication platform. Furthermore, teachers and lecturers from all over the world can be brought to classes in remote or otherwise isolated places. Students from diverse communities and backgrounds can come together to learn about one another. Students are able to explore, communicate, analyze and share information and ideas with one another. Through videoconferencing students can visit another part of the world to speak with others, visit a zoo, a museum and so on, to learn. These "virtual field trips" can bring opportunities to children, especially those in geographically isolated locations, or the economically disadvantaged. Small schools can use this technology to pool resources and teach courses (such as foreign languages) which could not otherwise be offered.
Here are a few examples of how videoconferencing can benefit people around campus:
· faculty member keeps in touch with class while away for a week at a conference
· guest lecturer brought into a class from another institution
· researcher collaborates with colleagues at other institutions on a regular basis without loss of time due to travel
· faculty member participates in a thesis defense at another institution
· administrators on tight schedules collaborate on a budget preparation from different parts of campus
· faculty committee auditions a scholarship candidate
· researcher answers questions about a grant proposal from an agency or review committee
· student interviews with an employer in another city
· Teleseminar
Impact on medicine and health
Videoconferencing is a very useful technology for telemedicine and telenursing applications, such as diagnosis, consulting, transmission of medical images, etc., in real time in countries where this is legal. Using VTC, patients may contact nurses and physicians in emergency or routine situations, physicians and other paramedical professionals can discuss cases across large distances. Rural areas can use this technology for diagnostic purposes, thus saving lives and making more efficient use of health care money.
Special peripherals such as microscopes fitted with digital cameras, videoendoscopes, medical ultrasound imaging devices, otoscopes, etc., can be used in conjunction with VTC equipment to transmit data about a patient.
Impact on business
Videoconferencing can enable individuals in faraway places to have meetings on short notice. Time and money that used to be spent in travelling can be used to have short meetings. Technology such as VOIP can be used in conjunction with desktop videoconferencing to enable low-cost face-to-face business meetings without leaving the desk, especially for businesses with wide-spread offices. The technology is also used for telecommuting, in which employees work from home.
Videoconferencing is now being introduced to online networking websites, in order to help businesses form profitable relationships quickly and efficiently without leaving their place of work. This has been leveraged by banks to connect busy banking professionals with customer in various locations using video banking technology.
Impact on law
Videoconferencing has allowed testimony to be used for individuals who are not able to attend the physical legal settings. In a military investigation in North Carolina, Afghan witnesses have testified using videoconferencing.
Impact on media relations
The concept of press videoconferencing (or press videoconference) was developed in October 2007 by the African Press Organization (APO), a Swiss based Non-governmental organization, to allow African journalists to participate in international press conferences on the subject of development and good governance.
Press videoconference allows you to organize an international press conference using videoconference over the Internet.
Journalists can participate to an international press conference from anywhere without leaving their offices or their countries. They just need to sit in front of a computer connected to the Internet and ask their questions to the speaker.
Landmarks
· 1995 First public videoconference and peacecast between continent of North America and Africa. Demonstration of telepresence, audience interaction, virtual dancing, etc. Linked a technofair in San Francisco with a techno-rave and cyberdeli in Cape Town.
· 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Nagano, Japan. Seiji Ozawa conducts the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony simultaneously across five continents in real time.
Videotelephony descriptive names & terminology
Videophone calls can be referred to as 'videocalls'. They differ from videoconferencing in that they expect to serve individuals, not groups. However that distinction is becoming increasingly blurred with technology improvements such as increased bandwidth and sophisticated software clients that can allow for multiple parties on a call. In general everyday usage the term videoconferencing is now frequently used instead of video phonecall for point-to-point calls between two units. Both videophone calls and videoconferencing can also be referred to as a video link.
A videoconference system is generally higher cost than a videophone and deploys greater capabilities. A videoconference (also known as a videoteleconference) allows two or more locations to interact via live two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. This is generally accomplished by the use of a multipoint control unit (a centralized distribution and call management system) or by a similar non-centralized multipoint capability embedded in each videoconferencing unit. Again, technology improvements have circumvented traditional definitions by allowing multiple party videoconferencing via web-based applications.[3]
A telepresence system is a high-end videoconferencing system and service usually employed by enterprise-level corporate offices. Telepresence conference rooms use state-of-the art room designs, video cameras, displays, sound-systems and processors, coupled with high-to-very-high capacity bandwidth transmissions, resulting in costs up to US$500,000 per room in 2009.
Typical uses of the various technologies described above include videocalling or videoconferencing on a one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many basis for personal, business, educational, deaf Tele-Relay and tele-medical, diagnostic and rehabilitative use or services. New services utilizing videocalling and videoconferencing, such as personal videocalls to inmates incarcerated in penitentiaries, and videoconferencing to resolve airline engineering issues at maintenance facilities, are being created or evolving on an on-going basis.
