A-Z Video Conferencing - Tips On How To Make Your Meeting A Success

Video Conferencing

2007-11-27T19:12:00.001-08:00

As the demand for conferencing solutions grow, new technologies are developed to meet this demand. One of the pioneer technologies that were developed was audio conferencing, which made it easier and cheaper to conduct business between companies separated by great distances. However, since the inception of audio conferencing, new technologies were also developed, which were aimed at enhancing the conferencing experience between two parties. One of these is video conferencing, which does not only allow parties to discuss business matters in real time, but it also allows the parties to see each other during the "meeting" through the help of video technology.

Other uses

Given the added feature of being able to see the person they are speaking with, this technology has become a popular choice among businesses. However, the use of this technology has not only been limited for use in business. This is because this technology has also been used for other purposes such as for educational instruction, medical collaboration, surveillance, security, and emergency response.

Advantages

Given that it has been able to serve various purposes, it can be expected that video conferencing provides a number of benefits and advantages to those who use it. One of the most obvious advantages is that it has provided business people with the ability to meet with their clients based in distant locations without having to incur huge costs that are associated with face to face business meetings. In addition to this, using the technology for educational purposes has also made the transfer of first hand information easier and more convenient. Lastly, this technology has also made it possible for the average Joe to have contact with other people in different countries without having to board a plane.
Tip! There are two types of video conferencing, each has sub-types. Point to point - a live video / audio communication between any two locations.

One of the more popular conferencing technologies is video conferencing because it allows people to not only hear the people they are speaking with but also see them as well. This is because apart from the added video feature, the way by which it can be used for other purposes such as for educational training has also contributed to the popularity of this technology.

Conferencing provides detailed information on Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Audio Conferencing, Video Conferencing and more. Conferencing is affiliated with Online Conference Centers.

Video & Web Conferencing: How To Determine Which Features Will Benefit You The Most

2007-11-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

Web and video conferencing technology is becoming more sophisticated with each passing day. A few years ago it was a novelty just to talk with someone online, and view his or her image at the same time. Today web conferences bring together entire companies in complex interaction that rivals live face-to-face meetings. How you might benefit from the latest developments in web conferencing depends on your particular needs. Here are a few points that you should consider.

1. Do you need to make a Powerpoint or other presentation during your conference?

If you answered "yes" to this question, then you will be glad to know that current web and video conferencing services allow the host of a conference to present a slide show or power point demonstration that will be visible on the screens of all the participants of a conference. Similarly, hosts can also open and show other document formats to their attendees. If you need this kind of capability, make sure that your conference provider can give this to you.

2. Do you require telephone conferencing integrated with your web/video conference?

Many organizations have found telephone conferencing to be an effective way to get work done. If you are already connecting with your members and staff via telephone conferences you can expand on this by choosing a web conferencing system that integrates telephone conferencing along with the online conference. The combined service will give you the ease of phone conferencing along with the enhanced visual and presentation features of online conferencing.

Some services allow the host to pay the long distance bill of all the participants (toll free conferencing), while others require each participant to cover their long distance fees.

3. Do all of your conference participants use the same type of computer?

If your participants are going to be using a variety of computers (PC, Mac, Linux) then you will benefit most by choosing a web conferencing system that works on any platform. While earlier conferencing systems required the downloading of complex software that would work only on specified operating systems, newer conferencing formats are delivered online and are browser based. They work on any operating system and if yours in an eclectic audience, then you will get best results with this type of conferencing.
Tip! An organization, company, educational facility or individual requires some basic components to take complete advantages of video conferencing. Necessary equipment for videoconferencing is camera that lets user to capture video information at his or her site and transmit to someone on the other site.

4. Will it be necessary for one of your technicians to "take-over" and operate the computers of any of your participants?

If you wish to use conferencing as a service tool and want to avoid having to send out your service team on physical visits to clients, you can save a lot of travel time and cost by selecting a web and video conferencing system that allows the host of the conference to go online and actually take control of the computer of the client or conference participant. If you are looking at web conferencing as an after-sales service tool, then this particular feature will probably give you one of the most important benefits that you could wish for.
Tip! Which is better in the sense of connection speed and for Video conferencing between ISDN PRI (1.544Mbps) to ADSL (1.

5. Do you want to conduct an online poll or survey during the conference?

If you have a large organization and want to make a quick and accurate poll of opinion or vote on a particular issue then the new polling capabilities of the most advanced web conferencing services will be an important feature for you.

Similarly, if you need to gather demographic information about your meeting participants, obtain valuable input, or quiz and test your participants, then the new online survey capabilities of current web conferencing systems will be an important feature to look for when choosing your conference format. Data from these types of online "surveys" can typically be saved and used for future use.

6. Do you want to brainstorm online, using a "whiteboard"?

Brainstorming is a great way to tap the ideas of a group and to come up with and select new ideas. If this is what you like to do when holding physical meetings, then you will probably want to be able to do the same thing in your virtual meetings as well. This is now possible in some of the more advanced web conferencing systems by using a "group notepad" that enables meeting participants to utilize a shared workspace. The results of these brainstorming sessions can typically be saved in a storage area.
Tip! Perhaps the biggest advantage or benefit video conferencing has to offer is the ability to meet with people in remote locations without incurring travel expenses or other expenses associated with face to face communication. Business meetings, educational meetings, healthcare conferences and more can all be easily conducted thanks to video conferencing technology.

Which of these features will benefit you the most? It all depends on your particular needs. However, one thing is sure: once you experience the convenience of online meetings, you will not want to go back to the era when every meeting required you to pack up your bags and get on an airplane.

About The Author Dan Richmond is CEO & Co-founder of http://MegaMeeting.com. MegaMeeting provides Web Conferencing & Video Conferencing services for individuals, businesses and educational institutions. For more information, or for a free live demonstration, please visit http://www.MegaMeeting.com/ or call (818) 783-4311.

Video Conferencing - Usage Fueled by Rising Gas Prices

2007-11-27T19:11:00.004-08:00

The first noticeable surge in usage was due to concerns over terrorism. The second was due to concerns over diseases such as SARS. The latest appears to be tied directly to the rising costs of gasoline. For the third time in this young century, organizations from various sectors, including education, government, legal and manufacturing, are making the move to video conferencing in droves. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, gasoline is consumed at an alarming rate of 65 billion gallons each year in the United States, and that number is projected to increase by 2.6 percent each year. But with the price for gas soaring, more companies are looking for a more economical way to get from point A to point B for their business meetings. Yet again, video conferencing has become the solution of choice, and as a result, profits are once again soaring at IVCi, a Hauppauge, NY-based conferencing technologies provider.

There are many good reasons why organizations of all sizes are turning to service providers like IVCi for video conferencing solutions. Make that many "green" reasons. Video conferencing is an environmentally-friendly technology with a wide range of benefits for employers, individual employees and the community at large. The employer saves money every year on the organization's travel costs. By bypassing work-related travel, employees can be less stressed and much more productive throughout the year, and the environment is spared from having tons of pollutants released into the air. As companies become more environmentally conscious, they understand that there is a measurable return on their investment by developing an effective video conferencing program.

The Numbers

Using data compiled by factoring in results from the latest surge, research houses such as In-Stat and Wainhouse have come up with some fascinating projections:

According to In-Stat/MDT……

The number of remote workers in the United States will reach 51 million by 2008. By 2010 more than 70% of work will take place at a different time/different place or same time/different place. 82% of workers collaborate with people in other locations.

According to Wainhouse Research……

More than 40 percent of people in the U.S. workforce are taking fewer trips. More than 70 percent are interested in alternatives to travel. 63 percent rate access to collaboration technology (such as voice, web and video conferencing) as very important, as opposed to 44 percent prior to Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council……

Sales of motorcycles increased by 8.5 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

That's right; more people are buying motorcycles as a way to save on gas! The saying is, "America loves its cars," but when gas prices climb out of control, Americans are not shy about looking at other alternatives. After all, love is a two-way street. The soaring prices for gasoline have even made some companies employ some rather unorthodox technologies. A well-known shipping company has recently implemented a technology that prints out routes for its truck deliveries featuring only right turns. This way the trucks are not left idling, and wasting gas, while waiting for left-turn signals. If companies are willing to go to those extremes, it's easy to understand why video conferencing is becoming a popular solution.
Tip! Perhaps the biggest advantage or benefit video conferencing has to offer is the ability to meet with people in remote locations without incurring travel expenses or other expenses associated with face to face communication. Business meetings, educational meetings, healthcare conferences and more can all be easily conducted thanks to video conferencing technology.

The thinking is, if you can have a face-to-face meeting with a business partner from the comfort of your office or conference room, why lose hours on the road and spend on gas? Apparently, sitting in a traffic jam is losing its appeal. So is emitting tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Therefore, video conferencing is an easy and very justifiable way for companies to become more environmentally-friendly.

The fact is that many businesses are becoming more proactive about creating efficiencies in different parts of their organization. Many have found that they can actually improve the way they collaborate internally, as well as with partners and customers, while eliminating costs and productivity losses associated with road and air transportation. Since many organizations have branch, partner and customer offices located throughout the country, they sometimes spend tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars each year in business travel costs. The considerable improvements to the clarity and reliability of video conference technology, as well as its lower cost of entry, has placed it atop of the list of solutions that are helping companies survive the Great Gas Gouge.

The Next Surge

This latest surge in video conferencing usage teaches us an important lesson: never underestimate human ingenuity and our ability to rebound from difficult conditions. The fact is that, despite the trials of the last few years, organizations have learned to become more efficient and productive. They've emerged smarter than ever before. However, smart companies don't wait for tragedies or difficult economic/environmental factors to call them into action. As it appears, the next surge may ultimately be due to common sense.
Tip! You can set up for audio video conferencing in a number of different ways. The older method, still great for a wide variety of teleconferencing purposes, is to have one group in one room, another group in another room (perhaps in another city or country), and have them talk to each other.

Copyright © Harold German, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

For many years, Harold German has been recognized as a knowledgeable source for information on corporate branding methodologies. Mr. German is a renowned author and contributor, with appearances in noted international publications such as The Economist, and on news stations such as CNN. Mr. German is a former director of IVCi, LLC, is the director of marketing at Innovative Stone, and is proprietor of Wainscoting Long Island.

Video Conferencing - Tips On How To Make Your Meeting A Success

2007-11-27T19:11:00.003-08:00

One of the great business tools of the last few years that the internet has brought to the marketplace is video conferencing. This allows a group of people to be able to meet and collaborate together through sight and sound no matter where they are located throughout the world.

It should be obvious to see that there are many benefits that businesses can derive from video conferencing including being able to hold office meetings in real time without having to pay the travel costs associated to bring people from various locations together at one time. It also saves on the lost productivity spent in just traveling there.

So how do you make sure that the web conference is a success? Here are a few tips to help you plan for your next video conference session:

1. The person conducting the video conference will most likely want to arrive early, and make sure that all of the equipment is functioning correctly well before the meeting begins. You don't want to have to be fumbling with equipment problems when the meeting is scheduled to start. They should all be ironed out well in advance.

2. The conductor at the video conference should also try to pay attention to the kind of clothes that they wear for the meeting, as bright and bold colors can be very distracting and perhaps even irritating on a video screen. So try to keep clothing colors as muted and solid as possible.

3. Another common cause for irritation while video conferences are going on is excessive movement on the part of the speaker. So whoever is speaking needs to make a conscious effort to try to keep their motion and movements during the discussion down to a minimum.

4. Everyone on the video conference should be made aware that the microphones can be very sensitive, even picking up very small and inconspicuous sounds. So everyone on the conference needs to know that they should be careful to avoid sounds like tapping pencils on a desk, or other similar sounds that can be distracting. They also should be made aware that they should not try to whisper something during the meeting that they do not want everyone else to hear, as it could prove embarrassing if amplified by the microphone.

5. The main speaker of the video conference can also add immeasurably toward the enjoyment of the meeting by imagining that everyone else on the call is in the same room, and by maintaining eye contact with the video camera. This will usually result in natural gestures and a comfortable speaking style that is easy for everyone else to follow.

If you practice these ideas, they will most likely help you to conduct successful and enjoyable video conferences.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including communication. You can find online teleconferencing and online web conferencing and more by visiting our communication website.

Video Conferencing - How It Works And Why You Should Use It

2007-11-27T19:11:00.002-08:00

The internet has made possible several marvelous technologies that enhance our lives in many ways. One very useful technology that has been gaining ground recently is video conferencing over the internet. Let's examine what it is and how it can be used effectively.

Video conferencing essentially allows a group of individuals anywhere around the world who have internet access to be able to hold a simultaneous meeting together without having to physically meet one another in any specific location. It's a method of combining simultaneous video and audio so that a meaningful discussion or meeting can take place in real-time over the internet.

So what do you need in order to have a video conference? Successful video conferencing components include video cameras, microphones, video conferencing software, and the computer equipment necessary to connect to the internet and process the sound and video data.

In order to accomplish the transmission of the video and audio portions of the meeting, the video conferencing software that is used must take the input from the microphones and cameras, convert them into digital signals that are encoded and then transmitted across the internet where they are received and decoded back into images and sound on the other end.

So who can make use of this advanced communications technology? Well, almost anyone who needs to meet with a group of other people who may not be local to them. Quite a few businesses are adopting this technology because it allows them to be able to communicate with personnel and offices no matter where they are located around the world, and share important ideas and planning strategies. And the biggest advantage for business is that they don't have to pay for the travel costs necessary to bring all of those people together at one time, and they don't lose productivity spent during the travel time to get there. So for many businesses it's a very positive solution for office related communications.

Schools are also starting to use video conferencing quite a bit as distance learning over the internet continues to rise in popularity. It enables them to be able to teach subjects, and hold classes over the internet for their students without them having to be physically present.

There are many other ways to make good use of internet video conferencing, as they can be beneficial for almost any group of people that needs to meet and discuss important topics in real-time without physically gathering together in the same place.

Hopefully the information presented in this article will help you understand more about how video conferencing actually works, and who can best make use of this marvelous technology.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including communication. You can find online teleconferencing and online web conferencing and more by visiting our communication website.

Video Conferencing Hardware and You

2007-11-27T19:11:00.001-08:00

If you are new to the game there is some video conferencing hardware to consider.

Gone are the days when you had to fly across the country and drain your company's expense account just to attend a two-hour meeting. Now, all you have to do is turn on your computer and you're ready to go.

But if you are new to the world of video conferencing online, it may not be that easy. You might not have any idea of the different video conferencing hardware components that you will need to get started. To make things even more difficult, a quick Internet search for the phrase "video conferencing camera" brings up more than 42,000 entries. Yikes!

In the interest of protecting your sanity and boosting your status in the eyes of your boss, we've provided a brief list of the basic pieces of equipment you'll need to get conferencing and good places to buy them:

Personal Computer

Most offices these days are equipped with personal computers (PC). These temperamental creatures are a necessary evil to keep your business organized and competitive in the twenty-first century market. A PC is also completely essential to video conferencing, as your computer hooks up with other computers so that you can conduct your meetings online.

Modem

Whether DSL or dial-up, most offices these days are connected to the Internet. The web is a valuable tool in business today and almost everyone has a website - even your neighbor's dog. Internet connection is a must for online conferencing, as you actually have to be online for this type of conferencing. Dial-up services will work for video conferencing online, but your images will be less clear. ISDN connections work best as they provide the fastest connection speeds and clearest pictures.
Tip! In 2001, Windows XP messenger announced that it would now support Session Initiation Protocol. This was the same year the world's first transatlantic tele-surgery took place utilizing video conferencing.

Camera

A video conferencing camera is an important piece of hardware as it enables you to talk face to face to your colleague or customer across the country. Without them, you're just audio conferencing. Prices for video conferencing cameras range from a basic IBM model going for $40 to a snazzier PolyCom model that runs about $499. Logitech sells a model specially designed for laptops or notebooks.
Tip! In video conferencing, synchronized images and verbal communication are transmitted between two or more locations.

Cables and Stuff

You will need a USB cable to convert the images that your camera records to a format that your computer can understand. USB Gear provides several different types of equipment that take up minimal space on your PC and will get the job done.

Microphone

Unless you want your video conference to become just a visual conference, some type of microphone is necessary for each participant to communicate with the others. Wideband Solutions sells different microphones designed to cover both small and large boardrooms. If you just need a microphone to cover you and your desk, Phoniex Audio sells a microphone that will do the job.

Headset

While not completely necessary, a headset is a convenient piece of equipment for any savvy video conferencer. Imagine trying to crunch some numbers on a spreadsheet and carry on a conversation about your budget with a phone awkwardly cradled in the crook of your shoulder, while your boss looks on from 300 miles away. Not exactly the put-together professional image you want to convey.

Time to Shop!

Ebay and Amazon are good spots to go for used equipment, but buyer beware - you never know what condition it might reach you in. Always be sure to use reputable sellers with good customer ratings. PolyCom is well known in the industry and sells top-of-the line equipment. You can also try NexTag. This site that provides a search of the best prices on whatever electronic equipment you specify.
Tip! There are various types of videoconferencing; which is suitable for your application will depend upon the IT structure available and what it is that you actually want to achieve. Video conferencing has in the past been relatively expensive, but prices are coming down and it is possible for anyone with a fast enough internet connection to operate a video conference.

Mark Walters manages http://www.VideoConferencingStar.com and suggest you learn how to choose a Internet Webcam here.