Video Conferencing

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, videoconferencing can be used to share documents, computer-displayed information, and whiteboards.

Video Conferencing can be utilized in any number of business applications, and should be considered when:

• a live conversation is preferred
• visual information or a presentation is an component of the conversation
• the parties of the conversation can't physically come to the same location
• the expense or time of travel is prohibitive
• individuals in distant locations need to participate in meetings on short notice
• telecommuting, in which employees work from home

Some specialized applications for Video Conferencing solutions include but are not limited to:

Education

Through videoconferencing students can visit other parts of the world to speak with their peers, and visit museums and educational facilities. Small schools can use these technologies to pool resources and provide courses, such as in foreign languages, which could not otherwise be offered. A few examples of benefits that videoconferencing can provide in campus environments include:

• guest lecturers
• researchers collaborating with colleagues at other institutions on a regular basis without loss of time due to travel
• schools with multiple campuses collaborating and sharing professors

Medical

Videoconferencing is a highly useful technology for real-time telemedicine and telenursing applications, such as diagnosis, consulting, transmission of medical images, etc... With videoconferencing, physicians and other paramedical professionals can discuss cases across large distances. Special peripherals such as microscopes fitted with digital cameras, video endoscopes, medical ultrasound imaging devices, otoscopes, etc., can be used in conjunction with videoconferencing equipment to transmit data about a patient.