What is video conferencing?

It is collaborative communication, through real time transmission of video, audio, and data sharing, over a distance. 

What are the benefits?

• Employees in one office can meet face-to-face with employees in another office to brainstorm and resolve problems without expensive travel.  
• Regional meetings that once pulled dozens of people out of their offices and piled up thousands of dollars in travel expenses now happen in the space of an hour.  

How do you connect?

There are two communication standards for business quality video conferencing:

• H.320 (ISDN)
• H.323 (IP)

H.320 (ISDN) is generally available in most larger cities worldwide, however, it may not be readily available in some remote areas.   Currently in Alaska, ISDN service is only available in Anchorage. 

H.323 (Internet Protocol) or Networked-based Video Conferencing allows communication over a Public or Private Network. 

What are the video conferencing components?

Endpoints:

An endpoint is the communication device in a video conference solution. Endpoints can vary widely from a simple desktop solution to an integrated boardroom system.

Gatekeepers:

The gatekeeper is the traffic cop of the video conferencing system. It provides call authorization and address translation for both accepting and placing calls between H.323 endpoints. The gatekeeper manages an administrative domain called a "zone". Each zone can have only one active gatekeeper, but there can be many zones and therefore many gatekeepers within an organization.

Gateways:

The gateway is the translator between communication standards. It provides connectivity between H.323 endpoints and other types of endpoints. A gateway allows an H.320 (ISDN) or analog telephone system to call into an H.323 conference and vice versa.

Multipoint Control Unit (MCU):

The multipoint control unit bridges the activity of three or more H.323 endpoints enabling them to conference together. The MCU mixes all the audio coming from the endpoints and switches video based on some criteria, such as the last person speaking. Continuous presence, often referred to as "Hollywood Squares", is an option that is available with some multipoint control units.

What kind of user are you ?

• Point to Point (Two Endpoints)
• Multipoint (Three or More Endpoints)

Point to Point - What do you need?

Multipoint - What do you need?