The typical video Conference doesn’t involve an actual telephone these days.
The telephone has been replaced with cameras, microphones, and speakers.
When Teleconferencing was first invented it was simply two closed-circuit television sets wired together.
The first commercial use of this technology was in Germany in the 1930’s.
People went to the post office and could talk to any other post office that was connected to the system.
Prior to 1984, video conference involved machines typically weighing 100 lbs.
They cost on average US $100,000.00
The Machines were proprietary equipment.
You could not use your equipment to talk to someone with another company’s equipment.
This made teleconferencing a very limited technology, and it was therefore not widely used at all.
Today the technology has developed incredibly quickly.
Now videoconference capabilities far outstripping what was possible even ten years ago.
SmartPhone Video Calls
Today most people choose to pop into a smartphone video call or meeting if its not a large pre-planned event.
Its fast and Easy.
You can arrange the call via chat in the minutes before hand.
For a one on one call it works amazing.
Especially for those working from Home you feel the Team participation more.
How Quickly Conferencing has Changed
Barely 2 years ago Video Conferencing was the latest trending big deal.
Everyone was making sure they had the ability to have images / video based meetings.
Today video conferencing has become normal.
Anyone having a provider in the sector without Video is going out of business.
In Truth it is actually tuff to find anyone with voice only conferencing capability.
Now specialty Conference Capability is becoming more and more important.
A Classic example is Conferencing specializing in the Tech sector.
Participants share screen on the side to review Programming and have the entire group run thru code.
This truely makes programmers able to work from home.
Comparing early Conferencing it is no wonder that Video Conferencing has become the New Minimum Standard.
Consider that people use all our senses to take in our world.
Sound, smell, but as Humans we rely on Visual above all others.
This means we read so much into what we see when we talk to others that conferences held Voice only as too ‘Flat’.
They are not as effective as Video Conferencing.
Many participants in Voice only Conferences leave with the wrong impression on at least 5 things that we covered.
This is a disaster for business meetings as the goal is to get the entire team moving in one direction.
Video Conferencing Requirements
Today’s videoconferences involve a fast internet connection.
You will typically need a Microphone, Speakers , and a Camera.
Reasonably powerful computers.
Software that supports and connects all of those things.
The basic technology used to enable videoconferencing is digital compression of audio and visual stream in real time.
Good quality equipment is available for a very reasonable prices.
It can save a company a great deal of money by making physical travel unnecessary in many instances.
Top 3 Video Conference Requirements
There are only three basic types of videoconferencing systems, and both have their advantages and disadvantages.
The first type is a dedicated system.
These are specifically built only to accommodate videoconferencing.
It consists of a console with all the necessary hardware pre-installed.
These consoles can be large.
Installed in conference rooms meant to hold many people.
The second type of system is an add-on to a desktop computer.
The Conferencing Software is installed on the original computer.
Software components synchronize every computer making them work seamlessly.
The third type of system is a WebRTC platform.
This is a system that is available through a standard web browser.
Web based Conference Systems require you to download and install their Software.
Alternately the user to access a designated URL that gives them access to the videoconference.
Whichever method you choose they all work remarkably well.
This makes it possible to have a face-to-face conversation with someone thousands of miles away.
While many people work in a traditional office and only go to meetings down the hallway, a new breed of satellite office workers are now only using Video Conferencing methods for all there meetings.
Read our Main Article on Video Conferencing to understand your options and limitations.
