Advances in Video Conference Technology

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Many features common to most videoconferencing software are worth exploring. Video and audio interaction can be supplemented with written communication in a talk window. One can e-mail brief, private messages to individual colleagues during a group videoconference or present a written piece of text for group comment. This feature is particularly useful when one is dialing up from a modem at home (instead of connecting directly from an Internet Protocol address in the office), where sound or voice is seriously degraded.

The core technology used in a 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.
With today’s advances in High Definition Video Conference Technology a clearer picture and sound is transmitted with less bandwidth. A high definition video conference system does not compare with the video conference systems of old. LifeSize of Austin, Texas offers HD video conference technology at prices that are lower and much more affordable than other high-end vendors.