Video conferencing is an audio-visual form of remote communication between people in real time.
Video conferencing is a technology that allows users to hold meetings remotely in real time, often at little to no cost. This time of communication is used in emergency cases, to reduce travel expenses in geographically distributed organizations, for judicial proceedings with the remote participation of convicts, and as one of the elements of telemedicine and distance learning technologies.
Step 1: Download TrueConf Server Free and get your registration key.
Step 2: Install and register in TrueConf Server.
Step 3: Create user accounts.
Step 4: Install and log in to the TrueConf client applications.
Step 5: Enjoy video conferencing.
The software is actively used in the B2B, B2C, education and healthcare markets. Interviews, employee onboarding and webinars can be conducted via video conferencing.
The valuable advantages are improved workflow efficiency and saved travel costs. All the user needs is basic computer technology and video conferencing software.
In today's fast-paced world, video conferencing has become one of the most important tools that helps businesses reach new prospects, meet new partners, and close profitable deals despite long distances and different time zones. This is due to the fact that video-based communication takes formal conversations to a higher level of mutual understanding through face-to-face contact and ability to follow the body language of your interlocutors. In addition, online conferences allow companies to boost productivity of remote workflows, as well as expand business activities outside the domestic country.
People started wondering what video communication would have looked like back in the early 1920s. However, revolutionary ideas were ahead of their time, and field tests of closed-circuit television in the 1960s and the Picturephone commercial service in the 1970s failed due to high cost. A few years later, in 1982, AT&T launched a ground-breaking Picturephone Meeting Service, with an hour of video communication between two offices costing $2,380. Some success was achieved in 1986 when PictureTel, today’s Polycom, designed a relatively low-price VC system that offered 60 minutes of video communication for $100.
In the early '90s, Tim Dorsey at Cornell University wrote a program called CU-SeeMe, which became the first desktop video meeting solution. However, online meetings were still a quite expensive option that only large organizations could afford. But technology does not stand still and in 1995, group video conferencing was released.
In fact, video communication is a virtual conversation between 2 or more participants, who can hear, see, and talk to each other in real time via video-enabled devices, desktops and mobiles. As for the business realm, a growing number of companies around the globe are taking advantage of online meetings, expanding connections with partners, customers, and suppliers, while keeping remote collaboration processes afloat in today’s hybrid working environment.
Developing over the decades, video conferencing has become one of the most convenient and effective ways to communicate remotely. Today’s online meeting solutions allow users not only to connect in real-time regardless of location, but also to share messages in chat, display content, take polls, collaborate with teammates on projects, and more. As for how this technology operates, the process can be divided into three major steps:
1. Compression (coding). The camera and microphone capture analog audio-visual input as continuous waves of frequencies and amplitudes: sounds, colors, brightness, depth, and shades. Afterwards, codecs convert the data into compressed digital packets to minimize bandwidth usage.
2. Transfer. Compressed data packets are sent over the network to the service provider, where the media streams are transmitted to conference participants.
3. Decompression (decoding). Once the packets reach endpoints, the codecs decompress the data back into analog audio and video, thus enabling users to see and hear the decoded feed.
In fact, the following 3 tools are required for a successful video conferencing experience:
1. Hardware. These are video-enabled devices, desktops and mobiles, or meeting room systems. For example, you can take either a laptop/PC with a webcam and headset, or a smartphone and tablet with a built-in camera.
2. Software. You need to choose a video conferencing platform you like, e.g. Microsoft Teams, TrueConf, Google Meet, download and install its client app for the operating system running your personal computer or mobile device.
3. Internet. Holding a video conference requires a stable Internet connection and minimum bandwidth of 8 Mbps for download and 1.5 Mbps for upload.
