What types of video conferences exist?

Conferences can be symmetric and asymmetric

What are the major advantages of video conferences?

Video conferencing tools can save users’ time, offer them helpful collaboration tools and ensure confidentiality as well as effective real-time communication.

What is the maximum number of participants in a virtual meeting?

Using TrueConf Server - 1600. Any participant can become a speaker during a virtual meeting

Can I invite SIP/H.323/RTSP subscribers?

Yes, if you are using TrueConf Server. You can invite PBX subscribers and users of third-party SIP/H.323 solutions to a virtual meeting as well as connect to IP cameras (RTSP).

How many replies can a user make during a conference?

The number of replies is not limited. One reply lasts for 3 seconds.

What is Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is a visual communication session between two or more users regardless of their location, featuring audio and video content transmission in real time.

In broad terms, video conferencing software is a solution that allows two or more persons to talk and see each other remotely. Initially video conferencing software only enabled users to make video calls or hold group video conferences. However, as technology advanced, video conferencing software acquired plenty of helpful tools and features for remote communication and learning.

Today, video conferencing is rather a tool for integrated into video collaboration and unified communications platforms that also offer screen sharing, slideshow, recording, instant messaging, project management tools, telephony integration among other features. As an increasing number of companies switch to remote work, video conferencing is gradually becoming the new normal, shaping the way we communicate, learn and work.

Sick of endless emails and staff meetings? Enjoy the freedom to work and study from anywhere with video conferencing. Start your meeting in one click and cut it in half with screen sharing and video recording. Add a personal touch to your work communications with TrueConf!

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Save your time
You can run video meetings with remote colleagues on the run right from your desktop or meeting room. With a video meeting solution you don’t waste your time and money on business vacations, cut event management costs, etc.
Meet with ease
You just need to schedule your video meeting, invite your colleagues and start video conferencing right away! Your conferencing software will also send you a notification to remind you of your meeting.
Brainstorm ideas
For an efficient workflow video conferencing system often features different collaboration tools, such as content and screen sharing, slideshow, or instant messaging. Collaboration tools allow multiple users to work on a joint project, share their results and brainstorm ideas.
Get real-life impressions
As compared to phone talks, video conferencing is much closer to real life as it features visual contact. During a video meeting you can see the user's emotions and articulation and establish eye contact, which is crucial for social communication and especially business interactions.
Secure your communications
Modern video conferencing systems are based on specialized codecs, proprietary protocols and actively using encryption, which is why security risks can only be caused by a human factor.

In 2020, video conferencing apps have seen an unprecedented rise in downloads due to COVID-19 pandemic. According to Transparency Market Research, the video conferencing market is expected to grow from $6.1 billion in 2019 to $11.56 billion by the end of 2027. What are the main growth drivers of the video conferencing market?

The rise of remote working
An increasing number of companies tend to switch to remote work and online collaboration. This trend has persisted for a number of years, however, it has certainly become mainstream due to the far-reaching implications of COVID-19. Many businesses have to adopt video conferencing solutions in effort to maintain their efficiency amidst travel restrictions and quarantine. In many ways, recent events have made it quite clear that effective video collaboration tools are critical for the proper performance of any organization.
Ease of use and no downloads
Video conferencing software should be easy to adopt and use by non-experienced IT users. It should be simple to start or join a video meeting, invite meeting participants or manage your conference from any device. It is also important to allow users to connect from their browsers without installing any apps. This opportunity was opened up by the development of WebRTC technologies facilitating in-browser communication.
From meeting rooms to huddle spaces and workplaces
Users do not want video communication to be limited by the boundaries of conference halls and meeting rooms. Instead, video conferencing has become a simple day-to-day communication tool that is used on workplaces: you can take part in large video meetings, share your content, record conferences, exchange messages - all of it from your own PC. Such changes have been made possible by the wide adoption of SVC (scalable video coding) architecture allowing organizations to hold thousands of conferences on usual servers. Besides, this technology has made it easier and less costly for businesses to connect new users.
Security and reliability of your meeting solution
Meeting solutions should be able to operate in changing network conditions or low bandwidth to allow consistent video conferencing experience. This is essential for users working from home in regions where there’s insufficient internet bandwidth.

Video Conferencing Modes

Video session involving two participants who can see and hear each other simultaneously. Video calls are perfect for face-to-face communication with your colleagues.

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Full-duplex video session involving more than two participants who can see and hear each other simultaneously. Multipoint video conference is similar to a roundtable discussion where all participants have equal rights. This video conferencing mode is perfect if you need to engage all meeting participants.

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Video session where the speaker can see and hear all the students, while the students can see and hear only the speaker. This way, the students easily focus on the learning process and don’t get distracted by other students, while the instructor is able to monitor each of them.

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Video conferencing mode featuring two primary types of meeting roles: presenters and attendees. Presenters can participate in a meeting with audio, video and content, while attendees can engage using chat, reactions or push-to-talk. This mode is perfect for large-scale meetings and product demos.

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Which video conferencing platform is right for your business? The answer generally depends on your organization’s unique requirements and needs. While personal communication is not demanding and doesn’t require complicated setups, enterprise customers are usually looking at more advanced features, such as 4K resolution, large-scale meetings, integration with conference room systems, reports and monitoring, etc.

When choosing the best video conferencing software it is important to note that cloud-based video conferencing systems largely depend on an Internet connection and third-party security measures, creating vulnerabilities for enterprises adopting the technology. Privacy-conscious orgs usually opt in for self-hosted collaboration platforms that operate totally offline in your LAN/VPN network to ensure that all communications, meeting recordings and personal data stay within your company network under your supervision.

Here is an overview of the best video conferencing software with a breakdown of features our customers care about the most.

	TrueConf	Zoom	Cisco Webex	Microsoft Teams	Jitsi
Overall performance
Deployment type	On-premises, hybrid or cloud.	Cloud or hybrid.	Cloud.	Cloud.	On-premises or cloud.
Offline operation	+	-	-	-	+
Video conferencing features
4K (UltraHD) video support	+	-	-	-	+
Maximum size of video conference	1,000	1000	200	300	75
Max number of on-screen participants	36. Up to 100 on request.	Up to 49. Up to 25 over H.323/SIP gateway.	25	49	12
Unlimited video layouts	+	-	-	-	-
Interoperability
Compatibility with H.323/SIP endpoints	+	Additional subscriptions in the cloud or a separate virtual machine for a gateway required.	-	Third-party service subscription required.	SIP compatibility is unstable and requires installation of additional software packages. H.323 support unavailable.
Dial out and telephony	+	-	-	+	+
SMTP integration	+	+	+	+	+