What is Video Conference

Video conferencing commences as a live streaming of videos for a face-to-face meeting without physical presence between two or more participants at various locations. It leverages video telephonic devices to have a formal conversation between business associates; address a large population at a formal event, candidate’s interview by universities or companies, diplomatic delegation, and more. 

Telephonic Devices

• Webcams: This is a variation of the video camera that has the capability to live stream a video call and audio in real time with the help of internet. It is either built-in a laptop or it is connected to computers with the help of USB and other such cables.

• Video phones: Mobile smartphones and some telephones have the capability to transmit and receive video calls in real time. These phones use the inbuilt digital camera and microphone of the telephone devices to transmit video calls. The capabilities of the cameras can be enhanced to transmit videos to multiple ends or members.

Examples of Internet Supported Video Calling Applications

• Skype: The application provides online instant messaging and video call facilities. It has a wide number of users and is extremely popular for its live streaming of video calls in real time. Multiple users can take part in video conferencing. Webcams and microphones are the external or inbuilt devices used in the process.

• FaceTime: The application is developed by Apple, only to serve iOS and Mac OS X operating systems. It has higher video streaming resolution. This application can only support one-on-one video calling. It has a minimal interface as an excelling quality.

• iMeet: It is a video conferencing platform that is based on the cloud. As many as 125 participants can use this service at the same time for video conferencing in real time. It is only supported by the browser, but it has applications for mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android. It freely integrates with popular social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

All of the above-mentioned application uses the internet to connect two or more end users for video conferencing or video calls.

Advantages of Video Conferencing:

• Cost effective: Video conferencing over long distances with the help of internet reduces the international telephone calls cost. It also provides the advantage of saving huge amounts of travel expenses—air tickets, railway tickets, car rentals, hotel bookings, and more. One time expenditure on video telephonic devices or technological infrastructures with in-built cameras minimizes the spending of few years effectively.

• Face to face meetings: It facilitates face to face meetings over large distances without having to travel. Psychologically face to face meetings provides loyalty, builds trust and has a greater impact on the participating members, hence video conferencing makes this process easier by connecting people through the live streaming virtual interface.

• Easy communication: Communication is simplified by connecting calls with the help of internet. If the end users or group has a ready internet connection, then it is capable of receiving and transmitting calls without much difficulty.

• Efficiency: Various applications are developed to increase the efficiency of video streaming and transmitting. The time taken to connect calls between phones using mobile networks over large distances and internationally is minimized. It also does not require specific country code to make calls. Some video conferencing applications uses the cloud to connect, this feature boosts the video streaming quality and increases the speed of transmitting and receiving video streams.  

• Time Flexibility: Video conferencing can be done to hold a face to face meeting with different members of a group, irrespective of their present location or the time differences in their respective locations.