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Video & Web Conferencing: How To Choose The System That Is Best For You
Video conferencing, web conferencing and online meetings are
fast becoming important tools for organizations that must
communicate with staff, clients or students in different
geographical locations. If you have been thinking about using
this technology for your enterprise, it is important to first
outline your needs and then match them with the various online
conferencing systems that are being offered in the marketplace.
Here are a few things to consider when you shop around for the
system that is best for you:
1. Do you need to communicate with one static location or with a
variety of possibly changing locations? Some conferencing
systems are designed to connect two or more specific locations.
If you have a head office and a fixed branch office that you
want to communicate with, then a fixed connection system could
work for you.
However, if you want to connect with a variety of locations or
allow people anywhere to join your conferences or meetings then
you should choose a system that allows you to add users no
matter where they log in from.
2. Do you want a browser based system or can you work with
proprietary software? A few of the original web and video
conferencing applications had their own software and even
specific hardware to install. Now it is possible to use
conferencing systems that run on all browsers and all operating
systems without the need for special hardware. Take a look at
the various systems being offered and choose the one that would
fit in with your organization's technical capabilities.
3. Are some of your participants behind firewalls? These days
many, if not most offices, and even individual computers
connected to the Internet are protected by firewalls. The
firewalls keep hackers out, but they may also pose a problem for
some conferencing systems. Check to see if the conferencing
system of your choice can deal with this problem.
4. How
important is video to you? If you would like to see your
colleagues and staff as they participate in your meetings, then
you will need a system that allows some locations to hook up to
the meeting with a web camera. Check to see how many individual
video windows are allowed by the various applications that you
consider, and choose the one that best meets your needs.
5. What features do you need? Do you want to poll attendees and
get immediate results while you are online? Some systems allow
the host to present a question and then all the participants can
vote or give an answer with the click of their mouse.
Do you want to share applications online? If your conferencing
system allows application sharing then it is possible for the
host to present PowerPoint presentations, for example, that will
be visible to all the attendees.
Make a list of the communications features that you need and
match them to the capabilities of each system that you consider.
6. What is your budget? Of course you want the most features
that are possible but you also have to weigh-in the costs. When
you make your decision, keep in mind the benefits that you will
get by communicating online, think about the cost of doing this
offline and then look at the fees charged by the conference
technology providers. Choose a communications package that will
give you a good return on your investment.
Now, armed with this checklist, go online and do a search for
web or video conferencing and pick out a system that will allow
you to conduct your meetings online at a price that you can
afford.
About the author:
Dan Richmond is CEO & Co-founder of MegaMeeting.com. MegaMeeting
provides Web Conferencing & Video Conferencing services for
individuals, businesses and educational institutions. For more
information, or for a free live demonstration, please visit
http://www.MegaMeeting.com/ or call (818) 783-4311.
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| Videoconferencing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Such videoconferencing systems consisted of two closed-circuit television systems ... There are MCU bridges for IP and ISDN-based videoconferencing. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| www.kn.pacbell.com |
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| AT&T Knowledge Network Explorer: Videoconference Adventures |
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| www.kn.pacbell.com |
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| Polycom Worldwide: - videoconferencing, speakerphone,speaker phone ... |
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| ViDe Videoconferencing Cookbook |
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| WebEx: Web Conferencing, Online Meetings, and Video Conferencing |
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| What is videoconferencing? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia ... |
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| Video Conferencing | Equipment | Systems | Audio Visual | IP ... |
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| Videoconference.com - Videoconference rooms & software |
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| SAVIE VideoConferencing Atlas |
| Provides guidance for those seeking information on the use of videoconferencing technologies for education and training. |
| www.savie.com |
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| Video Conference Tool |
| Videoconferencing Tool (VIC). Note: These pages are largely superceded by those at ... VIC is a video conferencing application developed by the Network R ... |
| www-mice.cs.ucl.ac.uk |
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| Apple - Mac OS X - iChat AV |
| Since iChat video conferencing is completely integrated into your iChat buddy list ... Producing higher resolution than that of competing video conferencing ... |
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| NetMeeting Home |
| Voice/video conferencing, Windows Live Messenger, Office Live Meeting2 ... Office Live Meeting will provide hosted video conferencing as a complement to web ... |
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| Best Video Conferencing and Videochat software for PC and MAC |
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| www.ivisit.com |
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| ABCs of videoconferencing |
| Pick the right client device, figure out LAN bandwidth requirements, nail down WAN links, then start conferencing. |
| www.networkworld.com |
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| :: Videoconferencing - Proximity Videoconferencing :: |
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| www.proximity.com |
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| Aethra ISDN and IP video conferencing systems |
| Aethra is a leader in the global telecommunications market in IP and ISDN video conferencing systems. |
| www.aethra.com |
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| Video Conferencing | LifeSize Communications |
| Video Conferencing with LifeSize Communications. ... Through innovative, next generation videoconferencing technology, the LifeSize high definition product ... |
| www.lifesize.com |
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| Dwyco Video Conferencing |
| Send and receive video, audio, and chat in real-time across the Internet. [Win95/98/Me/NT/2000] |
| www.dwyco.com |
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