Videoconferencing uses telecommunications of audio and video to bring people at different sites together for a meeting. This can be as simple as a conversation between two people in private offices (point-to-point) or involve several sites (multi-point) with more than one person in large rooms at different sites. Besides the audio and visual transmission of meeting activities, videoconferencing can be used to share documents, computer-displayed information, and whiteboards.
Simple analog videoconferences could be established as early as the invention of the television. Such videoconferencing systems usually consisted of two closed-circuit television systems connected via cable. An example of that was the German Reich Postzentralamt (Post Office) network set up in Berlin and several other cities from 1936 to 1940.[1][2]
During the first manned space flights, NASA used two radiofrequency (UHF or VHF) links, one in each direction. TV channels routinely use this kind of videoconferencing when reporting from distant locations, for instance. Then mobile links to satellites using specially equipped trucks became rather common.
Videoconferencing first demonstrated in 1968
This technique was very expensive, though, and could not be used for applications such as telemedicine, distance education, and business meetings. Attempts at using normal telephony networks to transmit slow-scan video, such as the first systems developed by AT&T, failed mostly due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression techniques. The greater 1 MHz bandwidth and 6 Mbit/s bit rate of Picturephone in the 1970s also did not cause the service to prosper.
It was only in the 1980s that digital telephony transmission networks became possible, such as ISDN, assuring a minimum bit rate (usually 128 kilobits/s) for compressed video and audio transmission. The first dedicated systems started to appear in the market as ISDN networks were expanding throughout the world. Video teleconference systems throughout the 1990s rapidly evolved from highly expensive proprietary equipment, software and network requirements to standards based technology that is readily available to the general public at a reasonable cost.
Finally, in the 1990s, IP (Internet Protocol) based videoconferencing became possible, and more efficient video compression technologies were developed, permitting desktop, or personal computer (PC)-based videoconferencing. In 1992 CU-SeeMe was developed at Cornell by Tim Dorcey et al. In the 2000s, VTC finally arrived for the masses via free services, web plugins and on-line telecommunication programs which brought cheap, albeit low-quality, videoconferencing to almost every home with an Internet connection.
Video conferencing can be used in a variety of different situations, proving why the technology remains so well used. Primarily, uses for video conferencing technology include business meetings, training sessions or collaboration amongst public sector officials.
The most important advantage of the technology is that it provides the ability for people to converse face to face yet be in locations hundreds of miles away. This prevents any large travel expenses that could be incurred when meeting an associate and concurrently, reduces the time expense of a face to face meeting.
In addition, meetings can be facilitated between people living in isolated locations and the wider world – be that for business or even personal uses. As such, more people can be effectively accessed and contacted using video conferencing technology.
Due to its ease of use, information can be relayed more effectively, with students able to take part in lectures that may not be possible to travel to. Users can take in information in the comfort of their own home or workplace and thus work or learn more effectively, without the need to take time out for travelling and its associated stress.
As such, video conferencing is seen to create better knowledge sharing and information receiving. From a corporate perspective, businesses can use the technology to promote presentations to vital members of their organisation or to attract new clients in a highly professional manner, regardless of their location.
Regular meetings can also be scheduled, no matter where colleagues may be at any given time. This allows a company to keep regular tabs on how projects are progressing and any areas that can be improved upon.
Certainly, in the current economic climate, it is important to embrace a technology that aids time management, reduces expense and makes a positive impact on the face of worldwide business communications.