How does video conferencing work?

Videoconferencing, unlike other Internet services, does not rely on standard protocols (languages). Everyone goes to their little sauce, and that’s why I told you above that the systems were not compatible with each other. (Unlike other technologies such as email that rely on standards: no matter what software you use you can communicate with someone else who uses mail software different from yours) .

On the other hand, very often video and audio streams are coded with standard standards. For example, video and sound are very often encoded/decoded in MPEG, but again, sometimes some develop their codec

Video conferencing equipment

Equipment

Here is the equipment that must be used to set up a video conference: (this is the material for each stakeholder or group of stakeholders)

• A screen: to see the other speakers,
• An audio system: to hear other speakers,
• A camera or webcam: to be able to film the speakers,
• A microphone: to record the conversation of the speakers.
• And finally, a system capable of managing everything and making everything communicate.

There are 2 possibilities:

• • All this material is connected to a computer,
  • Either this equipment is independent; everything is connected to a videoconferencing system.
  • Here is the role of this videoconferencing software

• The first role is to connect the various stakeholders. (we will have to communicate them)
• Another role is to send video and sound to others.
• It is also to receive the image and the sound of others and to display them and make them heard.

Some software like skype  has much more advanced options, such as:

Display the person speaking on the screen (and hide the others).

Tile the different speakers,

Allow a live written dialogue between people (without all stakeholders can see it)

Share your screen,

Take your hand at a distance,

View documents,

Allow editing documents remotely,

The different stages of a videoconference

• First, a reminder of what is done in the “real” life, to make a meeting:
• We must find a date available for everyone,
• You have to book a meeting room,
• Participants must be notified of the location, date and time of the meeting.
• Then the day of the meeting, the different participants will go to the meeting room.
• To connect the different speakers of the meeting, you have to put them in the same room. Attention, here I do not speak of physical room, but of a virtual meeting room, on which each of the speakers will come to connect. (some talk chat room).
• To be able to have a room, you have to ask the concierge. Again, often, this janitor is not physical. This is a virtual concierge but has kept the word concierge.
• Once the meeting manager has booked a room, he will send the connection settings to the various speakers:
• Number of the virtual room,
• Code or password of the room,
• Time and date of start of the connection.
• At the indicated time, the various speakers will connect to this room and be put in relation.