Using VoIP and video conferencing
A Where live video is streamed over the internet so that people can communicate face-to-face without being in the same room. is live video streamed over the internet so that people can communicate face to face without being in the same room. Today, use of this technology is widespread. Businesses use video conferencing to keep in touch with clients and staff who work from home, while schools and colleges use it to educate pupils who may have attend lessons remotely. Socially, many people now choose to use video conferencing instead of traditional telecommunication methods such as phoning or texting. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that allows us to video conference. Many companies offer free VoIP services, including Zoom, Apple Facetime, Microsoft Teams and Whatsapp.
To video conference with another person, both people need an internet-connected computer with a monitor, webcam, microphone and speakers. The webcam allows video images to be sent, which are seen on the monitor, and the microphone allows sound to be transmitted, which is heard through speakers. A program called a Voice over internet protocol - a protocol used for communicating voice data over the internet. client handles the communication.
Video conferencing technology is built into many modern laptops, tablets and smartphones, and VoIP apps are available to use, often for free. Many office phones now offer video conferencing facilities too.
Advantages and disadvantages of video conferencing
Video conferencing has several advantages:
- Seeing as well as hearing the other person.
- Showing others what is going on around us.
- Reducing time to travel to see and speak with someone. This has even greater benefits if the other person is on the other side of the world.
- Saving money, in travel costs.
- The ability to video conference several people in different locations, at the same time.
Using video conferencing also has its disadvantages:
- Everyone who wants to video conference must have suitable hardware and software.
- Video conferencing from smartphones can be expensive because of the high data usage.
- Streaming video two ways requires a good deal of Bandwidth measures the amount of data that can transfer through a communications channel over a given period of time.. You might struggle to video conference if your connection to the internet is of poor quality.