TORREVIEJA.com - Interactive website of the city of Torrevieja, in Alicante, Spain.: Live Video Conferencing and Broadcasting - Introduction

Live Video Conferencing and Broadcasting - Introduction
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Redacción  on 05 May, 2008 09:05:00
 
As we have seen in the previous articles in this series, video streaming is a
technology that is accessible to anyone with a computer and an Internet
connection. One step up from Video On Demand (VOD) streaming is live video
broadcasting over the Internet. Although demanding more resources than VOD,
live video broadcasting is becoming more accessible to the average computer
user.
Video Broadcasting
Live Internet video broadcasting is sometimes called 'webcasting'. Up until
recently it has been the exclusive domain of large corporations or institutions
with the financing to setup the necessary infrastructure. Webcasting is now
available to the masses and almost anyone can host their own Internet TV
station.
Webcasting at its most basic requires just a simple webcam and a broadband
Internet connection. The quality of this kind of webcasting, however, can be
very poor, with frequent pauses and poor image quality.
Higher quality webcasting requires the use of a specialized video streaming
server. Streaming servers can handle higher bandwidths and are designed for
high-quality webcasts. They are also expensive.
Video Conferencing
An off-shoot of one-way live video broadcasting is live video conferencing
where several participants in different locations can see and hear each other.
Each participant may also be able to see and manipulate computer programs such
as spreadsheets.
This type of video conferencing is ideal for large companies that have branch
offices separated at great distances. Rather than travelling to a meeting, an
Internet video conferencing session can be set up. This saves the time and
expense of travelling.
Internet video conferences are also ideal for universities. Guest speakers from
anywhere in the world can participate in seminars without disrupting their
schedules.
The technology for live video conferencing is several years old and has found
its way into a range of applications ranging from mundane online chatting to
critically important telemedicine. As broadband Internet becomes more
commonplace, we are likely to see even more extensive use of this technology.
Telemedicine
Another important use of video conferencing is telemedicine. Patients in remote
locations can consult with doctors thousands of miles away. This is especially
important to small communities with limited medical facilities and can often
save patients the time and expense of travelling to a large medical facility.
A variety of technologies can be used to supplement live video conferencing.
Participants can communicate verbally by speaking into a microphone, but this
can cut down on the bandwidth available to the video. Alternatively
participants can talk using traditional phones, cell phones or Internet
telephones (VoIP).
Desktop sharing applications allow participants to manipulate computer data on
remote computers. This is ideal for illustrating certain procedures which might
be difficult to explain verbally.