Choosing the Best Video Conference
Software
While there is a lot of contention out there on
what
exactly IS the best web video conferencing software around, one principle
perhaps can be agreed upon by all: The best video conferencing software
has to be the one that allows efficient conferencing with little regard
of location, bandwidth, and even operating system.
web video conferencing software
Why? The point of video conferencing after all is
to
bridge the gaps created by different geographic locations. If certain
video conferencing software disallows the connection between say, Mac
and PC users, then the purpose of conferencing is somewhat defeated. It
is ironic that with all this technology available, this one issue
cannot be resolved.
Fortunately, this issue HAS been addressed and
resolved
by web video conferencing software that allows the interaction of users,
regardless of operating system. There are three video conferencing
software that bridge the Mac and Windows divide. To find out which one
would serve your needs best, read the descriptions that follow.
Session by WaveThree
As the pioneer in effectively bridging the Mac and
PC divide, Session
stands out as an impressive selection. Session can provide excellent
quality audio and video conferencing and even allows application and
desktop sharing, where a user is allowed to manipulate a program
residing on another party’s computer. The basic user
interface is
intuitive. Advanced users can customize the program to their needs
using the Options control.
One drawback to Session would probably be that it
only
works on high-speed connections (1 meg and over). Users with lower
bandwidths may not be able to use the program as of now. Primary reason
for this is perhaps to ensure that video and audio signals are of clear
and excellent quality every time. A lower speed connection would
compromise such features. For example, because of this high bandwidth
requirement, Session's audio capabilities allow everyone to
talk
simultaneously (duplex), as opposed to needing one party to finish
before another can speak.
MediaSpace,
or the shared whiteboard facility, have impressive features such as:
- drag
and drop ability for most image file formats.
Users can show pictures and images on the fly by simply dragging the
image onto the whiteboard as he probably would in a real life meeting.
-live
annotation tools
the software has annotation tools that help parties keep track of what
was said and by whom.
- full
screen playback of presentations.
This last feature could then effectively allow Powerpoint presentations
on both Mac and PC systems. All the user has to do is save the slides
as graphic files and use the media library to manage the slide
sequence.
This program can be downloaded from the
publisher’s sight and a free 30-day trial period is
available.
The program is a desktop solution for both Win XP, 2000, and MacOS X.
Other software that have effectively bridged the
divide
are iVisit, which you can download for free with a registration. It is
a desktop solution available for Windows 9x, ME, NT/2000, XP and MacOS
X.
Pixion is another web video conferencing software with similar features and
can be availed of for a free seven-day try out. This, however, is not
made for desktops, but rather for ASP or server-based systems. It comes
in variants for Win 9x, ME, NT/2000, XP, MacOS 8.x, MacOS X and Unix.
As mentioned before, there really is no sure fire
way of
determining THE best
software. Each one is relative to the conferencing
requirements, as well as budget of every individual and organization.
The trick is to know what you need and the financial resources you can
allow to satisfy those communication needs. There is bound to be
software out there that can meet both those parameters.
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