VIDEOCONFERENCING

George Jetson, a character in the 1970s cartoon, was not
terribly futuristic when he used his telephone that enabled
him to see the person to whom he was talking. Videoconferencing,
as it is known today, has been under development
in the research labs at Pacific Bell since the 1920s.
The project, referred to as picturephone, is in the form of
a desktop videoconferencing system. Videoconferencing
rooms have been in existence at AT&T since the 1960s,
where they are used to support large corporate meetings,
including the annual shareholder’s meeting.
It was not until the 1964 World’s Fair that the picturephone
was introduced to the public. AT&T predicted
that the picturephone would replace the telephone by
1970. Although that prediction was wrong, the recession
of the 1970s created a wider acceptance of videoconferencing
by corporations that were looking for alternative
ways to conduct meetings and conferences while cutting
travel costs. Videoconferencing was not successful at that
time, however, because the technology needed to attain
personalized meetings was lacking.
With technology becoming more affordable and economically
justifiable, practical and profitable applications
of teleconferencing have gained popularity in the business
world. With increasing competition and the need for faceto-
face contact with customers, videoconferencing has
become more popular because it allows face-to-face interaction
without wasting travel time. Teleconferencing also
allows team meetings without the need to travel hundreds
of miles.
WHAT IS TELECONFERENCING?
The earliest form of teleconferencing was the telephone
conference call, in which several parties in various parts of
the world could simultaneously hold a conversation. Businesspeople
could talk with each other while sending and
receiving faxes to provide a hard copy of the information
being discussed. Today computer technology allows for
synchronous, or simultaneous, sharing of data through
four means: voice, video, digital whiteboard, and data
files.
Several parties are able to share not only voice but
also a live camera image of themselves while they talk. The
size of the image can be shrunk to occupy only a small
portion of the computer monitor or large display screen so
that a data file can be accessed, displayed, and edited on
the monitor at the same time.
Individuals participating in the conference call have
the option of sharing and working with data files from
either party’s computer. While verbally discussing changes
within the document and observing each other’s body language,
either party can edit the document and give immediate
feedback. The digital whiteboard provides an

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electronic version of the dry erase board mounted on the
wall. While viewing each other’s actions via the computer
monitor, individuals can also write on each other’s whiteboard
with special markers in the color of their choice.
This allows professionals to make decisions and solve
problems on the spot.
VIDEOCONFERENCING AND
BUSINESS
This type of communicating enables people to work from
their home via satellite, which increases family and/or personal
time while reducing time spent commuting. It is
estimated that in 1999 between 8 million and 15 million
of the 120 million U.S. employees worked at home and
communicated with their offices and customers using a
computer and telephone lines. The number of telecommuters
in America was expected to double by 2005.
A business environment requires most corporate
employees to collaborate on a routine basis. Videoconferencing
allows for face-to-face planned as well as
impromptu meetings of workers who are separated by several
thousand miles.
Sales presentations are an example of a profitable and
easily justified business use of videoconferencing. When
conducting the sales presentation at the customer’s location,
a sales representative with videoconferencing equipment
on a laptop computer can connect the customer
with specialists back at the company’s offices to answer
specific questions about the product being demonstrated.
This allows greater specialization, with the salesperson
focusing on closing the sale and the specialists focusing on
the technical aspects of the product. The salesperson is
able to view the customer’s body language and ask the specialist
for clarification on customer objections or questions.
The customer feels a sense of security by being able
to see the individual instead of merely hearing a voice.
Another business application of videoconferencing is
the ability to train people without actually traveling to
another location. Companies can provide more frequent
training to their employees in distant locations for less
cost.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation implemented
extensive teleconferencing for its 45,000 employees by setting
up one hundred Team Communications Centers
(TCCs) (teleconferencing rooms) at their offices across
the United States. The TCCs are equipped with large digital
whiteboards and projector screens. Groups of employees
or managers from two or more locations collaborate
on, discuss, and edit documents as though they were all in
the same room, saving both time and money. The corporation
identified airfare savings in 1998 of $150,000.
These savings did not include hotels, meals, overtime, or
incidentals.
VIDEOCONFERENCING AND
EDUCATION
Teleconferencing can bring more educational choice and
excellence to remote schools with small student bodies.
Specialized courses that individual schools could not offer
because of cost or limited student interest can be shared
by several schools to provide cost efficiency. Flexibility in
scheduling classes to meet either an individual student’s or
a group of students’ need is another major advantage.
Many universities offer courses over the Internet or
by means of other teleconferencing capabilities. Known as
distance learning, this technology enables thousands of
students to take college classes without leaving their community
or, in many cases, their home.
The nature of videoconferencing often requires
distance-learning classes to present more class material,
use better visuals, and show greater preparation of the
teaching materials than traditional classes. These classes
also hold students more accountable for their own learning.
A major drawback for some students is that they must
still attend classes (virtually) at preset times and progress
at the pace set for the course.
Videoconferencing allows people around the world to meet faceto-
face. © STEVE CHENN/CORBIS

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Internet courses often better meet student needs by
allowing them to work within their own time schedules
and to progress at their own pace. Students sign into the
virtual classroom (chat room) when it is convenient for
them and respond to instructor questions and other student
responses in much the same manner as they would in
a traditional classroom discussion. The major differences
are that all students must actively participate and the
responses are written rather than oral.
Videoconferencing can present barriers to learning
when interpersonal skills such as face-to-face interaction,
eye contact, gaze, body language, and voice inflection are
not transmitted. Another potential barrier is intercommunication
delays when the timing of visual and audio signals,
which are known to be effective in communication,
are sometimes delayed.
For effective videoconferencing, the design of the
room and the training of participants are critical factors.
In educational settings, the classroom layout should allow
all participants, including the instructor, to see and hear
one another clearly. Instructors often need training on
how best to project enthusiasm using this medium, how
to monitor and adjust the camera and audio components,
and how to prepare effective materials. Institutions must
have a clear plan of how the system will be used to deliver
instruction before they offer classes.
TECHNOLOGY
The three major types of videoconferencing involve conference
rooms, roll-around units, and desktop units. The
conference room facilities provide the user with a meeting
room equipped with the audio and video technology
needed to conduct an interactive conference. Roll-around
units contain the needed audio and video equipment but
are designed to be moveable. They provide a degree of
flexibility, but the large size of the units often makes them
impractical.
Desktop units provide desk or office videoconferencing
access at the user’s computer. The two essential components
in addition to the computer are a small video
camera, which usually sits on top of the computer, and a
microphone, which can be set on a pedestal or worn as a
headset. Telephone network capabilities have limited the
quality of the video as well as causing delays in transmission.
With the new TV cable hook-ups, however, desktop
conferencing is achieving excellent video and audio quality.
Two types of desktop systems are VISIT and TMS.
VISIT was an early desktop multimedia system integrating
desktop videoconferencing, screen sharing, high-speed
data transfer, electronic voice-mail access, and voice call
management on a desktop computer. It required a plug-in
video board; a black-and-white, fixed-focus CCD camera
with an electronic auto iris; and application software.
TMS (Telepresence Media Space System), the newer
system, is designed to capture the existing physical, cognitive,
and social skills of users to support the same confidentiality,
intimacy, and trust that develop in people who
are engaged in face-to-face interaction. TMS also provides
real-time document sharing and editing, video mail, video
receptionist, and video recording of meetings. The technology
needed for a TMS system includes a Sun workstation
as the central server, computer controlled
audio-video switch, PictureTel codec, Sony VCR, and
camera mounted on the roof.
KEY TO SUCCESSFUL
VIDEOCONFERENCING
The key to successful videoconferencing is effective communication
skills. The users must be comfortable with the
system, so that it appears as transparent as possible. This
will allow the receiver to concentrate on the message and
the sender to concentrate on making eye contact, so that
participants feel included and are not just observers.
Participants in a videoconference should wear solidcolored
clothing in dark or neutral colors to enhance the
camera’s focus. Movements should be slow and smooth,
and caution should be taken not to block the camera’s line
of sight.
Participants should always maintain appropriate oncamera
positioning, adhering to the elbows and wrists
rule so that when you stretch out your arms, the edge of
the screen falls between your elbows and wrists. It is
important that participants see each other’s facial expressions,
but close-up shots should be used judiciously
because the camera is sensitive to movement and will
exaggerate blinking eyes, moving hands, or shifting in
chairs. Videoconferencing participants will find it difficult
to pay attention if the subject is not presented in an
interesting and enthusiastic manner. Presenters should
get beyond the talking head model and make the session
as interactive as possible.
As in any instructional or corporate setting, the use of
images, objects, and audio or video clips will greatly
enhance the meeting’s effectiveness. Visuals should have
large, bold text with simple fonts and concise bulleted
information. Time should be allowed for all participants
to view the graphics. Participants should always speak in a
strong, clear voice and avoid interrupting another speaker
because the time delay may cause confusion.
Although videoconferencing has been available for
more than seventy years, it is only in recent years that its
quality has reached the standards needed in business and
educational settings. Its popularity has increased because

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Visual Merchandising
it is able to save individuals and business both time and
money, which are valuable and limited resources. As technology
improves, the use of videoconferencing will
increase as more businesses and individuals embrace it as an effective means of face-to-face communications