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Follow UsAs the world welcomes a new era of globalization, new trends and ideas are surfacing to meet the demands of a global audience. New technologies are there to keep up with the demand for quick communication among people across the globe. In the present day scenario, businesses are not confined to a particular location. Be it the marketing, operations or production division, you will find resources scattered all over the place. So every now & then there is a need for interaction amongst various teams. And what better if the interaction is somewhat closer to a physical meeting. Now, here someone can say that he could do day to day business activities through teleconferencing, desktop sharing, webinars etc. So, what's the need for yet another resource? So, let's try to elaborate on the benefits you stand to gain from a video conferencing solution:
Improved communication: While on an audio call, you cannot see facial expressions and body language of the other participant. But Video conferencing not only allows you to feel the other person's expressions but also provides you the opportunity to build new contacts with a personal feel.
Reduced traveling & expenses: In today's economy, cutting down on company travel expenses is the need of the hour. So there you are with an alternative that eliminates the need to meet the other person to a large extent.
Allows multi-point meetings with no geographical constraint: The biggest advantage is you can put a meeting of various people for a common objective and that too from different locations. Participants can be across the country or on the other side of the globe.
Video chat vs video conferencing
There is a misconception amongst people about video chat and its relation with video conferencing solutions. They think that video conferencing is just a superclass of video chat and its primary function is to conduct face to face communication. But, video conferencing doesn't end here. There are many more features in a power-packed video conferencing software.
In technical terms, video conferencing is done between two or more (which in case of video chat is limited to only two) participants at different sites using computer networks to transmit audio and video data. While a video chat allows you to also have an exchange of text messages, a video conferencing software also allows you to have deeper control over text chat in the form of public or private chat. Other beneficial tools such as whiteboards and quick editing are not present in any video chat tool. Also, there are some key hardware/software requirements:
1) A notebook with min 1.3 MP webcam
2) Min 256 Kbps bandwidth
3) Latest Java and Flash plug-ins
4) Compatibility with your operating system
Other key requirements
1) Technical issues: if you have a member of your video conferencing team who runs a different operating system (such as Linux or OS X) or doesn't have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements, getting everyone connected can be difficult. Also, if one of the users has a lower quality webcam or microphone, it can make communication difficult.
2) User issues: Most people who engage in a video conference will know how to use their hardware, but with so many different programs and services that are part of a video conferencing service, even tech-savvy users can run into trouble.
3) Communication issues: People react differently to information presented to them via a video conference as opposed to a face-to-face meeting. Normally, users respond more to the quality of a speaker than the validity of their discussion. Users may also find it harder not to multitask at their computers than they would in a physical meeting.
What to look for in a video conferencing solution
1) Max no of Attendees: Mulitpoint video conferencing would need a lot of users to participate. So, the more that are allowed the better. Also, how easily they can join is also a key requirement. It could vary from just clicking a link to a complete user registration and authentication.
2) File Transfer: The file transfer feature allows you to send files during a video conference directly to the other party without using third-party solutions. You should be able to transfer any type of file viz. photos, audio and video, documents, etc. It is quite useful as along with the video conference, you would not be required to deal with FTP, upload sites, flash drives, CDs, emails, file size limits, archiving and upload/download speed limits, etc.
3) Text chat: There should be an option of text chat available all the time. It would enhance the video conferencing solution if there are both, public and private chats. Moreover, text chat should consist of regular features like smileys, group chat, history and search, instant notifications, etc.
4) Session recording: For future reference, you should be able to record the conferencing session. Now, this feature is not present in every free conferencing solution and could be a differentiating factor. Additional things which need to be checked are whether the recordings require additional codec or compatibility with media players.
5) OS Compatibility: BYOD is the latest trend. Therefore you should prefer those solutions which are compatible with multiple platforms. This includes mobile platforms like Android and iOS.
6) Runtime Environment: Some software like 'ooVoo' are desktop based. You need to download and install them for using their services. Those that are web based (such as Meetings.io), need user registration and may require plugins like Java or Flash. Web based software are more convenient in terms of usage.
7) Screen Sharing: Screen sharing allows users to demonstrate live the current desktop to other participants without using side programmes or additional hardware. Thus you will be able to show everyone what you are working on, share documents, presentations, pictures, audio etc without the need for separate file transfer.
8) Meeting organizer: This feature is very relevant for the business people. You can pre-schedule meetings. To rate the efficiency of this feature, you need to look further including the capability of adding to Outlook, setting up reminders, follow-ups, ease of use, etc.
9) Whiteboard: The Whiteboard function allows the participants of a personal video conferencing to draw, enter and edit text and graphics data in a separate window, using special tools. You should be able to work on different types of document like texts, schemes, diagrams, design models, pictures and slide shows. This will impact the decision making process.
10) Other features: Some video conferencing solutions have special features. For instance, in Google hangouts, you could broadcast your message on the Web. Similarly, Meetings.io doesn't require any sign-up or registration. You could join the conference by just clicking one link. Yet others have the ability to impose restrictions amongst participants while in conference.
11) Help & Support: Video Conferencing programs should come with built-in help menus and systematic guides for every stage of the meeting, from initiation to termination. Video conferencing services should also provide helpful resources on their site in the form of tutorials, guides, FAQs, direct chat and moderated forums. Many web conferencing providers also offer 24/7 support for meetings.
eMeet.me: An extremely easy to use and feature rich tool
eMeet.me is a free online video conferencing tool and is fairly simple to use. It supports video conference with just 5 people, a small number compared to the others like Zoom.us or Mebeam. But it has options like video recording by default and screen sharing in full screen resolution that many tools don't have. You can also chat and join the meeting through phone. Overall, an attractive video conferencing tool with lots of features. It works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux and their respective mobile platforms. You can invite people to join meetings by mailing an invite link. With my hands-on experience, I could say that it is the best.
Talking about the complexity of user interaction with the tool, emeet.me is very easy to use. While creating a new meeting, you will have to complete the setting & branding. Give an event title, specify the date, provide a description, select the banner & logo which would be displayed on the login & registration pages, and you are done. Just invite people and launch your meeting room to get started. One point to mention here, if you want to conduct the video meeting multiple times then don't specify the timings. The host has the capability to lock the room or granting the access to only those whom he wants to. Along with whiteboard, there is word processor as an add-on feature. There is one very interesting feature which enables you to see the geographical location of all participants with the help of maps.
Bottomline: Great experience, rich features, easy usage makes it the strongest contender
Meetings.io: A simple tool to organise private closed door meetings
Meetings.io is another simple and easy to use free online video conferencing tool. Unlike Ovoo, it requires no installation and is operatable within seconds of signing up. Signing up creates your permanent account/meeting room in meeting.io and you can return back by simply typing your name. It's interface is very simple and centres mostly on providing side by side video interaction than providing creative tools like the Google hangout instead gives options like private closed door conference. To start a meeting, you have to go to your meeting room in meetings.io, and invite people to join the video meeting. In a meeting room, you and the other participants can do video chats, audio chats, write notes, share files and also their respective screens one at a time. Only the person starting the room can allow others to join a private chat.
The interface has very few buttons clearly marked on the top and bottom panel. The top has options to invite people via email, SMS and to select people who are already in your contacts list. You can invite upto 5 people in a meeting room. Besides, it doesn't have recording option in it. You can keep your conference public or private depending upon the requirement. The bottom panel offers buttons for mic on/off, sharing your screen, notepad for writing, live chat, sharing/sending files, etc. Meanwhile, the time spent in a meeting appears on the right side.
Bottomline: If you are thinking about meeting organizer & support for your business, meetings.io will make your job much easier
Google+ Hangout: go live & broadcast yourself on the web
This is a simple tool with a minimal interface with every buttons, but is anyway easier to manage. It is closely integrated with your Google tools like Gmail accounts and doesn't require installation of any kind. It's prime highlight is live video broadcasting, which lets you hold live programmes on the hangout.It supports video calling between upto 10 people can join a hangout, from your various circles. For professionals, hangout offers features like a suite of productivity apps like Sporcle, hangout toolbar, games, Google docs, slide share for viewing presentation, Cacoo for multiple user collaboration in real time with edit options for presentations and diagram together. To add new apps, select Add app button inside your hangout.
Not just a professional tool but has a great capacity for creative and educative purposes. A teacher can broadcast his lectures, a CEO can broadcast his views, a musician can hold live performances. All these are possible with Hangout. You just have to enable hangouts on air and you can live stream anything on your profile to all those who are on hangout and you can know in real time how many people are watching your content. Hangout On Air is automatically saved to your You Tube account for later viewing and sharing. To invite people to join your hangout, dial the person by clicking on the Invite button or the telephone link.
Bottomline: If you want to broadcast any video message and features like seesion recording, meeting organiser & whiteboard are not very important, then this is the best option to grab
Ovoo: VC Tool for conducting meetings in 3D
Ovoo is an easy to operate video conferencing tool with a feature intensive user interface yet very easy to follow, as most of the buttons are clearly demarcated with their purpose. On the top, you have options for calling up to 6 people at a time on a video call. To make matters easier, there is a call me link, to start video call with people who don't have or who don't know about Ovoo. You can send the link via facebook too. You can conduct video calls in 3D, HD, full screen and sidebar mode and along with them you can carry out a side by side chat in various font types. Video Calls/Conferences can be recorded and you can send files to others during the call. The quality of video calling is good, especially in HD, though relying on HD does eat up some bandwidth and will make the response slow. For this purpose, there is a bandwidth indicator to keep you posted in real time about the network health.
The interface places all your contacts with their video images in a sidebar, like in social networking sites, so they stay right in front of you. Ovoo comes in two version-paid and free. The former has more features like phone calls to landlines, file sharing of large files of up to 25mb. In free version you can send files of upto 5MB, video chat with upto 6 people, record video messaging of 1minute and send it to other users during/after the call. Screenshare is available too but is available in the paid version.
Bottomline: The features, interface & usbality makes it one of the favourable choice.
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