Video conferencing

For many years broadband (other than corporate networks with massive bandwidth) remained a tricky proposition for many businesses as they found it promised more than it could deliver largely due the unpredictability of early Internet connections. Unreliable video conferencing can reduce clients' confidence in your businesses - so making sure you have a reliable broadband service is a must.

With modern broadband, a range of products are tailored for all kinds of businesses. You can even download 'software-only' solutions designed to work on every system from broadband-enabled PCs to hi-tech executive monitors which incorporate PCs designed for video conferencing.

For over-the-Web software solutions you can make point-to-point conferences simply by dialling a PC over the Net. If you have a camera at each end you can follow directions here:
http://www.intel.com/support/createshare/camerapack/directoryservice/conferenceOptIP.htm Or you could download Microsoft's popular NetMeeting kit which lets you hold video conference calls, send text messages, collaborate on shared documents, and draw on an electronic whiteboard over the Internet.

Alternatively, check out the various devices from Polycom (Polycom), notably its iPower Executive Complete Visual Communication System, and Logitech's Video and Camera Centre
(Logitech). A good directory of videoconferencing products is found at
Limesearch