What Do I Need To Be Able To Have A Web Conference?

What Do I Need To Be Able To Have A Web Conference? Related Information:

Web conferencing has become the norm for many a business house because of its ability to cut costs and travel time. Its use has seen a major increase after the tragedy of September 11, and because of the reluctance and fear of Americans to fly, either for business or pleasure. Although peoples’ attitude towards flying has now become much better, web conferencing is still here to stay, due to its simplicity of use. You do not need a lot of things to get started with web conferencing, the main things being:

A Computer: As web conferencing is conferencing over the Internet, the first thing that you require is a computer, which has to be configured adequately. By that we mean that it must have the required operating system, enough memory (RAM), and should have a browser installed. The specific requirements of the memory capacity, operating system, and browser will depend on what type of web conferencing you are doing and the conferencing service that you will be using.

Internet Connection: An Internet connection is an absolute must for web conferencing. A dial up connection can serve the basic kinds of web conferencing such as chat and forums, whereas for other needs such as online meetings, webinars, etc, a dial up may not be suitable and you may need a high-speed cable Internet connection.

Audio Requirements: Sound can be transmitted through the Internet, but the quality is not very ideal for web conferencing. Thus you can use your telephone along with web conferencing to provide you with the audio. For audio capabilities in your web conferencing through your PC, your computer will need to be equipped with a sound card and you need to have speakers, headphones, and a microphone. If using teleconferencing for audio, you will need to have a telephone and a headset (so that you don’t end up holding the phone for the entire duration of the web conference).

Web Camera: A Web Cam is required if you want to have visuals during the web conference so that the parties involved can see each other as well as any necessary documents being reviewed during the web conference. There are many types of web cameras available depending on what your web conferencing needs are, whether you just want to have a face to face chat with someone, or need one to make an online presentation during the web conference.

Plug-Ins: Some web conferencing services require you to have a particular kind of plug-in to be ready for the web conference. Instructions are usually given by the service provider as to what type of plug-in is required and also how and where you can download it.

Web Conferencing Services: Web conferencing services are needed for webcasts, web meetings, webinars etc. There are numerous types of services that you can choose for your web conferencing needs. You can choose to have a service where you have to pay according to the number of participants or according to the time used for the web conferencing, much like a pay-per-view kind of thing. Instead of using web conferencing software that is on another server, you can choose to purchase the web conferencing software and install it on your own server. But this should be done only if you have extensive web conferencing needs. Another way would be to select a full service vendor, who will help you with the planning, setting up, and managing of your web conference, in addition to providing you with the required web conferencing software.

Remember that for a basic web conference, all you need is your computer, a browser, and an Internet connection. All the other things are required based on your individual web conferencing needs.