Video Conferencing Services

Common Video

Conference Environments


Although the College of LSA is primarily an H.323 outfit (video conferencing over IP), there are plenty of other fish in the sea. This page lists just a few of the flavors available these days.

When considering which option to pursue, don't forget that you have to connect to SOMEONE - ask yourself what they're using and then match it - you'll usually be glad you did!

This product space is churning heavily and evolving at a rapid pace. Think twice before investing in a large amount of expensive equipment - it will probably be state of the obsolete tomorrow!

And remember, market share is a standard all on its own!

Not sure which environment is right for you? Contact LSA Video Conferencing Support at lsa-videoconf-info@umich.edu or 763-4048 for advice and assistance!

  • Virtual Rooms Video Conferencing System - http://www.vrvs.org/
    • Version 3.3 and counting - thanks to the high energy physics crowd
    • Free and flexible
    • When you just can't find another way to fill available bandwidth!
    • Great video and audio fidelity
  • H.320
  • H.323
    • Video conferencing over IP
    • LSA Media Services Equipment Loan Service in Angell Hall has h.323 equipment available for checkout
    • lsa-videoconf@umich.edu supports h.323 activity in LSA
    • Interoperability between h.323 products is generally quite good
  • SIP
    • Successor to h.323
    • Found in many instant messenging products and recent enterprise messenging systems
    • Interoperability between sip products is spotty
  • ConferenceXP
  • Instant Messenging (IM)
    • Video conferencing for the rest of us!
    • Video quality varies widely
    • Almost no interoperability with h.320, h.323 or sip products - read the specs and test before buying!
    • Does commodity video conferencing have legs? IM will tell the tale!
    • Apple iChat AV and iSight, AOL Instant Messenger and many others...

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