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Phone Conference Services are gaining popularity. Nowadays nobody wants to lag behind, either in terms of connectivity or in terms of business, which explains the stupendous success of the Phone Conferencing phenomenon. The success of Phone Conferencing has also translated into the Phone Conferencing Service providers going ahead in terms of providing services and adding new and enhanced features. Every now and then many new companies emerge who are ready to provide enhanced Phone Conferencing Services at a very competitive price.

Currently there are two main conference-call services that are prevailing in the market. The first is reservationless, and the second is operator-assisted service. Reservationless conferencing is the most relevant and widely used Phone Conferencing Service. It has proved to be a boon for daily users. This Phone Conferencing Service is completely computerized and is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. For this service there is no need to make any kind of reservation, as all you have to do is inform the client or person invited for conferencing about the date, time and toll-free call-in number. This service has proved to be one of the most popular among business circles, because of its additional features, such as recording and playback of conference, muting and the provision of a conference lock amongst other features.

The second Phone Conferencing Service is operator-assisted conferencing. Big corporate houses generally use this service for large and complex conferencing meetings. This service also includes modifying invitations, welcoming callers, introducing the speaker and recording the whole conference. Here, the host’s team works day and night in order to make your conference successful. They generally chalk out the actual action plan prior the conference date by customizing invitations, carrying out the checking of the equipments and much more. These professional services leave no stone unturned to make your conference a success.

The ease of connectivity by transcending the limitations of space and time has led to the popularity of Phone Conferencing Services. Make sure your company has the Phone Conference Services in place, so that you are not left out in this age where connectivity also spells success.

Phone Conferencing provides detailed information about phone conferencing, audio conferencing, free phone conferencing, phone conference services and more. Phone Conferencing is the sister site of Telephone Headsets.

With the influx of various web conferencing technologies that is available today to allow you to communicate and collaborate online, is your law firm leveraging this technology in order to grow its business and develop a closer relationship with its clients? If not you should! That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question. If your organization or law firm holds many meetings, presentations, consultations, and other group events then utilize a medium that can place everyone on the same page. Law firms are starting to follow a trend, and invest in their firm’s technology, yes-collaborative integrated web conferencing that includes of course video, data, and audio capability, and at the top of this list video conferencing or face-to-face collaboration and the ability to modify documents in real-time. There are many benefits from leveraging web conferencing and they are as follows: We’re only going to mention a few but they are reduced travel time, reduced travel expenses, increased productivity, client retention, continuing education and training, recruiting, and face-to-face billable client collaboration.

Can you see by leveraging collaborative web conferencing how your law firm can increase its bottom line? What a great marketing tool! By positioning your web site, a law firm can easily initiate a video, data, or audio conferencing meeting on-line in real-time. Now your law firm has just added numerous benefits and increased value to its law service offerings that will have a nice ROI. So ask the members of your law firm, this one major question, where do we see our law firm in 3 to 5 years by leveraging web conferencing?

Earlier we mentioned trends regarding video, data, and audio web conferencing. Let us explore how video, data, and audio conferencing technology trends can provide benefits for your law firm.

Web Conferencing Technology Trends and Collaborative Tools:

• Integrated Web Conferencing Tools – Audio, data and desktop video conferencing is now integrated which gives online participants the ability to conduct remote virtual meetings in real-time. With this level of integration, you now have the capabilities to experience full sensory, inspire a genuine participation and greater productivity. Enhanced hands-on collaboration, with document viewing and editing in real-time, application sharing, live face-to-face contact with participants, follow the person speaking capability and web internet browsing; all this is seamlessly installed by merely a click of a few buttons and installed through a web browser. The trend here is integration of audio, data, and video conferencing with flexibility, ease-of-use, and enhanced features and functionality.

• Reservationless Conferencing Tools – This type of tool allows participants to conduct a phone conference from anywhere with instant access, integrated recording capabilities, single conference id, meet with 125 + people of course this will be (based on the provider that you use). This includes participants on the phone and thousands on the web, security, roll call capability, and web based call control and a host of other features and functionality that are just too many to mention here as well.

• Seminar Web Conferencing Tools – Whether you need to train a large group of employees, conduct educational training, or collect leads, this collaboration tool will do the job. Some of the features are as follows… Schedule and plan an event, invite your participants, manage invitee lists, customized your list, automatically send event reminders through your Outlook® client, automate and manage online seminars and presentations is a snap with this collaborative tool. This web conferencing tool offers additional features and functionality not listed here as well.

• Unlimited Conferencing and Operator-Assisted Conferencing Tools – The use of these collaborative tools offer a host of audio conferencing features, and functionality.
(1) For example, the unlimited conferencing tool allows easy all-you-can-use toll access depending on the provider offering the service. With instant access, a single conference ID, unsurpassed security, and the ability to add web presentations such as a PowerPoint® presentation, web based call control features to enhance your audio conference. (2) The use of operator-assisted conferencing is very similar to unlimited conferencing but offers a suite of customized conferencing features based on the clients needs. Automated capabilities consist of participant dial-in and automated greeting, security lock to prevent uninvited participants from joining a meeting, participant entry tone, touchtone Q&A, and recording functionality all from your phone.

With the trend and the embracing of integrated collaborative web conferencing technology for law firms the benefits, value and the ROI is going to increase. As we move forward, the technology gets better and better, and tightly integrated into applications that you use on a day-to-day basis for example Microsoft Outlook®. Ask yourself this one question, how can our law firm utilize and leverage integrated web conferencing solutions to enhance our business bottom line?

Industry-Specific Uses of Integrated Web Conferencing for Law Firms:

Let us face the facts, businesses, companies, and industries run on meetings. By leveraging web conferencing to conduct meetings online in real-time has a tremendous amount of uses and benefits. A few of those uses are sales lead generation, distance learning, telemedicine, and collaborative communications for legal firms. Let us focus on solutions for law firms!

Conferencing Strategies Especially for Law Firms –

• Face-to-Face Billable Client Collaboration – This concept of leveraging video conferencing to meet with clients, have partner meetings, collaborate on deals, and develop closer relationships. By conducting video conferencing online in real-time will allow your law firm to generate additional revenue to increase its bottom line.

• Make live face-to-face contact with clients, partners, and other participants in remote locations and read body language through integrated desktop video. Follow the person speaking; take the podium to focus attention on a subject. Share any documents that you can print and convert them while preserving animations and effects. To enhance security, all documents reside securely on the presenter’s computer rather than a central host. Share applications and edit documents in real-time.

• Conduct continuing education and training in real-time for attorney’s in remote locations by scheduling an event, client consultation, staff training, recruiting, and record it for participants that could not attend the event for later access and viewing.

• Conduct legal depositions by leveraging video conferencing with lawyers, and clients geographically dispersed in other cities or towns. Record proceedings with an enhanced web cam right from your desktop in a secured environment for future access and viewing.

One major key here is to outsource this service and leverage the many benefits. In order to implement a value-added service offering to your law firm is to choose a conferencing service provider that will fulfill your conferencing needs. Let us briefly discuss how to choose and evaluate what to look for in a conferencing provider, consider the following factors:

• Choose a conferencing provider that offers a wide range of conferencing services and solutions
• The conferencing provider should be committed to providing new technologies on a periodic basis
• Own and manage the network and infrastructure providing the conferencing services with proven reliability
• Choose a conferencing provider that has been in the business for a substantial number of years and have the ability to adapt to changes in the market and in conferencing technologies
• Choose a conferencing provider that offers extra features, functionality and value-added services
• Choose a conferencing provider that provides exceptional customer service, technical support, and a knowledgeable staff, which is a major key

• Cost should not be the deciding factor when choosing a conferencing provider. Attempting to cut corners in order to save money on conferencing costs can and will adversely affect your law firm’s bottom line

Conclusion:

In closing, web conferencing offers businesses and companies ways to increase productivity, reduce expenses and enhance the way they conduct business. By embracing and leveraging collaborative web conferencing technology and incorporating it into your business today, your law firm can truly, enhance its bottom line. “Let’s collaborate online.”

GTS, Inc is an outsourcing collaborative integrated web conferencing services and solutions provider with its focus on Law Firms, Professional Consulting Services, and Educational Institutions to enable effective business communications using a standard web browser. Visit our website at the following web address for a demo and a free trial.
Visit us at: http://www.g-collaboration.com

Audio video conferencing is a shorthand way of describing a virtual conference where no one has to leave her office to meet up with the rest of the group. A virtual conference may use telephones, televisions, computers, conferencing software, collaborative software, file sharing, headsets, the Internet, or any combination of these equipments and tools. Slide presentation, streaming audio, and document sharing are some of the extras you can incorporate into this conferencing method. The ultimate goal is to make the meeting as realistic as possible, where everyone can see each other, hear each other, view and modify projects, and so on – all at a cost that eventually pays for itself in travel savings.

The audio video industry has yet to work out all of the kinks. As you can imagine, there can sometimes be technical difficulties in which lines can get torn down in a storm, computers and other equipment can malfunction, and so on. Furthermore, audio video conferencing doesn’t work very well for complicated communication techniques, such as those used in closing a sales deal. Audio video conferencing lends a rather impersonal air to meetings, and socializing and bonding don’t take place as they would in the real world.

You can set up for audio video conferencing in a number of different ways. The older method, still great for a wide variety of teleconferencing purposes, is to have one group in one room, another group in another room (perhaps in another city or country), and have them talk to each other. Each of the two groups utilizes a television, a video camera mounted on the television, a speakerphone, and perhaps some file sharing software for collaboration on computer projects. The newer style is online audio video conferencing, wherein each participant has her very own station in her very own office. This utilizes a computer, the Internet, a web cam, a headset, and file sharing software. This new method allows for even greater ease of planning and attendance, applicability to collaboration, and mobility. You could attend a web conference on the beach while the other attendees are on a train, at home, in a restaurant, or anywhere else.

Audio Conferencing Info provides detailed information about audio conferencing services, equipment, software, companies, plus online audio conferencing, and more. Audio Conferencing Info is affiliated with Original Content.

You probably would have heard or read about this example that
I’m going to share, but for the sake of those who didn’t
know…..

Do you know who wrote Snow White & The Seven Dwarves? Walt
Disney? You know it wasn’t. But most people cannot name the
original author because Snow White is almost synonymous with
Disney. Why?

Disney took what was already in the public domain and REPACKAGED
it into a brand new product. A cartoon feature-length movie,
that has been watched all over the world. He created a classic
out of public domain that is loved by people of all ages.

I’m not suggesting you go make a movie out of that public domain
file in your hard disk. (Well, you can if you want to).

What I want you to see is the unlimited possibilities of working
with a public domain content. Some people worry that, since
others have access to the same public domain content, there’s
going to be too much competition. But think about this. What you
do with the content may be different from what I do with it.
That’s known as a derivative work. And the new product is 100%
your own. You can even copyright it as your own!

You might create an ebook with it. I might create a whole series
of ebooks with the very same info! But someone else with
knowledge in mutimedia might create a video or an audio on CD.
Someone else might turn into an online training course. Exciting
isn’t it? Even two websites utilizing the same content need not
necessarily be the same.

You can also create special reports, manuals, newsletters,
ezines, or training courses you can conduct via email or online.

Creating a training course is an excellent way of using public
domain info. You string together half a dozen or more articles
and turn it into a 7-day course. People are online to learn. And
they’ll sign up for your course. You can even charge your
readers a subscription fee to sign up for your course if you
like.

You could also load your lessons in your autoresponder and
anyone who signs up will automatically receive one lesson a day.
You don’t have to keep hitting the send button everyday or worry
if your readers are receiving their secheduled lessons. Using an
autoresponder, everthing is done for you and you can focus on
other things.

A word about making videos and audios. A ‘how-to’ guide is
beyond the scope of this article. But with the right hardware
and software, you could produce exciting multimedia products
that will be your very own. If you don’t know anything about
this but have the time and interest, then learn. If not, find
someone who can do it and hire them to do the job for you.

A successful video or web conference can really give a boost to your organization. Online conferencing is now connecting people in a way that was not possible in the pre-Internet era. However, as powerful a tool as online conferencing is, it works best when you prepare your conferences properly. Here are some steps that you can take to help guarantee that your next video or web conference is a great success.

1. Make sure each of your attendees has enough bandwidth at his or her location.

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to watch a video online when you just don’t have enough bandwidth to get it all. If your participant doesn’t have enough bandwidth there will be latency delays and he or she will not be able to enjoy the experience or participate properly. The amount of bandwidth that is required varies from system to system and also according to what features you will be using during the conference. Features such as video, audio, screen and application sharing have different requirements. Check with your vendor or provider to find out what the minimum bandwidth requirements are, and then make sure each of your locations does indeed have enough bandwidth.

2. Test your web cameras to see that they are working properly.

If video will be involved at any of the locations, make sure that the location has tested their camera to ensure that everything is working satisfactorily. Ideally, all cameras should be tested from within the video or web conferencing system that you will be using. A camera that is working fine in one application may work differently within another system. Check it in advance so that you will not have any surprises on the day of your conference.

3. Check your sound equipment in advance.

If VoIP (audio) is going to be used from within the meeting itself, make sure that all attendees have the right tools needed, whether these tools are microphones, headsets and speakers.

4. Supply your participants with proper access information in advance of the conference.

If audio will be conducted via an audio conference call, make sure all attendees have the access number to dial into and the PIN (Personal Identification Number) they will need to access the call.

5. Conduct a “trial-run” of your presentation prior to the conference date.

The presenters or leaders of the conference should practice in advance. If a presentation will be involved, make sure that whoever will be presenting any material has tested this part of the video or web conferencing system. The presentation that is to be used should be demonstrated to another party BEFORE the date of the actual meeting.

6. Supply web access information to your participants well in advance of the meeting.

Make sure that all of your participants know how to access the video and web “conference room”. Send an e-mail “link” to each participant well in advance of the meeting so that they will be able to easily access the meeting when the appropriate day and time has arrived.

7. Get as much training as you can in the video or web conference system that you will be using.

The host should be very familiar and comfortable with the video or web conferencing system they are going to use. If training is offered by your vendor or provider, then take advantage of this in order to become more familiar with the system. Familiarity with the system will help you to host a flawless meeting or conference.

8. Conduct a test meeting prior to the big event.

Most importantly! Conduct a test meeting or two before the day of the “big” meeting. Tests will help you eliminate as many surprises as possible before you gather all of your attendees. A meeting free of technical glitches will go far to help you achieve the goals of your conference.

The key to a successful online conference, whether it be a web conference, a video conference or a combination of the two, is preparation, preparation and preparation. The more you prepare and the more you practice, the better your online meetings will be.

If your video production calls for working with kids, whatever
the age, it pays to make the child the most important person on
set. Treat children with respect, guidance and generosity to get
the performance you desire.

When working with young children, it’s necessary to provide them
with fun games, age appropriate snacks, meals and drinks as well
as a “treat” for a good performance. Try to work with a Director
who has experience with children as they will be more open to
kid lingo and personalities.

Older children often take acting very seriously and will want to
learn as much as possible. Be prepared to answer questions and
explain what will happen during the shoot. They will be more
likely to work with you if you give them a tour of the set and
introduce them to the “grown up” crew and make them feel special
to the production.

Regardless of age, make sure to abide by state laws concerning
time restrictions and on-set schooling. Each state has different
laws; for example California requires a work permit for children
working in theatrical employment, whereas Arizona does not.

Above all, relax and enjoy yourself. Remember that children will
only listen for limited periods of time, after which pushing
them just leads to frustration for everyone. The key is to be
ready to get the good shots quickly and anything after that is a
bonus. Kids can enhance your production value so make it a fun
experience for all!

The decision to pay the extra fees and move from dial-up to broadband usually involves meeting three wants: faster downloads, faster uploads and live streaming video.

The transmission of live streaming video is dependent on bandwidth, video codecs and the ability to transmit as many frames per second as possible. Let’s review how these variables effect video on dial-up and broadband.

First a little background on bandwidths and speeds. A lot of people use the terms bandwidth and speeds interchangeably, so it’s important to clarify the difference. Think of a water pipe. You can get more water through the pipe by increasing the pressure to send it through faster. This increases the “speed.” You can also get more water out the end by increasing the size of the pipe. This increases the “bandwidth”

When you go from a dial-up ISP to a broadband ISP, you increase the size of the pipe by getting more bandwidth. This way you can get more data through the pipe in the same amount of time, thus allowing faster uploads and downloads. Video is data, too, but good video requires enormous amounts of data. Because of this, video is often referred to as a bandwidth hog. When you increase the bandwidth, you allow more video through in the same amount of time.

Programmers can use creative and complicated mathematical formulas called algorithms to put the data into packets that allow more packets to go through the pipe. This is comparable to increasing the speed of the water in the pipeline. In the world of video, the algorithm is called a codec. Well known codecs include MPEG-4, MPEG-2 and JPEG.

In order to evaluate codecs, a definition of quality is necessary. The number of frames per second (fps) is usually the objective measurement of video quality. “Broadcast quality video” is an overused term that typically means 25 to 35 fps. Independent of theoretical rates, most live video streamed on the internet through broadband is in the range of 10 to 15 fps. It’s not like HDTV or like movies in the theater, but it is sufficient for the purpose.

JPEG transmits video like a movie. Each full picture frame from the “film strip” is transmitted and viewed. When the individual pictures, called frames, are accumulated together rapidly, they appear to display motion, just like a film strip.

MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and others don’t send a full frame each time. They send what’s called an I-Frame, which is a full frame, only once in a while. In between the I-Frames, they only send the video data that change. So, if the image is from a fixed camera in a room where someone is walking, the wall doesn’t change, so the image of the wall is not sent with each frame. Only the spots where the person is moving are transmitted between the I-frames. This eliminates a lot of data without changing the quality of the video. So, with the same amount of data, the end result can be more frames per second. This is why MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 are said to offer higher quality video.

What is bandwidth? Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be sent in a second, typically measured in kilobits per second (kbps). Did you ever notice how TV reporters on satellite phones sometimes look weird? They are usually transmitting at very low bandwidths of less than 5 fps. Have you asked yourself why cell phone voice plans typically can only transmit still video images, or video clips that are so slow that motion is not apparent? That’s because their maximum bandwidth is 9.6 kbps, also considered very low.

Cell phone data plans and dial-up telephone service fall in the less than 56 kbps range. Broadband is above 56 kbps. Cable companies typically offer it in 128 kbps or 256 kbps increments. However, these are maximum rates. For example, dial-up telephone usually fluctuates between 30 and 45 kbps in the real world, even though it is theoretically 56 kbps.

MPEG-4 and its many variants are pretty much the standard for sending video over broadband. Many different companies have developed their own unique twist to try to take into account variations in bandwidth that result in interruptions, pixilation and video tears. But, with a 256 kbps bandwidth, video can stream on average at 10 to 15 fps, and may even peak at 20 or 25 fps depending on the fluctuation. Unfortunately, on dial-up, the number of frames per second that these standard codecs can deliver is less than 5 frames per second, and often only 1 frame per second.

Some new video codecs are allowing frame rates of 12 fps over dial-up services, in many ways comparable to the video offered over broadband. This has expanded the ability to transmit quality video through dial-up.

To summarize the water pipe analogy, different video codecs can increase the water flow by increasing the number of frames per second at the end of the pipe without increasing the size of the pipe. Switching from dial-up to broadband is a way to increase the size of the pipe so that more frames per second can come out the end of the pipe.

Cost is always a consideration, with dial-up being less expensive. Also, many people worldwide do not have the availability of broadband, so dial-up is their only option.

Comet Video Technologies develops products and services for the low bandwidth transmission of video through satellites, cell voice plans, cell data plans, telephone dial-up and broadband. http://www.cometvt.com

Readers have permission to duplicate and distribute the above article in its entirety. We request that the final paragraph be included in each reproduction.

Howard Becker is CEO of Comet Video Technologies. For the past 20 years, Becker has been CEO of consumer product and video technology companies as large as $25 million in sales, as well as a consultant for start-up technology companies. He has an MBA is from the University of Chicago and a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a former CPA with Big Four Experience. He developed the first published integration of the Fama-Miller efficient market model and the Black-Scholes Option pricing model, thus creating a theoretical justification for the trading of derivitives on index funds. He is author of a number of published papers on semiconductor based heating elements, as well as a paper on the objective measurement of job placement for individuals with disabilities.