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whyGo training guides
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How To Book
A how to guide on making video conference room booking using whyGo.
Add Profile
Learn how to create your profile in seconds with one click social sign-in.
Add Location
A step by step guide on how to create your location and set it up correctly.
Add Spaces
A guide to setting up your meeting, training or work spaces correctly.
Sync Calendar
A guide on how to sync your calendars with your spaces.
Sell More
A general advice guide on our promotional products for suppliers.
White Label
A guide to setting up your booking system on your website.
App Sync
A guide to syncing your system with over 750 most popular apps.
SEO Guide
A guide to setting up your listings SEO, images and descriptions.
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whyGo Asia Pacific
+61 1300 652 626 | bookings@whygo.com.auwhyGo Asia Pacific
10 Help Street Chatswood, NSW, 2067, Australia.
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+44 (0) 207 183 0460 | bookings@whygo.euwhyGo Europe
1010 Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, CB23 6DP, UK.
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15305 North Dallas Parkway, Addison, Texas, 75001, USA.
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Video conference rooms of all sizes
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Frequently asked questions
Here is our list of the most commonly asked questions about our services & our video conference rooms.
Mobile video conferencing.
This is where you video conference on your mobile phone or tablet. Like a SMART phone or iPad. These devices allow free and paid applications (Apps) to be downloaded and then used to video conference. Today with the introduction of WebRTC, video conferencing can be done just using the mobile devices internet browser like Googles Chrome.
Computer video conferencing.
Now this could also be regarded as mobile because today computers do not have to be PC’s, they can laptops or notebooks which are mobile, but unlike mobile devices computers download programs rather than Apps. Again the programs can be free or paid and WebRTC can be easily used to video conference using the computers internet browser.
Room based video conferencing.
As the name suggests, this is video conferencing in a defined meeting room in a defined geographic location. Room based video conferencing can be split into two very distinctive groups.
a) Traditional video conferencing: where a room has been set up with a good quality video conferencing system or codec, a single or twin screen for the video and audio such as an LCD, LED or Plasma screen, microphone and speakers for sound. These rooms connect over ISDN or IP or SIP protocols and can either connect via the world wide web and/or dedicated internal IP networks that most corporations tend to have these days.
b) Telepresence video conferencing: this is the ultimate in video conferencing because it is the most expensive. Yes, we said it, if you throw enough money at a boardroom and its technology the result should be pretty awesome and that is what Telepresence is, it’s pretty awesome. The concept behind the buzz word is that all the rooms will be set up in such a way that all the participants will look and feel like they are all in the same room even though they are in different locations. To achieve this all the rooms have to be painted and furnished the very same and all the screens must be big enough that the people on the screens are life size. Add to that state of the art microphone and speaker technology so when you direct your voice to one screen all the participants hear the direction in which the voice is to be directed. And last but not least, have so much bandwidth connected to the systems and screens that there is no question of getting any other video quality than High Definition.
Most video conferencing companies try to measure the cost benefit but this can be just as difficult to measure as the time.
The traditional cost benefit of video conferencing versus physical travel are the savings made on flights, hotels, food and transfers. What is rarely considered is the cost of the persons time to travel such as their wages. What is almost never calculated (simply because it is too difficult) is the opportunity cost. What the time traveling could cost the business in lost productivity.
The social benefits are thankfully simple to understand, hard to measure, such as more time with friends, family and down time away from the office that is otherwise spent travelling.
Today, almost anything you can do in person for a face to face meeting can be achieved through video conferencing and value added technologies such as content sharing, presentation software and the addition of any audio visual technologies such as white boards or secondary cameras.
- Recruitment such as job interviews;
- Management meetings;
- Lecturing;
- Legal depositions and court hearings;
- Management meetings;
- Lecturing;
- Legal depositions and court hearings;
- Supplier support;
- Research and analysis;
and many more.
The biggest pitfall is unrealistic expectations combined with a lack of preparation. When scheduling a video conference with multiple devices, it is important to understand what video software they all use and finding out if they can all connect. Then establishing if the quality of connection on all these devices and software will meet your expectations. The biggest pitfall is the lack of testing. If you are new the technology and the type of conference you wish to have has yet to be tried, we strongly recommend you pre-test well ahead of the scheduled date.
IP or H.323/H3.20 quality depends on a range of factors. But the easiest way to understand it is in order of easiest to understand.
- Band width size. How much are you getting and using. EG if you in a hotel and they say your room has a 2Meg (megabyte) connection, then that is good considering above we said you would only need 768Kbps to get good video.
- How many people are sharing your bandwidth and are they using much of it. This one is not so easy to understand in public places such as coffee shops and hotels. At your home or business you can get these details off your internet provider.The reason this one is important is because in the example provided, you may get 2Meg for your hotel room, but you may also be sharing that 2Meg with everyone else on the floor. If no one is using it or only a few people use it for their email, this too doesn’t use much bandwidth but if a few people are watching YouTube videos then they are taking allot of your 2Meg and you may only be getting a small fraction of that and your video conference will now be as great as first thought.
IP is no different. The positive side of IP is there is only one cost per month and you can use as much as you like. Plus, it is becoming so cheap now that the speeds such as 2 GMegabytes, sometimes even 50 Gigabytes per second download speeds are more readily available which means better quality video calls. The down side is there is a per month and probably per year commitment.
ISDN on the other hand requires a smaller per month, per year commitment for having the lines installed but you pay as you use the bandwidth. The biggest downside to ISDN is the cost and speed. Most video conferencing rooms with ISDN will only have up to 384Kbps which is good quality. (not great and not HD)
The biggest upside to ISDN is the quality. When you connect at 384Kbps on ISDN, once the connection is established, you stay connected at that speed for the duration of the call. This is the reason so many users still use ISDN to connect their video conferencing rooms. By comparison, when connecting via IP, there are many factors that will effect the quality of the call when it is connected and during the call.
When more than 2 devices connect on a video or audio conference, a bridge is being used.
Today bridges come in two flavors, the hardware version and the software version. Both have their pro’s and con’s but when it comes to if they are needed, it certainly seems so. If you need one depends on how you want to use video conferencing.
There are two methods of using a bridge: Self service is becoming the most popular as it’s the cheapest and can in many instances offer a wider range of product connectivity. Virtual Rooms is the buzz word for this self service as this seems to be the easiest way for the average Jo to understand. Self service virtual rooms are virtual rooms where users can dial or connect into that room using different devices and technologies and at difference speeds. These services are relatively cheap and allows most users, devices, software systems and networks to connect. The downside to this method is it is user reliant. As in the user needs to understand how to connect to the virtual room using their device, software and network. Some examples of these virtual rooms are Easymeeting and Acano.
Managed service has been the traditional way video conferencing users have connected their video devices in the past and still today. A managed service bridge connection is where a conferencing provider dial out to the users devices such as the boardroom or telepresence system without the need for the users or attendees to do anything but walk in, sit down and enjoy the video conference. This method provides the user with the best experience because it has a much higher rate of success and little to no user involvement in set up. The result of this is higher costs to pre-test and connect everything.
We here at whyGo recommend all rooms, private or public, are connected by a managed service provider simply because they can ensure a much better experience and the success rate is so much higher than relying on people who may or may not understand what they are doing.
Industry terms
We have compiled a list of all the terms and jargon used that baffles people.
Hopefully this helps un-baffle things for you.
meeting room
A physical space with a table and chairs dedicated for people to conduct face to face meetings. Meeting rooms are mostly private, walls and a door, but some can be set up in an open plan environment for people to use but this is them regarded as more meeting space rather than a meeting room. Room being the operative word that indicates the space is enclosed and private. Almost any room with a table and chairs can be converted into a meeting room.
training room
Training rooms are basically meeting rooms with ancillary products for the participants to conduct training sessions. Some examples would be a flip chart, a data projector, a white board or blackboard, all used primarily to share, present or coloboarate with information. Some venues have dedicated training rooms with these training products permanently set up for use.
day office
Like the name suggests, a day office is an office, that you can hire for the day or week, rather than take a contract and rent it for a month or more.These are becoming very popular for people who travel allot.
co-sharing space
Is space in an office that internal or external (the public) can hire. This space usually consists of a desk, internet and a phone. All you need to work. The big advantage of this sort of space is add human interaction. Working by yourself can be lonely and sometimes that is just not so cool.
video conferencing room
These are meeting rooms equipped with the latest and greatest video conferencing equipment so people can meet face to face all over the world.
event space
Even space is usual meeting space that targets large events or conferences. As we all know, conferences can be about almost any topic and they usually consist of speakers, big visual displays, catering and quote often, even accomodation.
data projector
Sometimes called a “beamer” we know this as the equipment that plays movies at the cinema. Although in a meeting space setting they are much smaller and portable. (much cheaper too) Perfect for presenting from a laptop.
flip chart
A big roll of paper on a stand that allows you to draw on. Great for presentations but terrible for the poor trees.
white board
Tree salvation arrives with the white board. Like the blackboard we all grew up with at school, well, some of us oldies, the white board allows the user to draw and erase. Perfect for presentations and training.
black board
A board that is black in color that requires the chalk to draw on it. Associated with very long wooden rulers that in primitive times, teachers would beat kids with.
catering
Nums nums. Available from just tap water on the table to a full banquette of canapes and flombet ala num num for those wanting to impress.
WIFI
Pronounced “why-fye”. Some pronounce it as “wee-fee”. We accept both. This is wireless internet to you portable devices that are capable of using the internet via wifi.
video conferencing
Communication across long distances with video and audio contact that may also include graphics and data.
public room
Video conferencing service offered to the public on a fee-for-usage basis.
room coordinator
A room coordinator (room monitor) is there to make sure the equipment is on and operational, greet the incoming attendees and be nearby in case something is needed i.e. adjust the volume, troubleshoot, indicate where the closest rest room is! They are not necessarily present in the room during the actual video conference.
point-to-point video conference
Video conference between two sites. (Compare with multi-point video conference.)
multi-point video conference
Video conference with more than two sites. The sites must connect via a video bridge. (Compare with point-to-point video conference.)
document sharing
A feature supported by many desktop video conferencing systems that allows participants at both ends of a video conference to view and edit the same computer document.
bridge
In video conferencing vernacular, a bridge connects three or more conference sites so that they can simultaneously communicate. Bridges are often called MCU’s – multipoint conferencing units. In IEEE 802 parlance, a bridge is a device that interconnects LAN’s or LAN segments at the data-link layer of the OSI model to extend the LAN environment physically.
They work with frames (as opposed to packets) of data, forwarding them between networks. They learn station addresses and they resolve problems with loops in the topology by participating in the spanning tree algorithm. Finally, the term bridge can be used in audio conferencing to refer to a device that connects multiple (more than two) voice calls so that all participants can hear and be heard.
analog signals
In video communications, electrical signals that carry sounds. The term is also used to describe systems concerned with sound with recording and transmission, speech pickup systems, transmission links that carry sounds, amplifiers and the like. Example devices: microphones, audio mixer.
audio bridge
Equipment that mixes multiple audio inputs and feeds back composite audio to each station after removing the individual station’s input.
algorithm
A step-by-step problem-solving procedure. Transmission of compressed video over a communications network requires sophisticated compression algorithms. Some video conferencing systems offer both proprietary and standard compression algorithms.
bandwidth
In casual use, the amount of information that can be transmitted in an information channel. High bandwidth Internet access means those web graphics load quickly on Netscape.
High bandwidth video conferencing means that the picture and sound will be clear. In computers, the speed at which data can be transmitted on a communications frequency.
In telecommunications, the maximum frequency (spectrum) measured in Hertz or cycles per second, between the two limiting frequencies of a channel.
room-based video conferencing
Video conferencing using a sophisticated system is appropriate for large groups. (Compare to desktop video conferencing.)
desktop video conferencing
Video conferencing on a personal computer is most appropriate for small groups or individuals (compare with room-based video conferencing). Many desktop video conferencing systems support document sharing.
TELCO
Generic term for the local telephone company. Can refer to an Interexchange Carrier or to the Local Exchange Carrier.
B channel
The ISDN circuit-switched bearer channels, capable of transmitting 64 Kbps of digitized information.
algorithm
A step-by-step problem-solving procedure. Transmission of compressed video over a communications network requires sophisticated compression algorithms. Some video conferencing systems offer both proprietary and standard compression algorithms.
Bps or BPS
(8-bit) bytes per second (upper case is significant).
BRI – Basic Rate Interface (ISDN)
3 digital signals over a single pair of copper wires: 2 voice (B) channels and 1 signal (D) channel. (e.g. voice and fax on a single pair of wires)
carrier
A term used to refer to various telephone companies that provide local, long distance or value added services; alternately, a system or systems whereby many channels of electrical information can be carried over a single transmission path. Example carriers: AT&T, MCI, Sprint.
codec
Coder-Decoder. Video conferencing hardware that codes the outgoing video and audio signals and decodes the incoming signals. Prior to transmission, the codec converts analog signals to digital signals and compresses the digital signals. Incoming audio and video must be decompressed and converted from digital back to analog.
compressed video
When the vast amount of information in a normal TV transmission (90 Mbps) is squeezed into a fraction of its former bandwidth by a codec, the resulting compressed video can be transmitted more economically over a smaller carrier (ISDN). Some information is sacrificed in the process, which may result in diminished picture and sound quality.
digital signals
Audio/video signals represented by discrete variations (in voltage, frequency, amplitude, location, etc.). A digital clock, for example, displays the time as discrete numeric values rather than angular displacement of analog hands. In general, digital signals can be transmitted faster and more accurately than analog signals. As an example, music from digital cd’s is usually more clear than music from analog records. (Contrast with analog signals.)
frame rate
Frequency in which video frames are displayed on a monitor, typically described in frames-per-second (fps). Higher frame rates improve the appearance of video motion. Broadcast TV (full motion video) is 30 frames-per-second.
full-motion video
Video reproduction at 30 frames per second (fps) for NTSC signals or 25 fps for PAL signals. Also known as continuous-motion video. In the video conferencing world, the term “full-motion video” is often used, and often misunderstood. Video conferencing systems cannot provide 30 fps for all resolutions at all times nor is that rate always needed for a high-quality, satisfying video image. Picture quality must sometimes be sacrificed to achieve interactive visual communication across the telephone network economically. Video conferencing vendors often use “full-motion video” to refer to any system that isn’t still-frame. Most video conferencing systems today run 10 to 15 frames per second at 112 Kbps. Need 384 Kbps in order to transmit 30 FPS.
H.320 standard
A widely-used video compression standard that allows a wide variety of video conferencing systems to communicate utilizing ISDN telephone lines.
H.323 standard
A widely-used video compression standard that allows a wide variety of video conferencing systems to communicate utilizing IP (Internet Protocol).
ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network
A CCITT standard for integrated transmission of voice, video and data. Bandwidths include: Basic Rate Interface – BR (144 Kbps – 2 B & 1 D channel) and Primary Rate – PRI (1.544 and 2.048 Mbps). Integrated Services Digital Network. A set of protocol and interface standards that effectively constitute an integrated (voice, video, and data) telephone “network.” These standards promote global availability and compatibility of ISDN products and services. The two types of ISDN discussed in this Guide are Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primate Rate Interface (PRI). ISDN BRI (ISDN Basic Rate Interface) is the interface to connect the desktop to the digital long distance network. ISDN BRI provides two 64Kbps B (“bearer”) channels to carry information content, the voice, video, and data substance of a transmission. A separate 16Kbps D (“data”) channel is used for call setup and signaling.
ISDN BRI is often called “2B+D” ISDN, for its combination of two B and one D channel. This service is marketed and supported by the LECs. ISDN PRI (Primary Rate Interface) is the ISDN equivalent of a T-1 circuit. It provides 23B+D (in North America) or 30B+D (in Europe) running at 1.544 Mbps and 2.048Mps, respectively. Each channel (time slot) is 64Kbps. One channel is reserved as the D channel; the other 23, as bearer channels (23+D).
kbps
Kilobits per second. Refers to transmission speed of 1,000 bits per second.
compressed video
When the vast amount of information in a normal TV transmission (90 Mbps) is squeezed into a fraction of its former bandwidth by a codec, the resulting compressed video can be transmitted more economically over a smaller carrier (ISDN). Some information is sacrificed in the process, which may result in diminished picture and sound quality.
NT 1
Network Termination type 1. The NT-1 is a device which converts the two-wire line (or “U” interface) coming from your telephone company into a 4-wire line (or “S/T” interface). The NT-1 is physically connected between the ISDN board of your video conferencing system and your ISDN phone line. The NT- 1 supports network maintenance functions such as loop testing.
Check to see if your ISDN equipment requires an external NT-1 to operate.
NTSC – National Television Standards Committee (Never Twice the Same Color)
When the vast amount of information in a normal TV transmission (90 Mbps) is squeezed into a fraction of its former bandwidth by a codec, the resulting compressed video can be transmitted more economically over a smaller carrier (ISDN). Some information is sacrificed in the process, which may result in diminished picture and sound quality.
PAL – Phase Alternative Line System
The European TV standard based upon 50 cycles.per second electrical system and 625 lines per frame and 25 Frames per Second. (NTSC, the North American standard is based on 30 frames per second) (French use SECAM)
POTS
Plain Old Telephone Service. Conventional analog telephone lines using twisted-pair copper wire. This is used to provide residential service.
switched 56
Switched 56 service allows customers to dial up and transmit digital information up to 56,000 bits per second in much the same way that they dial up an analog telephone call.
The service is billed like a voice line-a monthly charge plus a cost for each minute of usage. Nearly all LECs and IXCs offer switched 56 service and any switched 56 offering can connect with any other offering, regardless of which carrier offers the service.
T-1
The transmission bit rate of 1.544 millions bits per second. This is also equivalent to the ISDN Primary Rate Interface for the U.S. The European T1 or E1 transmission rate is 2.048 million bits per second.
whiteboarding
A term used to describe the placement of shared documents on an on-screen “shared notebook” or “whiteboard.” Desktop video conferencing software includes “snapshot” tools that enable you to capture entire windows or portions of windows and place them on the whiteboard. You can also use familiar Windows operations (cut and paste) to put snapshots on the whiteboard.
You work with familiar tools to mark up the electronic whiteboard much like you do with a traditional wall mounted board.