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Intel, Microsoft Push Web Video Conferencing

Internet Video Phone and NetMeeting Use H.323 Web-based Video Conferencing Standard

By Michael Desmond, PCWorld   

Web-based video conferencing got a big boost this week when Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. released beta versions of compatible Internet video conferencing software. Based on the H.323 specification from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Microsoft NetMeeting 2.0 and Intel Internet Video Phone let users conduct video calls over the World Wide Web using standard, analog telephone lines. The beta products are being distributed for free download at the companies%squot Web sites.

Unlike older Web-based video schemes such as VDOnet%squots VDOPhone or White Pine Software%squots Cu See Me, which only work with systems using the same scheme, NetMeeting and Internet Video Phone can interoperate with other H.323-compliant conferencing products. Intel hopes to stimulate widespread consumer demand for PC-based video conferencing -- an effort it launched first with its ProShare ISDN video conferencing solutions several years ago. A wide variety of vendors plan to introduce H.323 products, including PictureTel, Netscape, and VoxWare.

The new software helps address at least one problem with Internet telephony: finding another person to talk to. Products use IP addresses to establish a call, but many service providers assign a new IP address to users each time they log on -- the equivalent of a telephone company changing your number every time you hang up the phone. Microsoft%squots Universal Locator Service (ULS) provides a dynamic phone book of Internet telephony users, using email addresses and server domain names (which don%squott change all the time) to locate users. Users enter their information into a register to become part of the ULS.

Despite the improvements, Web-based video conferencing over analog phone lines suffers from poor video quality. %dquotThe only people who will use this technology now are nine-year-old sons of Intel product managers,%dquot jokes Vern Mackall, senior analyst with research firm IDC in New York City. %dquotIn order to do real business video conferencing, you are still going to want to use ISDN.%dquot

Ross Rubin, Group Director of Consumer Internet Technologies at research firm Jupiter Communications, says that Web video and conferencing are intriguing applications. %dquotIn the near term, the value is obviously going to be for corporate use and leading-edge Net users -- I guess the same people who have been willing to try Internet telephony right now. Down the line another good use may be the remote users for dial up, virtual meetings, things like that.%dquot