If you are trying to unleash the full potential of web conferencing, then investing in good web conferencing software is an option you must consider.
Now there are free conference tools available such as the chat programs, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger that can double up as web conferencing resources for you, but they won't provide you with the features that a dedicated web conferencing software application will give you.
Here we will be taking a look at some of the features of such software applications.
Video Conferencing One of the hallmarks of web conferencing tools is that they allow for video conferencing.
The free tools mentioned above will either not provide video features or, if they provide, they won't give you superior quality.
With good server based conferencing software solutions like Web Meet Live for example, the reception of the video quality is quite good.
You can see the person you are conferencing with.
VoIP Audio Conferencing You could also use your web conferencing resources as an audio conferencing tool.
Most web conferencing solutions will require you to use a telephone line, but then some like Web Meet Live won't even need that.
All you have to do is connect a microphone to your computer and you are set.
Website, HTML Slides & File Sharing For people who are communicating from remote locations, this is an unbeatable option.
Presenters and guests can share web pages, html slide show presentations, online streaming videos, as well as provide links to online documents.
These could be files of different formats; they could be PDF files, word documents, presentation, spreadsheets or any other type of file that resides on the Internet.
Web Meet Live allows you to do this through synchronized browsing.
You can invite your guests to visit a website and they can download files from there.
Ability to Go Private Any good web conferencing tool should allow presenters and moderators to go for private conversations if needed.
Thus, if two people participating in a conference need to communicate in private, they should be able to do so through private text chat.
Compatibility Web conferencing software applications are being designed for all kinds of platforms today owing to their vast popularity.
There are software applications that will work only on the windows operating systems, while there are also those that support MAC users as well.
They may be server based or peer to peer.
These are some features that you need to check into, as a server based system, like Web Meet Live, supports all connection speeds, including dial up and satellite users.
Web Meet Live also runs on java, which is pre-installed on all MAC systems and on the majority of new PCs.
So there is no huge download or installation for you or your web conference guests.
Support Many web conferencing software providers offer great support.
But be sure you check this when considering a particular application so that you know you will always have the help when you need it.
Give the company a call to see if they answer the telephone during normal business hours.
If you cannot speak with someone to get your pre- sales questions answered in a timely manner, it's a pretty good indication of the kind of support you'll receive once you become a customer.
Other Features Additional features you'll want to consider when choosing a web conferencing software provider are whiteboard with annotation capabilities, polling, PPT and open office presentation sharing, as well as built in recording.
Can you easily record your entire web meeting, including poll results, web pages, white board and screen sharing activity and upload to the web for on demand viewing? Many services allow you to record.
But editing for on demand viewing can be challenging for those who may be a little technically challenged.
Now there are free conference tools available such as the chat programs, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger that can double up as web conferencing resources for you, but they won't provide you with the features that a dedicated web conferencing software application will give you.
Here we will be taking a look at some of the features of such software applications.
Video Conferencing One of the hallmarks of web conferencing tools is that they allow for video conferencing.
The free tools mentioned above will either not provide video features or, if they provide, they won't give you superior quality.
With good server based conferencing software solutions like Web Meet Live for example, the reception of the video quality is quite good.
You can see the person you are conferencing with.
VoIP Audio Conferencing You could also use your web conferencing resources as an audio conferencing tool.
Most web conferencing solutions will require you to use a telephone line, but then some like Web Meet Live won't even need that.
All you have to do is connect a microphone to your computer and you are set.
Website, HTML Slides & File Sharing For people who are communicating from remote locations, this is an unbeatable option.
Presenters and guests can share web pages, html slide show presentations, online streaming videos, as well as provide links to online documents.
These could be files of different formats; they could be PDF files, word documents, presentation, spreadsheets or any other type of file that resides on the Internet.
Web Meet Live allows you to do this through synchronized browsing.
You can invite your guests to visit a website and they can download files from there.
Ability to Go Private Any good web conferencing tool should allow presenters and moderators to go for private conversations if needed.
Thus, if two people participating in a conference need to communicate in private, they should be able to do so through private text chat.
Compatibility Web conferencing software applications are being designed for all kinds of platforms today owing to their vast popularity.
There are software applications that will work only on the windows operating systems, while there are also those that support MAC users as well.
They may be server based or peer to peer.
These are some features that you need to check into, as a server based system, like Web Meet Live, supports all connection speeds, including dial up and satellite users.
Web Meet Live also runs on java, which is pre-installed on all MAC systems and on the majority of new PCs.
So there is no huge download or installation for you or your web conference guests.
Support Many web conferencing software providers offer great support.
But be sure you check this when considering a particular application so that you know you will always have the help when you need it.
Give the company a call to see if they answer the telephone during normal business hours.
If you cannot speak with someone to get your pre- sales questions answered in a timely manner, it's a pretty good indication of the kind of support you'll receive once you become a customer.
Other Features Additional features you'll want to consider when choosing a web conferencing software provider are whiteboard with annotation capabilities, polling, PPT and open office presentation sharing, as well as built in recording.
Can you easily record your entire web meeting, including poll results, web pages, white board and screen sharing activity and upload to the web for on demand viewing? Many services allow you to record.
But editing for on demand viewing can be challenging for those who may be a little technically challenged.
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