It is possible to use streamed video in a conference consisting of PC-based videoconferencing clients, but each site will have to view the video separately. This means that each site will have to be sure the right player is installed (Windows Media. Real, or Quicktime), and will need to do it before the meeting since this type of software installation can take a very long time (half-hour or more with all the reboots, configuration, registration, etc). The host of the videoconference will need to either make a web page for participants consisting of links to the video files, or will need to send URLs via email. If the player is used on the same PC as the videoconference, that PC will need to have plenty of "umpf" to run both applications since they each are resource-intensive.
A site using an appliance for videoconferencing will need to have a PC to run a streaming video player.
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| PC-based Client | Appliance | Netmeeting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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PC-based Client | Run streaming player separately | Add PC to run streaming player | Run streaming player separately |
| Appliance | Run streaming player separately |
Add PC to run streaming player | Run streaming player separately |
|
| Netmeeting | Run streaming player separately | Add PC to run streaming player | Run streaming player separately | |
Video files on a CD that are viewed with this sort of application are subject to the same problems. These sorts of materials will need to be transmitted to each site prior to the conference.