An Interactive Videoconferencing System with Web-based Interfaces for Conference Control

Abstract

This paper describes the ATM-based multipoint videoconferencing (AMV) system, which employs ATM networks for distributing high-quality audio/video and the Internet for transmitting conferees' interaction requests. The AMV system can provide continuous presence and I four control/management functions for conferees to achieve interactive videoconferences over wide-area networks. In order to prototype the videoconference applications quickly and flexibly, we developed a multimedia-application development platform. We also implemented Web-based interfaces for conferees to effectively control/manage the videoconferences. Through running a prototype AMY system, we obtained many valuable experimental results. After exploring various aspects of the system behavior, we investigate the asynchrony of the Web-based interfaces, evaluate the proposed disciplines for floor competition, and analyze the response time of conference control. This study can provide researchers the practical experience of developing videoconferencing systems and show several guidelines on designing interactive videoconferencing systems over wide-area networks.