The Ultimate Guide to Video Conferencing Solutions

High-quality video conferencing solutions are essential for every modern business. Whether you're running a local business with global customers, having remote employees connecting with local colleagues or simply sharing some specific content on the screens during one-site meetings, video conferencing is for certain a necessity.

Four Must-have Items in Video Conferencing Solutions

The equipment you apply in that room has to satisfy the needs of starting a video conference call, including HD video conference camera and clear, noise-reducing audio to make sure everyone around the meeting table can be seen and heard from the beginning to the end of the visual conference.

In that case, setting the right equipment is the first step. Instead of getting into the details of the specific hardware and software required for video conferencing solutions, we are about to check few basic things off the list first. Here’s what you need.

Multiple Display Screens

For a video conference, the "video" is indispensable. Having the right conference room display for your next on-site video conference will provide a more enjoyable and impressive professional experience. It could be a laptop, desktop monitor, or a television screen. But how to select the displays for your own video conferencing, here are few factors you need to consider.

• Display size

• Type of display - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED), or Projector

• Mounting height

What size, height or type of the display you choose depends on the size of your video conference room. Usually, the bigger the room is, the larger your display screen should be.

High-resolution Conference Camera

To host a high-quality video conference, any visual subtleties including facial expression and body language are vital for insisting the authenticity of real-life and online face-to-face interactions.

• High definition: Resolution is essential when choosing a conference camera, since it is the basic requirement to capture a clear view.

• Wide angle: If you're showing some presentation on a whiteboard or a group of people seating around the conference table, you'd better go for a conference camera with at least 90° field of view.

• Light correction: There are circumstances where no matter how many lights you install, you may still encounter low light problems if not arrange the lamps correctly. A conference camera with auto light correction will get you out of that concern for good.

To meet all these needs, a full HD 1080p conference camera with auto light correction and wide field of view would be good, whether for a professional-looking presentation or real-time collaboration.

Audio System - Speakers and Microphones

A good audio system is always a key point in a video conference. You don't want your voice get lost by other members or create any noise when others are speaking. Usually, audio hardware has two-in-one design with both speakers and microphones. It has multiple microphones, which are pointed in different directions, so multiple people in a conference room can speak without degradation in audio quality. Noise reduction plays an important role for a speaker, which you need to consider when looking for a good one.

Fortunately, there are conference cameras with built-in microphones making your video conference setup much easier. And the built-in microphones can pick up the sound within several meters around with noise reduction.

Stable Internet (Wi-Fi) Connection

A slow network on video conferencing is like a slow computer processor: it may cause delay or cutting off of your video meeting. To support a best video conference experience, you need stable, fast, high-bandwidth networks.

The higher the bandwidth, the better the quality of the image, especially if you‘re having HQ video meetings with a resolution of 1080p, which require bandwidths above 4 Mbp/s upload and download speed.

Three Simple Steps of Video Conferencing Setup

After purchasing all the ideal equipment for your video conference room, it's time to set them up for your first video conference call. Here are three easy steps to follow:

1. Set a stable, high-bandwidth network and then connect the video system to your display screens.

2. Pair your video system to the video conference platform you chose.

3. Make an informal video conference call to test your system connection.

Top Three Tips for Your First Video Conference

1. Test your audio, video and Wi-Fi connection before the meeting.

There is nothing worse than wasting time connecting your video conference app with your hardware while leaving other meeting members waiting for you. To avoid encountering any problems stopping you from starting the meeting, testing your setup in advance is of great significance.

2. Mute yourself at the right time.

One of the biggest questions is when to use the mute button. You may love your background noise, which could be the noise your coffee machine makes, your kids or your pets, but others probably don't enjoy any of this at all. Even if you got a noise-reduction audio, it's not absolutely imopssible that very little noise from your end could distract others. Muting yourself when it's not your turn to speak also helps to avoid unconscious interrupting which you may not realize is rude.

3. Utilize visuals to fully engage remote participants.

Visuals are a great tool to make your video conference interesting and attractive. Utilizing the visuals by sharing screens with PowerPoint presentations, graphs, charts, videos, context or anything else to achieve real-time collaboration.

Communication is more non-verbal than most people realize. With the right visuals and the best video quality, everything you’re trying to communicate will be more easily received by other meeting participants.

What Video Conferencing Solutions Should I Go For?

Actually, not all the video conferencing solutions are instructive for you. With different room sizes and bughet, those fit you most should be the best. Before finalizing your video conferencing setup, it's better for you to go through your room size - whether it's a huddle room, small room or midsized room, together with your budget, to decide on your own final video conference solutions.