The Basic Difference in Design

Traditional video conferencing systems employ a centralized multi-point design. This requires the use of an MCU (built-in, or a separate dedicated unit) to handle multi-point conferences. Each conference participant captures, encodes, and sends their video and audio streams to MCU. The MCU in turn decodes each incoming stream, combines the incoming streams into a single composite video stream and a single composite video stream that are then re-encoded and sent back to each endpoint.

IPContact is designed to handle multi-point conferences as decentralized. Each endpoint encodes and sends their video and audio streams directly to each of the other participants in the conference.

The Power of PowerPlay™ Multi-point Design

Ease of Use

This is the true power behind the PowerPlay™ System. Using this design, PowerPlay™ can easily connect multiple people into the conference with a few simple clicks of the mouse. Each individual video may be sized and arranged independently of the other participants. Each user has full control to set the conference up to best suite meet their needs. MCUs are often a separate piece of equipment, requiring someone to set it up prior to placing calls. PowerPlay users can add up to 8 participants “on demand” without any MCU. This makes ad hoc calling easy. Users really can call anyone from any station at any time, just like using a telephone. And now, PowerPlay can show ALL eight participants on the screen at 1 Full CIF resolution each!

Lower Latency High Quality

Latency and video degradation is minimized with PowerPlay™. In a centralized multi-point conference, each video stream arriving at the MCU must be decoded, merged with the other decoded video streams and the resultant re-encoded before being sent on to the endpoints to be decoded once again. Because PowerPlay™ sends the video stream directly to the other endpoints, the video is encoded and decode only once. The extra encoding and decoding performed by the MCU not only increases the latency, but degrades the video as well.

Efficient Use of Networking Bandwidth

With an MCU in the call, each non-MCU endpoint must first send their local view to the MCU only to have it sent back before displaying. With PowerPlay, the local view is simply displayed locally and is never sent out only to have it sent back for display.

Each PowerPlay™ video stream is sent only to those endpoints currently displaying that video. Should any recipient chose to stop displaying a particular stream at any time, the originator immediately mutes the stream to that endpoint. Should the recipient choose to re-display the video, the originator will immediately begin sending video automatically.

PowerPlay™ Audio: The Right Level Right Now

With a centralized video conference each endpoint receives all the audio as a single composite stream from the MCU. Since there is only one stream, only the volume of the entire stream can be adjusted. If one participant is too quiet or another is too loud, they must make the adjustment without the benefit of hearing exactly how it sounds on your end. Not so with a PowerPlay™ decentralized video conferencing. Each audio stream arrives separately from the other endpoints allowing the local user to adjust their volumes independently. In addition, PowerPlay™ offers automatic gain control (AGC) which will normalize each stream allowing for those away from the microphone to be heard equally as well as those near by.