Videoconferencing can be described as a communications tool that shrinks time and distance. Unlike a traditional conference, which requires participants to meet at a designated (often remote) site, videoconferencing allows registrants to participate from many different locations at the same time.
Typically, a presenter or panel of presenters deliver a message "live" from an NYN studio to multiple receive sites simultaneously. Each site has access back to the studio through a toll-free phone number, allowing participants to interact with the presenters on the air. This interactive format (one-way video, two-way audio) combines the dynamism of television and the efficiency of the phone call to provide a powerful, cost-effective means of reaching large groups.
Videoconference Advantages:
- interactivity—not a passive medium
- immediacy—reaches multiple sites simultaneously
- expediency—top-level experts can reach wide audiences
- longevity—broadcast can be taped for future use
- cost effectiveness—$$’s saved in time and travel
