Browser Based Video Conferencing and Webinars

Video conferencing, once limited to the corporate environment, is now available to anyone with a broadband connection and web browser. MegaMeeting has a new suite of products available for PCs, MACs and Linux computers that don’t require the usual downloads and installations. If you can browse a website, you can participate in a video conference or webinar.

MegaMeeting’s web-based video conferencing system takes advantage of the Flash Player 9 plug-in that is already installed in most Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari browsers. If your computer has 256 MB of RAM and a 1.2 GHz or faster processor, it should work fine. You’ll also need an Internet connection with 240 Kbps bandwidth. That’s pretty much anything that dares to call itself broadband. In actuality, though, you’ll only be using 70 Kbps per video feed. Pretty easy requirements to meet, don’t you think?

A video camera isn’t required to be a participant, but if you have one, or can get a cheap one, you can be one of the 16 simultaneous video screens streaming in the conference. It’s just like one of those discussion shows on TV, but with a lot more screens. Unlike many competing services, MegaMeeting includes free Voice Over IP, so you get audio along with your video. No separate telephone calls are needed.

MegaMeeting’s product also scales from personal and small business use with 10 participants or fewer, on up to private branded enterprise solutions with the maximum number of attendees determines only by your available bandwidth and the number of seats purchased in your account. All of their plans offer unlimited video conferencing worldwide 24/7. Professional solutions support screen, application and desktop sharing plus PowerPoint presentations and computer sharing.

How much does all of this cost? Personal accounts start at under $50 a month. Professional accounts start at $15 a seat with a 3 seat minimum and get cheaper from there. Enterprise level solutions hosted on your own servers are appropriately priced, but considerably cheaper than alternative solutions.

Ultra Conference Dual Conference Calling Solution

Once you develop a need for teleconferences that go beyond small groups of people huddling around speakerphones at a couple of locations, you get interested in conference calling solutions. While some PBX systems offer conference bridges that can join multiple phones, an outsourced conferencing solution can allow dozens or even hundreds of diversely located participants to be part of the same call.

Ultra Conference is an enterprise grade conferencing solution that is inexpensive enough to use for all sorts of teleconferencing applications. Even more versatile is the choice you get between fixed price and per-minute charges.

One popular use for Ultra Conference is training calls. The company provides a moderator and trainers or guest experts. Participants are given a phone number and PIN code to dial at a pre-scheduled time. No-one has to be located at a "conferencing center." Any phone will do. The moderator controls the session and can choose to let everyone speak at will, or enter a lecture mode that allows only certain parties to talk. Others can raise a virtual hand to speak by pushing a button on their dialpad. The entire call can be recorded for later reference or even to post on a website for downloading by those who missed the call.

Another popular use for teleconferences is shareholder calls which can include question and answer sessions. These can possibly involve a hundred or more participants. Ultra Conference scales easily to handle this many callers. You also have the option to have an UltraConference operator moderate the call or even call your participants when it's time for the telecon.

I know what you're thinking. A service like this must be pretty pricey. Would you be surprised to know that there are no sign-up fees, no monthly service fees and no contracts involved? You pay as you go, which makes UltraConference practical for even very small or virtual companies.

There are two plans available. With the per-minute plan, you pay 7.9 cents per minute per participant on domestic calls. Participants dial a toll free access number to join the call. With the flat rate plan, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of lines you want to reserve. It starts at $39/month for 5 lines and gets cheaper per line as the quantity of lines goes up. You can use the lines for as many conference calls in a month as you desire. In the flat rate plan, participants dial an Atlanta phone number and pay for the call themselves. Your cost besides the monthly line rental is 3.9 cents per minute long distance charge per participant.

Ah, which to chose, which to choose? Don't strain your brain over this. Use the handy comparison calculator to see which plan is the most cost effective for your particular needs. Enter the number of participants, average length of conference, and number of conferences per month. Then click the "calculate now" button and you'll have your answer. This will also help you compare the cost of UltraConference with the conferencing solution you are using now. If you've been paying a bundle to host company telecons, you might switch to saving a bundle with UltraConference.