DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TELECONFERENCE SYSTEM

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TELECONFERENCE SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

As computer and electronics technology continues to grow over the ages, many new innovations continue to flood the industry, creating machine and avenues through which human activities can be enhanced. The development video messaging over media is an important aspect of this growth in technology.  Such information was then able to be packaged and transmitted remotely from source to intended users.  But this was rarely a real time scenario.  The best we can get out of this was a live coverage of an event, which was usually of high cost and difficult for individuals to own.

The advent of the internet offered better opportunity for inventors to think of better ways of making the communication of video information from source to target in real time and with less cost.  Many equipment have been developed to this effect.  Further improvement has given birth to what is now known as teleconference.

The word ‘tele’ means distance. The word 'conference‘ means consultations, discussions. Through teleconferencing two or more locations situated at a distance are connected so that they can hear or both see and hear each other. It allows the distant sites to interact with each other and with the teaching end through phone, fax, and e-mail. The interactions occur in real time. This means that the learners/participants and the resource persons are present at the same time in different locations and are able to communicate with each other. In some situations, questions can be faxed/e-mailed early for response by the resource persons  conference is further described by Matthew Lombard and Theresa Ditton as ―an illusion that a mediated experience is not mediated." Today, it often considers the effect that people experience when they interact with a computer-mediated or computer-generated environment. The conceptualization of presence borrows from multiple fields including communication, computer science, psychology, science, engineering, philosophy, and the arts. The concept of presence accounts for a variety of computer applications and Web-based entertainment today that are developed on the fundamentals of the phenomenon, in order to give people the sense of, as Sheridan called it, ―being there." Since teleconferencing is actually a useful tool in organizations because it is solely used to bridge the geographical distance between two or more companies, and from my research, I have discovered that it is only big companies that can actually afford it, so I designed this project inorder to curb that trend that is allow smaller companies purchase and also make use of it.

1.2 Aims and Objectives

The major objective of this work is to develop a Computer Based Teleconference.  It also targets at contributing to academic research work.

1.3   Justification for the project

The need for a teleconference system is obvious for several reasons as shown below:

a.   It Impacts on education by allowing live participation without physically being present for a lecture.

b.   Legal issues can still be treated even when a person is not fit to go to court.

c.    Press men can attained international conferences without having to be physically present.

d.   Telemedicine is possible because of teleconference.

e.   It makes the best use of the available resources by expanding the learning opportunity and taking the resources to the learners.

f.    It overcomes time or scheduling problems for the learners who can assemble at a learning center for a limited period only because of their full time or part time work, and family and community commitments.

g.   It can be designed to meet local specific requirements of training in terms of content, language and conditions.

h.   Training is of high quality and consistent. There is exposure to multiple perspectives from the primary sources, and therefore as the input from the resource persons is direct, there is little loss of quality in transaction.

i.     There is greater appeal, motivation and retention of information as a variety of teaching methodologies are used.

1.4   Scope of the Project

The scope of this work will include the following;

a.   A dynamic Network system that can communicate in real time.

b.  To be able to implement a video streaming server.

c.   Explore the power of visual basic in data handling

1.5 Project Report Organization

This report is organized into five chapters.  The first chapter takes care of introduction: background, aims and objectives, justification, and scope of the project. Chapter two is the literature review. Chapter three is the project methodology, analysis, limitations of the existing system, system design, system flowchart and top down design were done.  The input, processing and output modules are critically analyzed.

In chapter four, system implementation, testing and integration: choice of development tools, system requirements, and testing were carefully done.    Finally chapter five closes up with summary, recommendations and conclusions: limitation, Bill of Engineering Measurement and Engineering (BEME), bibliography, appendices.