But the experience will be about as satisfying as the failed bypass experiments with the Internet telephone. The problem lies in the inherent nature of IP networks. The steady digital bitstream presented by the videoconferencing system's hardware or software codec must be chopped up into packets. Most networks guarantee delivery and recombination of these packets in correct order, but not at a steady rate. LAN internetworks may be subject to high latencies.
Audio quality is susceptible to slight interruptions or rate variations in the data stream.
Developers are working hard to improve codec software and invent techniques for overcoming network limitations. Cornell University's CU-SeeMe has been a highly influential product. Codec software to support videoconferencing over a network was first developed as a research project. This left his primary phone line available for voice contact. We found that when either party is sending audio through a microphone using Enhanced CU-SeeMe, his video nearly freezes.