The information is divided into packets. All systems require hardware that captures and digitizes the audio and video. An additional feature found in most systems is a shared drawing area usually called a whiteboard, which is analogous to the whiteboards, found in many conference and classrooms. These whiteboards commonly allow participants to import other graphics such as images and to make annotations. Whiteboards are good for simple sketches, but fine detail is difficult to achieve using a mouse.
Many systems allow an easy way to transfer files between participants.
Some systems allow application sharing,which enables a participant to take control of an application running on another participant's computer. The usefulness of an application sharing is often demonstrated with an example of sharing a spreadsheet or word processor program to facilitate group collaboration. Desktop videoconferencing systems communicate in a variety of different ways. Table 5 represents these ways of communication. A digital service that is similar to ISDN except that its channels are of a lower bandwidth.