Videoconferencing works by linking computers via a telephone line. Computers are equipped with cameras and microphone facilities and the phone line is able to transmit both pictures and sound.
Specialist software is installed on the computer and used for dialling a videoconference.
Videoconference communication is two-way, just like ordinary telephone calls, except that participating sites can see, as well as hear, each other. Videoconferencing equipment allows switching between camera views and computer views, so that a speaker is able to show PowerPoint slides to other participants and then switch back to a face view. Several types of videoconferencing installations are available. If necessary, a data projector can be connected to a computer to project a larger image for a larger audience. The site for the current program is a lecture theatre in a nearby tertiary teaching hospital.