Patent ID: 7773581

Claim:
A telecommunications system for conferencing comprising: a network; N nodes in communication with each other through the network, where N is greater than or equal to three and is an integer, each node of the N nodes able to produce a unique corresponding video stream having a bandwidth and a unique corresponding audio stream having a bandwidth for transmission over the network to other nodes of the N nodes, with each stream's bandwidth from each node being dynamically controlled and set at predetermined levels; wherein each node packetizes the corresponding video stream and the corresponding audio stream by adding header information to each packet which identifies addresses of the other nodes so that each node uses point to multipoint streams to transmit the corresponding video stream and the corresponding audio stream through the network to the other nodes; wherein there is a first node, a second node, and, at least a third node of the N nodes in communication with each other through the network, the first node sending a first video stream of a scene at the first node, a second video stream of the scene at the first node and an audio stream of the scene at the first node to the second and third nodes, the second and third nodes playing the audio stream and either the first video stream or the second video stream; wherein the second node sends a first video stream of a scene at the second node, a second video stream of the scene at the second node and an audio stream of the scene at the second node to the third node, where the third node has a display controller which controls the image that appears on the screen and which plays each first video stream from each node alongside each other on the screen of a third node; and wherein the first and second video streams and the audio streams of the first and second nodes are sent over the network for a video conference call, with no conferencing bridge or multipoint control unit, MCU, used for the video conference call.