Apple Media Conference and QuickTime Conferencing

pple Media Conference and QuickTime Conferencing software leverage the built-in capabilities of Macintosh systems to make videoconferencing and collaboration surprisingly easy and affordable. Just add a camera and you’re ready to work with colleagues over an Ethernet local area network or the worldwide Internet. The QuickTime Conferencing system extension is based on Apple’s QuickTime technology. Because the QuickTime architecture is so extensible, Macintosh developers can easily enhance QuickTime Conferencing for specialized purposes such as video mail, medical imaging, or distance learning.

Apple Media Conference software is a versatile, easy-to-use videoconferencing and collaboration application. It supports point-to-point, multiparty, and broadcast videoconferencing sessions. When you videoconference with colleagues who are also using Apple Media Conference, you can work collaboratively by posting text, graphics, sounds, and QuickTime movies to a shared “white board” that everyone can view and annotate. Users save posted files— either with or without annotations— to their desktops for future viewing. They can also record videoconferencing sessions as QuickTime movies for easy reference later.

Apple Media Conference’s broadcast capabilities allow one user to broadcast a live video source (cable or broadcast TV, or a videocassette) over a local area network to an unlimited number of viewers. Viewers don’t need a camera to tune into a broadcast.

Apple Media Conference and QuickTime Conferencing: Apple’s inexpensive, easy-to-use solution for people who need to work together from different locations.

Features

Versatility

• Lets you exchange video, text, graphics, sounds, and movies with other Apple Media Conference users
• Works over the Internet, local area networks, and ISDN networks (QuickTime Conferencing ISDN Kit required for ISDN networking)
• Offers user-selectable video and audio compression rates, and user-controllable video and audio quality settings
• Supports multiparty videoconferences and one-to-many broadcasts as well as one-to-one sessions

Ease of use

• Uses a one-button installer
• Features a standard Macintosh user interface to make videoconferencing easier than ever
• Works with Apple’s PowerTalk software, so users can initiate videoconferences simply by clicking on PowerTalk “business cards”
• Includes AppleGuide, an interactive, on-line tutorial

Affordability

• Leverages the built-in multimedia features of Macintosh computers to make videoconferencing inexpensive
• Preserves your investment, because the QuickTime Conferencing system extension can easily be extended with new capabilities

Technical Specifications

QuickTime Conferencing system extension

Network protocols supported

• AppleTalk
• TCP/IP

Network protection features

• Flow control for real-time media
• Multicast media distribution
• Low bit-rate video coding algorithms
• Bandwidth monitoring and control via a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) station

Video input formats supported

• NTSC
• PAL
• SECAM

Audio and video compression standards supported

• ITU-T H.261
• JPEG
• Apple Video
• MACE

Apple Media Conference application

• When communicating with other Macintosh systems, provides shared white-board capability for:
  • Sharing of text, images, sounds, and movies
  • On-screen annotation of document images
• Enables point-to-point videoconferencing sessions over Ethernet or the Internet (ISDN support available with the addition of the QuickTime Conferencing ISDN Kit; see Ordering Information)
• Supports multipoint videoconferencing sessions with other Media Conference users over Ethernet or the Internet. Supports broadcast sessions over Ethernet
• Can record sessions as QuickTime movies
• Permits any combination of connection types, such as:
  • Audio and video both directions
  • Audio and video one direction, audio only the other direction
  • Audio and video one direction, video only the other direction
  • Audio only
  • Video only
  • White board only

System requirements

• One of the following Macintosh systems*:
  • Any Macintosh AV model
  • Power Macintosh 7500
  • Power Macintosh 8500
• 16MB of RAM
• System 7.5 or later (PowerTalk installation recommended; lets users call other QuickTime Conferencing users via PowerTalk business cards)
• A hard disk drive
• A microphone
• For video sessions: A video camera, such as the Apple QuickTime Conferencing Camera 100, included in the QuickTime Conferencing Kit; see ordering information
• A connection to one of the following networks:
  • Ethernet (using TCP/IP or AppleTalk protocols)
  • Internet (requires a TCP/IP connection of at least 128 Kbits/sec)
  • ISDN (requires the QuickTime Conferencing ISDN Kit; see Ordering Information)
• Optional: External powered speakers

See Also

• Apple Computer