Virtual Conferencing Glossary

E

E-box - Electronics box (the main codec box) of a group videoconferencing system.

Echo-cancellation - A process that attenuates or eliminates the acoustic echo effect on videoconference calls. Echo cancellers are largely replacing obsolete echo suppressers.

Echo effect - A time-delayed electronic reflection of a speaker's voice. This is largely eliminated by modern digital echo cancellation.

Echo suppression - Echo suppression reduces annoying echoes in the audio portion of a videoconference. It silences all sound when on by temporarily deadening the communication link in one direction. Unfortunately, not only the echo is stopped but also the remote end's new speech, which results in clipping.

Email - Short for electronic mail, the transmission of messages over electronic communications networks. Some electronic-mail systems are confined to a single computer system, Intranet or network, but others have gate-ways to the Internet, enabling users to send electronic mail anywhere in the world.

Encryption - Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, called a ciphertext, which cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people. Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back into its original form, so it can be understood.

Ethernet - The most widely used form of local-area network (LAN). In the original form, signals are broadcast on coaxial cables, analogous to radio transmission through the mythical “ether”. 10BaseT wiring is nor preferred over coaxial cable in most environments.

Ethernet switch - A device than connects local area networks (LAN). Ethernet switching is viewed as one solution to deliver 10Base-T networks that are bandwidth-constrained because of a new requirement to carry multimedia mes-sages and interactive videoconferencing communications. To qualify as an Ethernet Switch, a device must be capable of switching packets from one Ethernet segment to another "on the fly" and exhibit very low port-to-port latency.