Virtual Conferencing Glossary

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IDEC - Integrated Dynamic Echo Cancellation patented by PictureTel. Dynamically eliminates conference echo so that true full-duplex audio is possible.

IMUX - Inverse multiplexer - A device using inverse multiplexing technology to aggregates multiple switched chan-nels to achieve a desired data rate for a session.

Instant messaging - Instant Messaging is the ability to see if a chosen friend, co-worker, or associate is connected to the Internet and if they are, you are then able to exchange "real time" messages with them.

Interoperability - The ability of electronic components produced by different manufacturers to communicate across product line. The trend toward embracing standards has greatly furthered the interoperability process.

Internet gateway - A gateway for accessing the Internet, which is loosely defined as the complex of wide area networks (WANs) joining government, university, corporate and private computers (nodes) in a vast web of network interconnection

Internet telephony - Internet telephony consists of both hardware and software components that enable the Internet to be used for telephone calls. It analog speech signals are converted digital data. This digital data allows calls to be sent over the Internet, bypassing the charges of long distance companies. While this technology is growing at an extreme rate of speed it still is unable to produce the same quality as a direct telephone connection.

Inverse Multiplexing - A process used to derive a single higher bandwidth channel from two or more B-channels.

IP - A protocol that provides for transmitting blocks of data between hosts identified by fixed-length addresses. Because the IP has no mechanisms to augment end-to-end data reliability, flow control, sequencing, or other services, these routines are provided by other protocols.

IP address - An IP Address or Internet Protocol Address is a unqiue string of numbers that identifies your computer on the Internet. These numbers are usually in a 32-bit format and look similar to this 123.456.78.9. All resources on the Internet are assigned an IP address.

ISDN - ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). An international standard for end-to-end digital transmission of voice, data, and signalling. In a videoconference it is a system that provides simultaneous voice, video, and text transmission between individual desktop videoconferencing systems and group (room) videoconferenc-ing systems.

ITU - International Telecommunications Union. One of the specialised agencies of the United Nations that is com-posed of the telecommunications administrations of 113 participating nations. Founded in 1865 before tele-phone were invented as a telegraphy standards body. It now develops international standards for intercon-necting telecommunications equipment across networks.