Virtual Rooms Videoconferencing System
(VRVS)
q General Instructions:
· Getting Started
1. Make your Registration in VRVS by clicking on the icon called “Register Me” that is on the left of the VRVS page http://www.vrvs.org/. VRVS detects automatically your IP address. Fill out your personal information
2.
Download the
software for you platform by clicking on
the icon called “Download” and choosing
your operating system. For more information on the setup see http://www.vrvs.org/Doc/setup-doc.html
3.
The
installation of VRVS is very easy. Just follow the simple instructions for your
OS:
ü Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP: http://www.vrvs.org/Doc/Setup/Windows/win-guide.html
ü Linux: http://www.vrvs.org/Doc/Setup/Linux/linux-guide.html
ü Solaris: http://www.vrvs.org/Doc/Setup/Solaris/solaris-guide.html
· Booking your videoconference
1. Go to VRVS page (http://www.vrvs.org/) and click “Schedule” on the left side of the page.
2. Select a Virtual Room (Sun, Mars, Neptune, etc)
3. Clicking “Help” you have the instruction on the Schedule Manager
· Joining an ongoing meeting
1. Go to VRVS page (http://www.vrvs.org/) and click “JOIN” on the left side of the page.
2. Choose “World Wide”, etc Videoconferences
3. Choose the specific Virtual Room that have been previously reserved for the meeting
Now you can choose between Mbone protocol (included in VRVS package) and H.323 Client (NetMeeting):
MBone
1. Select both “Video” and “Audio” from the menu in the lower left corner.
2. Now you should have 3 windows open:
ü VIC: that controls the incoming video streams
ü RAT: that controls the audio (Listen and Talk)
ü CHAT: where you can exchange message with the other participants
3. In the video window VIC choose “Menu” and select “Transmit”. By clicking in a particular image a new video window pops up. Set the desired “Size”.
4. In the RAT widow you should select “Talk” to be heard by the others
5. Make sure to set your computer:
ü Double click the volume icon and click Option/Properties.
ü Select “Playback” and show all the volume controls
ü Let all of them mute but “Volume”, “Wave” and “Mic”
ü Select now “Recording” in Option/Properties and show all the volume controls
ü Select only “Mic”
H.323 Client
1. If you are running Windows you can use NetMeeting (H.323 Client) to connect to VRVS. For NetMeeting settings see instructions below.
2. Click “SET”, fill the form and save it
ü Hostname/IP = address of your H.323 client
ü Gatekeeper = nogatekeeper
ü Max bandwidth = 256 Kbps
ü Frames/Seconds = 12 (PAL) / 15 (NTSC)
3. Click “JOIN” and the Client is called
4. You are going to receive a call. Accept it. If you are alone in the conference you receive your video back
Observations:
ü H.323 devices allow you can see just 1 video at a time, by default, the current speaker.
ü It is possible to use MBone and H.323 clients at the same time, i.e. some people can connect to the Virtual Room using H.323 devices but others can use MBone clients
ü For interactive presentations the best solution is H.323 with 25 frames per second at 384 kbps and very small jitter in the data stream. However we need less than 0.5% packet loss.
ü If we use Mbone protocols instead, we need to go to higher bandwidths and there may be CPU and I/O limits in the PC.
ü For more information about connecting H.323 devices to VRVS, see: http://www.vrvs.org/Doc/h323-guide.html
q Using PolyCom ViewStation with VRVS:
1. Go to http://www.vrvs.org
2. Enter the booked room and click on H.323 “SET” button
3. Type the IP address or the hostname of your Polycom ViewStation (NOT the hostname/IP of the PC). For instance:
|
Location |
IP |
Phone |
|
DØgHouse |
131.225.224.154 |
1 (630) 840-4639 |
|
NineCircle |
131.225.224.118 |
1 (630) 840-8277 |
4. If you are using a gatekeeper, type the name there and your alias, otherwise let “nogatekeeper”.
5. Select different bandwidth (up to 768
Kbps), frame rate (up to 25/30 fps).
6. Not mandatory: select the view modes (Voice-Activated, Browse-Video, Selected-Participant and Multi-Video) through the webpage.
7. Follow all the steps 1 to 5 of the Mbone instructions above.
q NetMeeting Settings:
·
All
participants must have the same version of NetMeeting
·
Choose
Tools/Options/Video = Large
·
To change
connection speed: Tools/Options/Bandwidth Settings…
·
Remember to mute the
mike if you are not speaking (switchback)
·
Making a call: Call/New
Call: IP address
·
Hosting a
meeting for multiple participants
ü The host should be the person with the fastest computer
ü Call/Host Meeting:
§ Choose name and password
§ Uncheck “Require security for this meeting”
§ Check “Only you can accept incoming calls”
§ Check “Only you can place outgoing calls”
§ Check “Sharing”, “Whiteboard”, “Chat” and “File Transfer”
ü All participants should call you directly in order to join the meeting.
·
Sharing a
program: Tools/Sharing (or bottom left
hand icon): Choose a program
to share
·
Granting
control of your Desktop: Tools/Sharing: Choose “Desktop”
q Some Useful Links:
Videoconference at Fermilab (availability and reservations)
HEPNRC – Video Conferencing Information
How to make a video connection with NetMeeting
Connection of NetMeeting through a Firewall
Sharing Programs with NetMeeting
A nice presentation about NetMeeting