Feedback
Table Of Contents
Using Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conferencing
About Setting Up End Users for Video Conferencing in Cisco MeetingPlace
About Scheduling Video Conferences
Who Can Schedule Video Conferences
When Video Conferences Can Be Scheduled
How Users Schedule Video Conferences
About Rescheduling Video Conferences
About Attending Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conferences
How Users Join A Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conference
About Attending Video Conferences by Outdialing from Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing
About Attending Video Conferences Via Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook
About Attending Video Conferences Via SMTP E-mail Clients
About Attending Video Conferences Via Cisco VT Advantage Video Endpoints
About Attending Video Conferences By Dialing In
About Attending Ad-Hoc Video Conferences
About Attending Password-Protected Meetings
About Attending Invitation-Only or Profiled-User-Only Meetings
Video Features and Functions in the Meeting Room During the Conference
About Modifying the Video Transmission
About Modifying the Video Transmission of Other Participants
About Recording a Video-Conferencing Session
About Entering a Breakout Session
About Participating in Lecture Style Meetings
About Extending a Video Conference
About Leaving a Video Conference
About Ending a Video Conference
Using Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conferencing
This chapter contains a detailed description of Cisco MeetingPlace video-conferencing from a nontechnical perspective. It assumes all necessary hardware and software are up and running.
Specific information includes:
•
About Setting Up End Users for Video Conferencing in Cisco MeetingPlace
•
•
•
Supported Meeting Types
Cisco MeetingPlace video capability is available for the meeting types listed in Table 5-1; for more information about these meeting types see the Administrator's Guide for Cisco MeetingPlace Audio Server Release 5.3.
Table 5-1 Supported Meeting Types
Standard scheduled meetings
As described in this document.
Recurring meetings
As described in this document.
Immediate meetings
Video conferences are not scheduled with immediate meetings but can be created and attended on an ad-hoc basis. See About Attending Ad-Hoc Video Conferences for requirements. Other behavior is as described in this document.
Reservationless meetings (not all Cisco MeetingPlace systems have this functionality)
Video conferences are not scheduled with reservationless meetings but can be created and attended on an ad-hoc basis when users join the conference or during the conference. See About Attending Ad-Hoc Video Conferences for requirements.
As with audio conferences, participants who join the meeting before the scheduler arrives will wait in the waiting room until the scheduler starts the video conference.
Other behavior is as described in this document.
Continuous meetings
The video conference begins when the first attendee joins the video conference, and continues until it is terminated in Cisco MeetingPlace. If the video conference is terminated for any reason, it will resume as soon as a participant joins again.
Other behavior is as described in this document.
Lecture-style meetings (excluding Q and A mode, which is not enabled for video conferencing in Release 5.3, but which is available for audio-only conferences)
About Setting Up End Users for Video Conferencing in Cisco MeetingPlace
After end-users' desktop or room-based video equipment is installed and running, set the Cisco MeetingPlace profiles of designated users to allow them to schedule meetings that include video conferencing. See About Managing User Profiles for Video Use, page 4-10.
Users see video options when they schedule meetings only if their Cisco MeetingPlace profiles are enabled for video conferencing. Users without Cisco MeetingPlace profiles cannot schedule video conferences. Users do not need a Cisco MeetingPlace profile to attend video conferences.
In MeetingTime, you can set or change the video-conferencing bandwidth for groups and individual users, and set or change the default video-conferencing endpoint address for each user.
Users can set or change their video-conferencing bandwidth and default endpoint address in Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing on the Account Basics page (if the optional Account link is displayed, allowing access to that page).
The endpoint address can be a phone number or an H.323 endpoint address. The endpoint address must be less than 128 digits; however, some endpoints require fewer than 128 digits.
For details about administrative functions in MeetingTime and Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, see the Administrator's Guide for Cisco MeetingPlace Audio Server Release 5.3 and the Administrator's Guide for Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing Release 5.3.
About Scheduling Video Conferences
All aspects of Cisco MeetingPlace conferences (data, voice, and video) must be scheduled on the Cisco MeetingPlace audio server before anyone can attend them. However, they do not need to be scheduled in advance; they can be scheduled as immediate or reservationless meetings.
Who Can Schedule Video Conferences
Only profiled users whose profiles allow video conference scheduling can schedule video conferences. Users who cannot schedule video conferences do not see video conference options when they schedule meetings.
When Video Conferences Can Be Scheduled
Video conferences can be scheduled with the other aspects of the Cisco MeetingPlace conference in advance of the meeting, or they can be initiated at the beginning of a reservationless or immediate meeting, or in the middle of any Cisco MeetingPlace meeting (see About Attending Ad-Hoc Video Conferences.)
In either case, video-conferencing resources must be available and the meeting must be scheduled by a user whose profile is enabled for scheduling video conferencing.
How Users Schedule Video Conferences
Users schedule video-conferencing functionality when they schedule a Cisco MeetingPlace voice or web conference via the standard Cisco MeetingPlace scheduling interfaces in Release 5.3 of Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook, Cisco MeetingPlace for Lotus Notes, and MeetingTime. Video conferencing cannot be scheduled via the telephone user interface (TUI) / Voice user interface (VUI).
For step-by-step instructions on scheduling video conferences in MeetingTime, Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook, Cisco MeetingPlace for Lotus Notes, and Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, see the see the Administrator's Guide for Cisco MeetingPlace Audio Server Release 5.3, or the online help for Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook, Cisco MeetingPlace for Lotus Notes, or Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing.
The following caveats apply to scheduling video conferences:
•
•
•
•
•
•
–
–
•
•
•
About Rescheduling Video Conferences
Meeting schedulers can reschedule meetings that include video capability in the same way they reschedule meetings that do not include video conferencing.
Required conditions for scheduling video conferences also apply to rescheduling them.
About Attending Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conferences
A Cisco MeetingPlace conference must exist before a user can initiate the associated video conference. The Cisco MeetingPlace conference can be scheduled in advance or started as an immediate or reservationless meeting.
The video conference starts as soon as one person joins the video conference.
For participants who attend via a desktop video endpoint, the video image appears separately in the window of their desktop video endpoint, not in the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room window.
Profiled users connect with the bandwidth specified in their profile or with the default bandwidth if their profile does not specify a bandwidth. Guest connections enter with the default bandwidth you specified in MeetingTime.
About Attending Reservationless Meetings
If the meeting is reservationless and the organizer has not yet started the conference at the time a participant joins the video conference, video participants will stay in the video waiting room until the organizer starts the voice or web conference. As with data and voice conferencing, no in-meeting functionality is available to conference participants in the waiting room.
How Users Join A Cisco MeetingPlace Video Conference
Participants should always start their video endpoints before attempting to join the Cisco MeetingPlace video conference.
Users of Apple computers should always dial in from their video endpoints.
If participants join a single conference with both an audio-only device and a video endpoint, they should mute one or the other.
Participants can join the video conference in any of several ways described in the following sections.
About Attending Video Conferences by Outdialing from Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing
In Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, users can join the video conference in several ways:
•
•
•
In each case, users enter the number for their video endpoint if it is not automatically entered, then click Connect. For users of ISDN endpoints, the number of their video endpoint must be preceded by the appropriate service prefix defined on the Cisco IPVC PRI Gateway. For information, see the Cisco IP/VC 3526 PRI Gateway and Cisco IP/VC 3540 PRI Gateway Module Administrator Guide, 2.0.
About Attending Video Conferences Via Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook
If video conference resources were scheduled with the Cisco MeetingPlace conference, users can click the MeetingPlace tab of a notification they have received in Microsoft Outlook, then click the Connect Me button to have Cisco MeetingPlace dial their video endpoint and connect them to the video conference. They can also dial in from their video endpoint using the dial-in number provided in the text of the meeting notification. If the meeting requires a password or is restricted to profiled or invited users, participants must join the video conference by clicking the Connect Me button in the notification, or from within the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room.
About Attending Video Conferences Via SMTP E-mail Clients
Cisco MeetingPlace SMTP E-Mail Gateway provides Cisco MeetingPlace meeting notifications to users of SMTP e-mail applications. SMTP notifications include instructions for attending a video conference and a hypertext link to bring up the Current Meeting page in Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, from which participants can have the conference outdial to their video endpoint. For meetings that require a password or are restricted to profiled or invited users, users can attend only by having the system outdial to their endpoint.
About Attending Video Conferences Via Cisco VT Advantage Video Endpoints
Cisco VT Advantage consists of the Cisco VT Advantage software application and a Cisco VT Camera, a video telephony USB camera. These work with a Cisco IP phone to provide video conferencing.
To attend a Cisco MeetingPlace video conference via a Cisco VT Advantage video endpoint, users can plug in their desktop endpoint, launch their Cisco VT Advantage software, and join via one of the following methods:
•
•
Users cannot attend a video conference via Cisco VT Advantage if they are using VPN software to access the network.
About Attending Video Conferences By Dialing In
If a video conference does not have password or profile access restrictions, participants can dial in to the conference from their endpoint. The number to enter in to their endpoint is shown on the Current Meeting page in Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing and at the bottom of the dialog box that comes up if a user clicks Connect in the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room. This number is also included in the text of e-mailed meeting notifications if the scheduler included video conferencing. All users who dial in from an endpoint participate in the video conference as guests, and their video endpoint is listed separately from their web presence in the participant list in the meeting room. Instructions for dialing a number via the endpoint are in the documentation for the endpoint or its software. There may be a delay before the call is connected to the meeting.
Anyone who has the access information can dial in to the conference. If access to the meeting is restricted, participants who try to dial in with their video endpoints may not receive an error message, but they will not be connected to the meeting.
Users who dial in from an ISDN endpoint must dial the number provided for ISDN endpoints; at the IVR prompt, they enter the remaining digits provided.
About Attending Ad-Hoc Video Conferences
If a meeting scheduler did not or could not schedule video-conferencing ports with the meeting, it may still be possible for video callers to participate.
Ad-hoc video conferencing is convenient in situations like these:
•
•
•
•
•
Ad-hoc video conferences can occur only if the following conditions are met:
•
•
•
•
•
A participant can join an existing video conference on an ad-hoc basis if one video-conferencing port is available.
Participants join ad-hoc video conferences the same way they join scheduled video conferences.
About Attending Password-Protected Meetings
If a scheduler schedules a Cisco MeetingPlace conference that requires a password for entry, all participants must enter the video conference by outdialing from Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing or from the MeetingPlace tab in a Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook notification.
About Attending Invitation-Only or Profiled-User-Only Meetings
If a meeting is not a public meeting (attendance is by invitation only, or is only available to profiled users), then only recipients of the meeting notification, attendees of the voice or web conference who outdial to a video endpoint, or profiled users can attend the video conference. Participants cannot dial in to these video conferences.
Note
Video Features and Functions in the Meeting Room During the Conference
After participants join the video conference, their video image appears on the video monitor in a room-based system, or in a separate window on the desktop of participants who are using a computer-based video endpoint.
The video image can be the active speaker only (or the room the active speaker is in, in the case of room-based systems), or multiple people (or rooms) including the active speaker (or the room the active speaker is in, in the case of room-based systems.) If multiple images are displayed, participants do not control which participants are shown. If an audio-only participant is the active speaker, the last active video speaker continues to display until another video participant speaks.
When video participants are speaking through their video endpoint, the Now Speaking feature in the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room displays Video Participant. When an audio participant speaks, the name or Guest ID of that participant is displayed.
In the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room, video-conference participants are identified in the participant list by icons for a video camera and a microphone. Status information about the video transmission, such as whether a participant is muted or paused, is also indicated in the participant list.
The video link does not appear in the participant list in the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room, but it displays as a telephone in MeetingTime.
The following sections describe the video-related functionality available to video participants in the meeting room.
All voice (telephone) and web-conferencing features are available as usual to all participants.
Note
About Modifying the Video Transmission
Participants can control certain aspects of their video transmission from within the Cisco MeetingPlace web-conferencing meeting room. Video participants who are accustomed to controlling their video options through the IPVC interface can also do that.
At any time during a Cisco MeetingPlace conference, participants can modify their own video transmission, via the Personal menu in the web conference meeting room:
•
•
•
•
The participant list indicates when a video participant joins or leaves, mutes or unmutes, or pauses or resumes their video transmission.
About Modifying the Video Transmission of Other Participants
Any profiled user can do the following to any video participant by clicking the name or Guest ID of that person in the participant list:
•
•
•
About Recording a Video-Conferencing Session
When video-conferencing participants are present in a Cisco MeetingPlace meeting that is recorded, the audio channel of their video transmission is recorded. The visual image of a video transmission is not recorded.
About Entering a Breakout Session
Breakout sessions are only available to audio participants. Video endpoints cannot enter a breakout session. If a video user attempts to enter a breakout session, the audio channel of the video transmission of that participant, and the focus of the web conference, remain in the main meeting room.
In order to participate in a breakout session, video participants must also join the Cisco MeetingPlace conference via an audio device (such as a telephone or speaker phone) and must manually mute the audio channel of their video endpoint from the video endpoint (not by using the meeting room interface, which mutes all audio channels) before exiting the main meeting room.
About Participating in Lecture Style Meetings
Lecture style meetings have one or more presenters, and all other participants are the audience. The audience can be granted speaking privileges. For general information about lecture-style meetings, see the Administrator's Guide for Cisco MeetingPlace Audio Server Release 5.3.
In a lecture-style meeting, standard rules apply to video attendees, except that:
•
•
•
•
The meeting scheduler determines whether all invitees enter as audience or all invitees enter an "open-floor" meeting and can speak.
About Extending a Video Conference
A conference will be extended only if enough video and audio ports are available to accommodate all participants.
About Leaving a Video Conference
Participants can leave the video conference while remaining in the Web conference by performing one of the following actions:
•
•
About Ending a Video Conference
A video conference continues as long as the Cisco MeetingPlace web conference continues and at least two video participants or one audio and one video participant are present.
The Cisco MeetingPlace web conference ends if one of the following occurs:
•
•
Information for End Users
A Quick Start Guide with step-by-step instructions is available for video-conferencing users at http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/conf/mtgplace/video/53/index.htm.
Step by step instructions for end users that includes video-conferencing functionality are also in the online help for Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, Cisco MeetingPlace for Outlook, and Cisco MeetingPlace for Lotus Notes.
