Lee,

For whatever it's worth, my experience with videoconferencing has been somewhat lackluster. Videoconferencing has been used in the pharma industry for many years now and I've worked for several companies that have quite sophisticated videoconferencing suites. Yet, despite the fancy equipment, my experience has been that folks still prefer the good old-fashioned way of meeting- in person. In fact, we rely on videoconferencing only when we have to: when we're told we have to decrease our travel to save costs. This may be videoconferencing's saving grace!

Hi Rich,
Now that I think about it, I have used video conferencing at my last job, but it looked different than what I'm seeing as "multiparty" video conferencing lately.

What I've seen in the past is 2 cameras, 2 TVs, and two groups of people (and a ton of money spent on infrastructure).

The multiparty video conferencing I'm seeing now is Web-based (low infrastructure cost) and focused on individuals in many different locations. Each person's face appears seperately on everyone's screen.

Anyway, it still ain't face-to-face, but it does provide a step closer for a fraction of the cost of the traditional video conferencing systems.

All this being said, I admit to knowing very little about all this...