A few years ago, audio and video conferencing tools were just becoming a corporate option. Since then, they have taken the world by storm and become an inseparable part of many spheres of life – from business to education. Gone are the days when people were confined to phone calls and Skype calls. A new era of virtual meetings and remote work has begun.
Audio and video conferencing software is now available for everyone. But what is the difference between these two technologies? What benefits can each of them bring to a remote team? And how to choose the best service for a certain company? In this blog post, we’re going to find the answers to these questions. Ready to start?
Audio conferencing: the basics
It’s a typical mistake to believe that traditional phone calls are similar to audio conferencing. During a common call, all its participants dial a central system, which connects them together. Otherwise, audio conferencing is a virtual meeting of at least two people via an audio call arranged with the help of a conference bridge.
Such calls are divided into two types:
- Wired, made via landline phones
- Wireless, conducted through the internet
What do you need for an audio conference call?
All components are quite simple:
- Special software for audio conferencing
- A phone or another device with a microphone and speakers
- A stable internet connection (required for web-based conferences)
What are the benefits of audio-only meetings?
- Affordable price tag: usually, service providers charge less money for audio calls. And most apps offer unlimited online audio conferences without extra charge, while free video meetings often have limitations on their duration and the number of active participants.
- Reliable connection type: in comparison with video conferencing, audio calls don’t require a fast internet connection and don’t consume a large amount of data. So it’s possible to set up an audio conference even with low bandwidth.
- Available for everyone: audio calls are the easiest way to communicate with several distant people all at once. They are affordable and available on any device with a microphone.
- Easy to set up: modern platforms offer users to host or join an audio conference within a couple of seconds.
- No need for extra preparation: when a person is just about to join a video call, it’s advisable to have a neat look and a clean background. But with audio conferences, there’s no such a problem, since nobody sees you.
Video conferencing: the basics
As the name implies, video conferencing is a virtual meeting of two or more people connected via a video call using cameras. Another thing that sets video gatherings apart from audio conferences is that it always requires a stable and fast internet connection for proper quality. During such a call, its participants are connected with a shared link to the meetings or a central dial-in number.
What do you need for a video conference call?
Video-based events require a little different set of tools:
- A video meeting app
- A device with a camera connected to the internet of a Wi-Fi hotspot
- Optional: headsets, microphone, speakers
What are the benefits of online video meetings?
- More interactive than audio calls: video conferences add a visual element to a virtual conversation that increases engagement and its impact. While talking with a camera on, we see other participants, their gestures, facial expressions, and reactions that bring the videoconferencing experience closer to real-life communication.
- Wide range of communication features: most video meeting apps offer various features for online collaboration that help to work from home more effectively: live chat, screen and file sharing, cloud recordings, app integrations, and many other tools, depending on the type of chosen software.
- No expenses on travel: video conferencing allows saving time and money usually wasted on traveling to and from the office, on business trips, and to meetings with foreign partners or investors.
- Cost-effectiveness: many platforms for online meetings offer a free plan or a trial version with basic tools for high-quality video calls that is enough for small teams or those companies that look for a more convenient app to try its features and decide whether they suit their business needs or not.
- Better relationships within a team: staying far away from each other, remote workers feel a bit isolated and lonely. But video calls serve to help them keep in touch, maintain friendly relationships, collaborate on various tasks remotely, and just have a quick chat during a coffee break.
Whoosh: a powerful software suite for remarkable conference calls
High-quality conference calls, no matter video or audio, require reliable and progressive software to be effective for a business team. The market offers numerous solutions for various needs, but today let’s discuss something special.
Its name is Whoosh. This app appeared not so long ago but has already managed to win its audience.
Why does it deserve your attention?
- Powerful AI-driven functionality: Whoosh is a modern and incredibly smart application with a great variety of AI-driven tools: gesture recognition, virtual scheduling assistant, improved wide-angle camera with AR filters and masks.
- Full-HD video calls with impressive sound quality: the app offers unlimited Full-HD online meetings with up to 100 participants at once and enhanced sound. Background noise muting masks all distractions that may hamper productive communication. Audio splitting allows dividing meeting participants into groups where they can discuss any working issues without interrupting the main speaker.
- Fantastic touch-up tools and virtual backgrounds: with Whoosh, you can forget about annoying video conferencing fatigue. Easily refresh your look by applying touch-up tools, creating photorealistic avatars, and changing plain white walls to immersive 3D backgrounds.
- Mementos & Weatherman-style layouts: these two features make online meetups truly engaging. Mementos are AI-based short video mashups based on meeting recordings containing their most meaningful moments. And with weatherman layouts, every presentation turns into an interactive event: they allow setting any image, video, or slides as a background and putting the main speaker in front of it, just like a weatherman!
- Upscale web security: be sure that every minute online is 100% secured with multi-party encryption, room locks and session IDs, compliance with globally proven certifications, and 24/7 network safety monitoring.
Upgrade your virtual workplace with Whoosh and enjoy hassle-free audio and video conferencing without any borders between you and the rest of the world!
