One thing I would appreciate from Quanta is if someone would be prepared
to say a few words about electronic participation in meetings. I am not
thinking in terms of the technical details, but more how it has turned out
in practice.
I have participated in a Quanta committee meeting by speakerphone group
call, and the AGM this year by a Skype group call.
The speakerphone meeting was less than perfect, because although those of us
on phones could hear each other well, we could not hear some of those at the
meeting itself. The committee agreed to look into obtaining a purpose made
phone, which has more than one microphone to pick up those around the table
a bit better, although I don't know if one was purchased or not.
The telephone conference call was via an 0845 dial-in. We were told to dial
in about 5 minutes before the meeting started, which gave enough time to
identify ourselves and make sure we could hear each other. This type of call
can become difficult if several people talk across each other, so one person
(e.g. Chairman) needs to be in charge and ensure people speak in turn and
invite comments from those on a phone, as it is easier to catch Chairman's
eye in the room if you want to speak - telephone guests potentially at a
disadvantage, although in our case Sarah handled this very well.
The disadvantage with this is that it is after all an 0845 number based
system, which would be more costly for anyone overseas.
For this year's AGM, we used the Skype group call system (audio only). Three
of us (Lee Privett, Dave Park and myself) participated - there was no video
but I think we were identified by our avatars on screen at the AGM. Like the
conference call, we connected about 5 minutes beforehand to set up, identify
ourselves, check volumes etc. Keith (webmaster) had provided us with the
Quanta Skype name beforehand, which we put in the contacts list and used to
originate the call. I don't know if it was the same at the AGM end, but when
someone on Skype talked, there was an on-screen highlight which helped
identify who was speaking. Call quality was great, and as I was using a
headset (rather than telephone handset) it let me operate the computer at
the same time, e.g. if I needed to look something up during the discussion.
If we couldn't hear someone at the meeting, we were able to ask and have
Chairman repeat what was said.
We had done a quick test call that morning as it was new to some of us, but
it all seemed to work first time, apart from me plugging my earphone and
microphone plus the wrong way round on my PC for a few seconds (age,
eyesight...)
With both methods, the participant dialled in rather than someone at the
meeting calling us.
With regards to bandwidth - the connections are made at the server end and
just the one two-way link to the server, so you _do not_ need a separate
bandwidth for each participant, luckily, or it might put a strain on the
broadband if you have a fairly slow connection at the venue - the fact it['s
all joined together at the server end means it should work even on fairly
slow broadband at the venue.
Up to 10 participants can take part in a Skype _video_ group call (5
recommended for best quality). Callers can be on Windows, Mac, or Xbox One
(if you have Xbox 1 Live Gold membership, whatever that is) (more platforms
planned - Skype website says mobiles and tablets etc planned soon too).
Skype website says up to 25 people on a group _audio_ call.
Hope that helps...
Dilwyn Jones
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