subject: Best Way to Make a VOIP Video Call In Australia [print this page] Best Way to Make a VOIP Video Call In Australia
Remember the American movie "Total Recall" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the 90's? There was a scene where he was making a phone call but he could see who he was talking to on the other end. Fast forward 20 years later, that technology now has become a reality. We have now broken the barrier of video compression and challenges of internet speeds. Gone are the days of talking to someone over the phone and not seeing them. This revolutionary video conference solution will allow you to visually communicate with your loved ones like never before. Imagine this, seeing your grandchildren grow up even if they are hundreds or thousands of miles away.. Reading and showing a picture book to your daughter before she goes to sleep even if you are out of the country for a business trip. There are endless of possibilities on this video phone technology or video conference solution. In the next 2-3 years, everybody will be communicating via Digital Video Phone and analog phones will be obsolete just like analog CRT televisions are being replaced by Digital LCD or Plasma TV's. Right now, the Australian government is switching off all analog signals by 2010. After the switchover, free-to-air television will only be available in digital so you'll need to have a television that is capable of receiving digital signals else you end up with a brick TV.Pretty soon, after Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) is in place, all analog phones will also be a thing of the past.
The advantages of going digital is making International video conference or video calling to US, Canada, and most of Europe absolutely free of charge. If your video phone service provider is in Australia, you can call any landline phones anywhere in Australia free of charge as well. Of course, they won't be able to see you because they are using a regular analog phone but the savings you get for not paying connection fees, flag falls, STD rates that you normally pay your telecommunications provider, would be quite substantial. Another advantage of this piece of technology is its user friendliness. You don't have to be a technical person to operate it; in fact even a 2-year old child or 80-year old grandparent can do it. The video phone will always be ready to make and receive calls without having your computer turned on or tying up your computer. You are able to call your love one like your always do except now you will enjoy the experience of seeing and talking face-to-face with the simplicity and ease of using a regular phone. It has all the features of a regular analog phone like call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, conference calls, speaker phone plus some other features like video messaging and digital photo frame when the video phone is not in use.
So, how can we make video conference solution or video phone technology become a reality in our daily life? The first thing you require is a good Digital telecommunications service provider. Now, I'm not saying that the largest telco is always the best or will even have this particular service. Try to look for a company that has a proven track record for VOIP (Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol) services and shop around and work out what rates are best for you. VOIP in layman's term is a digital technology that allows you to make voice and video communications over broadband internet connection instead of the regular analog (voice) phone line. The second thing you need is a broadband internet connection. Now, you might say, Don't I need a phone line anyway to have an internet connection'? The answer is NO. There are a couple of solutions to have internet connection without having a regular phone line. One is cable internet' where your internet provider uses your cable TV line (ie Foxtel) to transfer data to your modem. Another one is Naked ADSL2+, where it's similar to having an ADSL connection minus the requirement for you to have a phone line. The last one is the actual VOIP phone unit that has video capability that makes it totally independent from your computer. What makes this so great is your phone will always be ready to make and receive calls without having your computer turned on tying up your computer. This would have a built-in camera in front of a 7" LCD display to obviously see the person on the other end and vice-versa.
