1Why Do Users Like Video? Studies of Multimedia-Supported Collaboration

Multimedia technology promises to enable smooth and effective interactions among col-laborators in different locations. The growing need to support technical and social activ-ity that occurs across geographical distances has not been fully satisfied by the current technologies of phones, faxes, electronic mail, and video conference rooms. Visions of systems that allow people from around the world to see and hear each other have been promoted at least since AT&T unveiled the PicturePhone in the mid-1960’s. Recent technology and infrastructure developments are adding to the promise of mul-timedia support for remote collaboration [Gale 1992]. The emergence of digital audio and video technology allows voice and images to be computationally manipulated and transmitted over the existing computer networks. Improved compression algorithms running on faster hardware promise to provide acceptable audio-video quality at viable network bandwidth rates. The availability of affordable computer workstations, prolifer-ation of digital networks, emergence of compression algorithm and network protocol standards, and marketing hype are converging to bring multimedia capability to personal desktops. Research prototypes that provide what is often referred to as desktop conferencing (audio, video, and computational connections between computer desktops) have bee