Hosted VoIP PBX Web and Video Conferencing and calling Solution
Web and Video Conferencing and calling by Vulcan Telecom for Alabama
In PBX systems, features like web conferencing and video conferencing are becoming more prevalent.
These functions enable real-time communication between numerous parties over the internet as opposed to conventional telephone lines.
A web-based platform or software application is typically used in web conferencing to enable participants to share their screens, documents, and other materials in real-time.
Meetings, presentations, and training sessions may find use for this.
Web conferencing can be accessed from any location with an internet connection and can be used for both audio and video communication.
Similar to web conferencing, video conferencing also uses shared materials, audio, and live video of the participants.
This can be helpful for more intimate exchanges like in-person meetings, job interviews, or customer service encounters.
To access the video conferencing, there can be used web browsers or specific video conferencing software that runs on:
- computers
- tablets
- smartphones
While some PBX systems integrate with external video conferencing services, others come with built-in video conferencing capabilities.
It is possible to implement both of these features with PBX systems, enabling users to start and join web and video conferences right from their phone.
Users may find it more convenient and simpler to switch between various forms of communication, such as an audio call and a video call, as a result.
MeetingManager by Vulcan Telecom for Alabama
MeetingManager, Vulcan Telecom's web conferencing solution, offers users cloud-based web conferencing services.
Our solution can be purchased as a standalone service as well as an integrated part of the Web Centrex solution.
The MeetingManager application can be used by any user in the domain in which the Meeting Manager application has been enabled and configured.
The basic configuration of MeetingManager consists of two parts:
- Configuring Auto-Attendant PBX and Conference Bridge.
- Enabling the Meeting Manager application for a specific domain.
The Meeting Manager application uses audio conference bridges created in the PBX portal, which allows two types of conference bridges
- Dedicated Conference Bridge
- Custom Conference Bridge
The best way to use Meeting Manager is to have each user in the PBX have a custom audio conference bridge. If a user does not have a custom audio conference bridge, a dedicated conference bridge can be specified.
To use Meeting Manager, the DID must be directed to the Auto-Attendant Conference Center and a routing user must be created to forward all calls to extension 02020202. Auto-Attendant will then prompt for the conference room number.
To configure a dedicated conference bridge, go to Domain > Conferences in the PBX portal and click Add Conference.
To configure a dedicated conference bridge, follow the same steps, but select Dedicated Conference Bridge under the Type heading.
For the integration between Meeting Manager and PBX conference bridges to work properly, the PBX bridge settings should have the following two settings:
- Minimum number of participants to start should be set to 1
- Require Leader to start should be set to No
Setting up an External Audio Conference Bridge
As mentioned above, there are two types of conference bridges. Dedicated Conference Bridge and Custom Conference Bridge. MeetingManager is designed to detect what kind of conference bridge the user is using. In both scenarios, MeetingManager automatically populates this information from the user and/or domain settings in the PBX from Vulcan Telecom.
If the user wishes to use an external conference bridge (i.e. a destination number outside of the Vulcan Telecom network), this can be configured directly from the MeetingManager application.
The configuration procedure is as follows:
Log in to the client with your credentials and click the link that appears.
Click the link Conference Call and fill in the Audio Conference form.
You need to log out of the client and log back in for your changes to take effect.
The next time you start a conference, you will see the conference bridge number you just set.
Click the Invite button to send invitations to participants.
To invite your participants just follow the instructions in the pop-up window.
Setting up MeetingManager
You must download and run the MeetingManager client to host any type of meeting.
You can download the mConnecting or TurboMeeting app for Android devices – phones or tablets. The mConnecting app is available For iOS devices.
For ChromeOS, there is a limitation. The MeetingManager can only view web meetings. MeetingManager on ChromeOS does not work as a presenter.
With MeetingManager, you can host four different types of meetings.
To host an interactive meeting, follow these steps:
Open the MeetingManager by clicking on the shortcut on your desktop.
Log in using your PBX portal username and password.
If no password is set or the user range is set to "No Portal", use the voicemail code for the password field.
Once logged in, you will see a list of scheduled meetings on the MeetingManager dashboard. From there, you can:
- o Hold an unscheduled meeting
- o Join a meeting
- o Schedule a meeting
Please note that interactive meetings are the traditional method of web conferencing, and that each participant can interact in the meeting. Each participant and can be a presenter or a controller. The participants can be on different platforms like PC, Apple or Android devices.
Hosting a Meeting
Click Host to display a dialog to arrange meetings.
The first option in this dialog is to select the type of meeting you want to start immediately.
In the following step, except for the "Remote access to this computer" option, where it is mandatory, we can enter the subject and password. If you enter a password for a meeting created in this way, the invitees must also enter the same password and therefore we must tell them. We use the password to ensure that a random person cannot join the meeting without knowing the password.
Another security measure we can take to host a meeting is to limit the meeting participants to be only participants from my network, except for authorized public IP addresses. This restriction is particularly appropriate to do if the meeting is for internal company business and will discuss internal company business that is not appropriate for someone outside the company to listen in on.
Another option we can check in the meeting creation dialog is the "Attendee Emails" If you want attendee emails to be required, check the appropriate box.
To create a meeting set up and configured in this way, click on the Continue. With this step, we have created the meeting and can invite attendees to join it.
Joining a Meeting
To join a meeting, you will need an invitation sent to you by the meeting organiser. Once you have received this invitation, open a web browser on the device from which you want to join the meeting.
In the browser, enter the URL that was supplied to you as part of the invitation.
Click on the "Connect" icon to join the meeting.
Fill in the required information in the form. That is, the meeting ID, your name and, if required, the meeting password.
Once you have filled in these required details, click on the Join Appointment button.
If the type of the meeting is a webinar, it is possible to join the meeting on every device with web browser, even from a device such as a smart TV or smart android projector. Connecting to a webinar does not require downloading an external program, so you can join the meeting directly.
If the meeting is not the same as the webinar and you do not have the MeetingManager application installed, a message will appear asking you to install it. In the previous text, we also mentioned alternative versions of the programs for iOS or Android. Install the necessary app on your device.
If you have already installed the MeetingManager client on your device, join the meeting in this way:
Start MeetingManager or a similar program on your device.
Click Connect and fill in all required fields in the following dialog.
Fill in the meeting ID, your name, the meeting password (if required), and the address of the meeting server, which should be known to you from the invitation you received.
Once these fields are filled in, join the meeting by clicking the Join button.
Pausing and starting application sharing
When you start a meeting, your desktop is shared with meeting participants by default.
- To stop sharing your screen, click the Pause button.
- To resume sharing your screen, click the Start button.
Changing application sharing
By default, your desktop is visible to other participants. The drop-down list shows all the applications open on your system. To view a different application, click the drop-down arrow and select a running application from the list.
Switching presenters
Even a participant who has joined an interactive meeting can be a convener, who is a presenter by default, be designated as a new presenter and share their computer screen with other meeting participants. Thus, during the meeting, the meeting host as well as the current presenter can change the presenter to any participant attending the meeting.
This feature can be used in various brainstorming meetings where individual participants can present their ideas in writing. So, if you want to change the presenter in an ongoing meeting, click on Change presenter and select the participant to become the next presenter.
Give control
During a meeting, it is also possible to give control of the content being presented to another participant. A controller is a person who can control your mouse and keyboard and thus, for example, show his or her progress on the data you are presenting during the meeting.
To change the controller, click Hand over control and then select the participant to whom you want to hand over control. It is also possible to click directly on the name in the list of participants and then click on Hand over control.
Once we want to end remote control of our shared screen, we click Reclaim Controller. This will take control back from the specified controller(s).
Chatting
It is also possible to chat with participants during the meeting. If you want to start a chat with a participant, do the following:
One of the features that is also available is the ability to save the transcript of this chat. This is done by simply clicking on Save. Then we just select the repository where we want to save this transcript. The chat will then be saved as a text file or RTF file.
Meeting Recording
Another useful feature is the ability to record the progress of the meeting. This meeting recording not only records the speaker's on-screen actions, but it also records the voice captured by the microphone on the speaker's computer. This is very useful, for example, in training sessions, where we can then review the previously presented knowledge. It should be noted that if you want to record a conversation in a meeting, you need to turn on the speakerphone and bring it close to the microphone to capture the conversation.
Click the record button to start recording and click again to stop recording. When you stop recording, the system will ask you where to save the recording file. The file is an executable file. Just run the file and it will play the entire recording session.
Converting Recorded Sessions to video file
If we need a video file in mp4 format instead of an automatically generated executable exe file, we can use the ConverterMP4 program for this purpose.
The process of converting in this program involves loading the recording file, selecting a resolution, and starting the conversion process.
Meeting Manager Audio Bridges
After logging in, the user is directed to the Meeting Conference home page. They can create new meetings/rooms, view past/present/future conference sessions, and join active meetings or rooms from this Meeting Conference home page. The navigation features located at the top right of the home page allow the user to easily navigate to other parts of Vulcan Telecom's PBX portal without having to re-enter their credentials.
Meetings and Rooms are two groups of audio and video conference sessions. Meetings are expected to end permanently after a session, and once a host ends a meeting, that meeting cannot be rejoined again. Rooms, on the other hand, can be persistent conferences that remain accessible even after the host has ended the meeting.
Users can join a meeting or room in four ways:
- The first way is by receiving a Meeting Invitation Email
- The second way is by using the Direct Meeting/Room URL
- The third way is by entering the Meeting ID
- The fourth way is by selecting an Active Meeting
After joining, users can configure their individual audio and video preferences, such as enabling or disabling their camera, microphone, or screen sharing. They can also choose to dial in or have the application call them.
When a user wants to leave or end a meeting, they click the red telephone icon at the top of the screen. The meeting host has the option of ending the meeting for all attendees or allowing attendees to leave on their own. If the meeting was a room, the host has the option of ending the meeting or deleting the room, which would make it inaccessible.