Protocols for multimedia conferencing — an introduction to the ITU-T T.120 series

Abstract

For the past 5 years, ITU-T (formerly CCITT) has been standardising a suite of protocols for Audiographic and Audiovisual conferencing for use over a range of networks. The standards form a basis for a range of real-time interactive services such as Reservation & Conference set-up, Conference information, Chair controls, File transfer, Group editing, Whiteboards, Multiple pointers on screen, Multiple windows, Access to Databases.

A key feature of these standards (known collectively as the T.120 suite) is that they have been designed for multipoint use from the outset, thus making possible a wide range of facilities which have previously been restricted to point-to-point operation. The paper will describe some of the background to the standards, and give an overview of the major features and attributes.