Well, you could just buy the same as the person you want to have a conference with. However, this might not be the best solution. There are essentially two types of systems, proprietary and standards based. If the person you want to have a conference with uses a proprietary system, then you must buy the same as them, or persuade them to buy something different.There are many questions that must be answered as you steer your way towards identifying which is the best Video Conferencing system that meets your needs. This document is about standards based systems and is intended as a guide to their selection.

International Telecommunications Union & The Internet Engineering Task Force.

Integrated Digital Services Network (ISDN).

Local Area Network (LAN) & Intranet.

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).

Cellular Networks.

Internet, VPN & ADSL.

Issues to Consider.

Expectation Levels.

Required versus Available Bandwidth.

Acceptable Quality.

Video Conferencing applies Compression.

Number of Participants.

System Management.

Location of Participants.

ADSL, ISDN or the Internet.

Usage Concepts.

Installations and Usage Costs.

H.323 based Video Conferencing systems.