Large Scale Real-Time Presentation of a Network Conference Having a Plurality of Conference Participants
First Claim
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1. A conferencing method comprising method operations including:
- connecting a plurality of conference participants to a conferencing server using a first plurality of network connections, the plurality of conference participants generating conferencing content and sending the conferencing content to the conferencing server along the first plurality of network connections;
connecting a plurality of conference viewers to a video streaming server using a second plurality of network connections;
passing at least a portion of the conferencing content from the conferencing server to the video streaming server; and
streaming the portion of the conferencing content to the plurality of conference viewers using the second plurality of network connections.
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Abstract
A conferencing method is described. The method includes connecting a plurality of conference participants to a conferencing server. Each conference participant generates conferencing content sent to the conferencing server. A plurality of conference viewers is connected to a video streaming server. At least a portion of the conferencing content is passed from the conferencing server to the video streaming server and is streamed to the plurality of conference viewers. A conferencing system incorporating the method is also described.
121 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A conferencing method comprising method operations including:
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connecting a plurality of conference participants to a conferencing server using a first plurality of network connections, the plurality of conference participants generating conferencing content and sending the conferencing content to the conferencing server along the first plurality of network connections; connecting a plurality of conference viewers to a video streaming server using a second plurality of network connections; passing at least a portion of the conferencing content from the conferencing server to the video streaming server; and streaming the portion of the conferencing content to the plurality of conference viewers using the second plurality of network connections. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A conferencing system, comprising:
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a conferencing server programmed for accepting a plurality of connections from a corresponding plurality of conference participants, the conferencing server receiving multimedia content from each of the conference participants; the conferencing server being further programmed for accepting a connection from a controlling client, the conferencing server receiving a message from the controlling client, the message designating one of the conference participants; and the conferencing server being further programmed for passing multimedia content from the designated conference participants to a video streaming server. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A conferencing system comprising:
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a video streaming server (VSS) programmed for accepting a plurality of network connections from a corresponding plurality of conference viewers; the VSS being further programmed to communicate with a multipoint control unit (MCU) server over a network and to receive multimedia content from the MCU server, the VSS streaming the multimedia content to the plurality of conference viewers using the plurality of network connections; the VSS further being further programmed to communicate with a control panel, the VSS receiving question requests from the plurality of conference viewers and sending the question requests to the control panel, the VSS further receiving a message from the control panel, the message identifying one of the conference viewers to ask a question; the VSS being further programmed to receive multimedia data from the identified conference viewer and pass the multimedia data to the MCU server, the multimedia data comprising at least an audio stream. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification