Video conferencing software – 3 applications

Many users are faced with the need to communicate at a distance, for example, they need to confer with colleagues who work remotely or chat with friends from other cities. In such situations, you can contact your contacts using special software.

This is especially true in the event of unforeseen situations of a different nature that prevent direct communication even between colleagues from the same team, for example, due to quarantine, natural disasters, man-made accidents, etc. The way out of this situation will be online communication in single or multi-user mode .

During the session, it is desirable to be able to communicate via video between interlocutors who are at a distance from each other; the program or service should support voice or text communication.

For these purposes, you can use special programs that allow you to organize an online conference. There are quite a few of them, so let’s focus on the 3 most popular applications: Discord, Skype and Zoom.

Discord – free messenger for online communication

The Discord service or app is commonly used by gamers to communicate by voice during online co-op games. You can use all its functions completely free of charge, without restrictions on the time of communication or the number of devices used. It is this feature that has made Discord so famous and in demand.

Here you can create your own servers (similar to channels in the Telegram messenger), invite people there and communicate: by text, voice or voice with video. One user can open several of these servers with different members.

This is convenient not only for games, but also for business. For example, you can create different channels for different departments in your company. User rights within a channel can be flexibly configured.

Another interesting feature available in Discord is sending files to conference participants. In addition, if necessary, you can share the screen.

The service works quite stably, providing a reliable connection. However, he still has a drawback. It’s not very convenient to add users here. For example, you can’t call people from your Google, Microsoft, or Apple contacts.

Participants are invited only by link to the created server. However, this is not such a critical minus for a free convenient service.

Skype – video calls and video conferencing

Skype is a well-known video calling application that is free to use. There are quite a lot of additional features, such as file transfer, screen sharing, video and audio conferences with a large number of participants (up to 50 people), call recording and slide show.

Unlike Discord, you can easily invite people to Skype from your contacts, as well as via a link or via Facebook.

Not without flaws, of course, too. The connection sometimes breaks, and a lot of traffic is consumed during calls. However, it is still one of the best solutions if you need to host an online conference.

Zoom – online video conferencing

Zoom is a multifunctional program that is great for online conferences. It can show the screen, work with Google Drive or Dropbox. Participants of the event in Zoom are invited by the link.

However, the service also has many disadvantages. For example, the free version has a significant limitation. Namely, a group conference can only last 40 minutes. To remove the restriction, you will have to connect a paid tariff. But those additional options that it provides are not required by everyone.

In addition to the above, the program has a number of known vulnerabilities. For example, outsiders can join the conference. What’s more, they can even download recordings. Otherwise, Zoom is quite convenient and will suit many users.

Not all conferencing services can record video calls on their own. If you need to save important conversations, you can use screen capture software – Screen Camera. In it, you can shoot a video of any duration, and then edit it, apply a screensaver and save it in the selected format.

Article Conclusions

Nowadays, the opportunity for online video conferencing has become relevant. To communicate between users who are far from each other, you need to use special software that can provide reliable video and audio communication. Users can use popular free apps like Discord, Skype or Zoom.