Microsoft NetMeeting
Encyclopedia
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
client included in many versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
(from Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
OSR2 to Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
). It used the H.323
H.323
H.323 is a recommendation from the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector that defines the protocols to provide audio-visual communication sessions on any packet network...
protocol for video and audio conferencing, and was interoperable with OpenH323
OpenH323
The H323Plus project, formerly OpenH323, has as goal developing a full featured, open source implementation of the H.323 Voice over IP protocol. The code is written in C++ and, through the development effort of numerous people around the world, fully supports the H.323 protocol...
-based clients such as Ekiga
Ekiga
Ekiga /i k ai g a/ is a VoIP and video conferencing application for GNOME and Windows. It is distributed as free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License. It was the default VoIP client in Ubuntu until October 2009, when it was replaced by Empathy...
, and Internet Locator Service (ILS) as reflector. It also used a slightly modified version of the ITU T.120
T.120
T.120 is an ITU-T recommendation that describes a series of communication and application protocols and services that provide support for real-time, multipoint data communications...
Protocol for whiteboarding
Whiteboarding
Whiteboarding is the placement of shared files on an on-screen shared notebook or whiteboard. Videoconferencing and data conferencing software often lets the user annotate the shared documents as on a physical whiteboard....
, application sharing
Application sharing
Application sharing is an element of remote access, falling under the collaborative software umbrella, that enables two or more users to access a shared application or document from their respective computers simultaneously in real time...
, desktop sharing
Desktop sharing
Desktop sharing is a common name for technologies and products that allow remote access and remote collaboration on a person's computer desktop through a graphical Terminal emulator.The most common two scenarios for desktop sharing are:* Remote log-in...
, remote desktop sharing (RDS) and file
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...
transfers. The secondary Whiteboard
Whiteboard
A whiteboard is a name for any glossy, usually white surface for nonpermanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to chalkboards, allowing rapid marking and erasing of markings on their surface...
in NetMeeting 2.1 and later utilized the H.324
H.324
H.324 is an ITU-T recommendation for voice, video and data transmission over regular analog phone lines. It uses a regular 33,600 bit/s modem for transmission, the H.263 codec for video encoding and G.723.1 for audio....
protocol.
History
NetMeeting was originally bundled with later versions of Internet Explorer 3Internet Explorer 3
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 is a graphical web browser released on August 13, 1996 by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and on January 8, 1997 for Apple Mac OS . It began serious competition against Netscape Navigator in the first Browser war...
, and the launch version of Internet Explorer 4.0
Internet Explorer 4
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is a graphical web browser released in September 1997 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for Apple Mac OS, Solaris, and HP-UX and marketed as "The Web the Way You Want It".It was one of the main participants of the first...
.
Before video service became common on free IM
IM
-Im or im:* Instant messaging, a form of real-time communication online using typed text* .im, an Internet country code for the Isle of Man* Im , a giant in Norse mythology* Im * Im, a subtype of irregular galaxy...
clients, such as Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
and MSN Messenger, NetMeeting was a popular way to perform video conferences and chatting over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
(with the help of public ILS servers, or "direct-dialing" to an IP address). The defunct TechTV
TechTV
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming...
channel even used NetMeeting as a means of getting viewers onto their call-in shows via webcam, although viewers had to call on their telephones as a matter of redundancy because broadband Internet connections were only starting to proliferate.
Since the release of the initial MSN Messenger Service (sic) and later Windows XP, Microsoft has deprecated it in favour of Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger is a client by Microsoft that is included in the Windows XP operating system. Designed for use by corporate users as well as home users, it was originally created as a streamlined and integrated version of MSN Messenger...
and Microsoft Office Live Meeting. Note that Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger is a client by Microsoft that is included in the Windows XP operating system. Designed for use by corporate users as well as home users, it was originally created as a streamlined and integrated version of MSN Messenger...
, MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
hook directly into NetMeeting for the application sharing, desktop sharing, and Whiteboard features exposed by each application.
Protocol architecture
- NetMeeting uses H.323H.323H.323 is a recommendation from the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector that defines the protocols to provide audio-visual communication sessions on any packet network...
standard for IP/Ethernet LAN multimedia conferencing:- Audio codec uses ITU G.723.1G.723.1G.723.1 is an audio codec for voice that compresses voice audio in 30 ms frames. An algorithmic look-ahead of 7.5 ms duration means that total algorithmic delay is 37.5 ms...
and G.711G.711G.711 is an ITU-T standard for audio companding. It is primarily used in telephony. The standard was released for usage in 1972. Its formal name is Pulse code modulation of voice frequencies. It is required standard in many technologies, for example in H.320 and H.323 specifications. It can also...
standards and offers bit-rates between 5.3 kbit/s and 64 kbit/s. - Video codec uses ITU H.263H.263H.263 is a video compression standard originally designed as a low-bitrate compressed format for videoconferencing. It was developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group in a project ending in 1995/1996 as one member of the H.26x family of video coding standards in the domain of the ITU-T.H.263...
standard and supports 30 fps.
- Audio codec uses ITU G.723.1
- NetMeeting audio and video codecs use RTPReal-time Transport ProtocolThe Real-time Transport Protocol defines a standardized packet format for delivering audio and video over IP networks. RTP is used extensively in communication and entertainment systems that involve streaming media, such as telephony, video teleconference applications, television services and...
above UDP/IP connections. - Whiteboard, Chat, and File Transfer use ITU T.120T.120T.120 is an ITU-T recommendation that describes a series of communication and application protocols and services that provide support for real-time, multipoint data communications...
Data Conferencing standard above TCP/IP connections.
Discontinued
As of Windows VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, NetMeeting is no longer included with Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft recommends using newer applications such as Windows Meeting Space
Windows Meeting Space
Windows Meeting Space is the name of a peer-to-peer collaboration program in Windows Vista that supports 2–10 users. Meeting Space does not exist in any version of Windows 7...
, Remote Desktop Connection, Remote Assistance, Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
and Microsoft Office Live Meeting in place of NetMeeting. Windows Meeting Space works only over peer-to-peer IPv6 local networks, not the internet, only has collaboration features and lacks NetMeeting's conferencing features, however Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
allows 1-to-1 audio-video conferencing. Live Meeting is a paid subscription/service-based offering that includes multi-party conferencing features. For internet collaboration and screen sharing, Microsoft has also released SharedView
Microsoft SharedView
Microsoft SharedView is a remote desktop and internet collaboration application for screen sharing, group chats and sharing documents with multiple people in real time. The program is free but no longer supported by Microsoft, and the last released version is 1.0. -Overview:Microsoft SharedView...
as a separate download.
However, NetMeeting can still be installed and run on the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. A hotfix for 32-bit Windows Vista was published by Microsoft on March 22, 2007. Users can obtain this hotfix by contacting Microsoft Support. The hotfix contains an installer package to install NetMeeting 3.02 on Windows Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate editions. Version 3.02 is essentially a port of 3.01 to Windows Vista, however some features are not available in 3.02 such as remote desktop sharing invitations (incoming) and whiteboard area selection. Microsoft has stated that the Vista compatible version is unsupported and is only meant as a transition tool to help support collaboration sessions when used with Windows XP-based computers. NetMeeting 3.01 can also be installed under Windows Vista by setting the installer's compatibility level to NT4. There is no KB927853 for 64-bit Windows Vista.
The Windows Vista version of NetMeeting does not install and work properly natively on Windows 7. However, Windows XP Mode (a virtual XP computer running within Windows 7) can be used to regain all NetMeeting functionality. Windows Meeting Space
Windows Meeting Space
Windows Meeting Space is the name of a peer-to-peer collaboration program in Windows Vista that supports 2–10 users. Meeting Space does not exist in any version of Windows 7...
has also been removed in Windows 7. Microsoft SharedView requires internet connectivity, it does not work only over a local LAN.
External links
- NetMeeting download website
- Instructions for activating NetMeeting under Windows XP
- Setting up and using NetMeeting
- Microsoft Office Live Meeting (successor of NetMeeting): Comparison of Microsoft Office Live Meeting with other leading webconferencing providers
- Tutorial: Secure Remote Assistance with Netmeeting and Hamachi
- Tutorial: Real Time Online Collaboration
- Easy Meeting Classic is a NetMeeting replacement for Windows 7 and Windows Vista