On 20/3/20 8:34 am, Tom Worthington wrote:
> ... I suggest that video products be set to
> limit bandwidth use by default ...
Tom, naturally I agree with what you say, but I think your post omits a
further, important consideration.
The vast majority of video transmitted during video-conferencing is
valueless in informational terms. Most of it is also of limited value
in other, let's call them 'cultural', terms - the feeling of being in
(metaphorical) contact, the feeling of being suitably 'socially
distanced', etc.
Individuals can turn off their video-uplink after meeting-commencement
pleasantries have been completed.
They can turn it back on during the (in most cases infrequent and fairly
brief) episodes during which they are actively participating.
Indeed, flicking video back on, and showing a troubled face, is an
effective, attention-drawing form of non-verbal communication to those
people in the meeting who are actually looking at their screen at the
time - and it's less rude and disruptive than audio interruptions.
Service-providers can include, and promote, features whereby individuals
can participate audio-only, thereby suppressing more unwanted traffic.
(It's interesting that the proportion of audio-only connections in some
of the conferences I participate in exceeds the proportion in Australian
Privacy Foundation Board meetings. And people think *APF'ers* are
privacy nuts??).
In addition to adjusting defaults to video-off, providers could build in
occasional (and not-*too*-obtrusive) reminders such as 'Are you *sure*
you want to continue transmitting video and burning up network capacity?'.
I'm not criticising people for not thinking about this more often. I'm
part of a sub-set of society that's more likely to switch off outbound
video, because:
(a) I'm not one of the world's most beautiful people,
(b) I'm very much aware of that, and
(c) as Secretary of a couple of virtual organisations, I work during
meetings, with my head down. And the top of my head is even uglier, and
conveys even less informational value, than the front of it does.
________________
On 20/3/20 8:34 am, Tom Worthington wrote:
There is likely to be a high demand for Internet access over the next
few months due to COVID19. So I suggest that video products be set to
limit bandwidth use by default. Video streaming and conference tools
adjust to the bandwidth available, but try to use *all* that bandwidth.
This makes them poor online citizens, like someone who fills their
shopping trolley with toilet paper, if you let them. ;-)
On Thursday I took part in a webinar (video conference) on "COVID-19 and
the Household/Commercial Solar and Battery Storage Market", hosted by
the Smart Energy Council. I suggest other industry bodies and
professional societies follow this example.
There were only a few brief dropouts in the audio (fewer than on ABC
Radio National that morning). This was with Zoom, which is not my
favorite product, as there is no way for participants to set the audio
or video quality to reduce bandwidth. But it is possible to reduce data
use to around 220 to 300 kbps by making the video window smaller.
It would be good if the video products, such as Zoom, used a low
bandwidth mode with a small video window, by default.
More at:
https://blog.tomw.net.au/2020/03/video-conference-on-covid-19-and.html
--
Roger Clarke mailto:[email protected]
T: +61 2 6288 6916 http://www.xamax.com.au http://www.rogerclarke.com
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University
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