User`s guide

6 Conclusions
6.1 Review
This project has discussed the benefits of integrating new features to the existing videoconferencing
system, and its aims, namely, to improve the usability and usefulness of the system. The idea has
been to add new features “behind-the-scenes”, so that the new features do not cause any disruption
to the current system and do not require manual human intervention.
So far, the videoconferencing reciprocity server and client applications have been developed. These
applications address the first issue outlined in the aim (Section 3). Unfortunately, due to problems
beyond the author’s control, the VAN system could not be configured with the new VAN II 3.0
software required by the project, and thus the applications could not be tested in situ. However,
each application has been tested as much as possible, and all components work as required.
The infra-red tunnelling server and client applications have also been developed. Again, this
could not be tested in situ, for a number of reasons, including those given for the videoconferencing
reciprocity application. However, the main reason it could not be tested is that data could not be
read directly from the Actisys infra-red transceivers, with or without the infra-red driver software.
The reason for this is that a protocol must be followed, which is not known and may be proprietary.
Using the QuickBeam NT software from Extended Systems, files could be sent from one transceiver
to another, or between a PalmPilot and a transceiver. However, it has been tested using a standard
serial connection between two computers, and the applications work successfully in this case. In its
current form, the software can be used in instances where a protocol between the application and
the serial device is not required.
The remaining features have been investigated and discussed. The author was not directly in-
volved with the camera repositioning, but it has been completed. The other remaining features
have not been developed. The VidServer and VidClient applications could easily be extended to
incorporate the automatic link switching application. By purchasing camera control hardware, and
implementing the relevant portions of the AXLink protocol, camera control could be developed, us-
ing a client/server approach similar to that used by the videoconferencing reciprocity and infra-red
tunnelling applications. Video recording requires more research done in order to capture the MPEG
data from the video stream and write it to an MPEG file. However, it too could use a client/server
model to synchronise video recording and to notify video nodes that recording is in progress.
Response to the developed features and on the proposed features has generally been positive, and
comments have been taken into consideration for future work.
6.2 Future Work
The additions made to the videoconferencing system so far are only part of the whole system.
Both the videoconferencing reciprocity and infra-red tunnelling applications can be extended and
improved. There are a few minor interface changes that could be made. For example, many of
the menu items in all of the applications are not implemented – in fact, most don’t need to be
implemented, but should probably be removed (e.g Copy, Paste, Save and Print). There are left
unimplemented because they were included in the template MFC application that was used to create
the client and server applications.
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