Re: [Ekiga-list] Video conference with more than 2 parties

[Stuart Gathman <stuart gathman org>]

On 10/25/2011 10:16 AM, Georg Umgiesser wrote:
> I am trying to find out the suitability of Ekiga for my needs. I work
> in a research institution of about 200 researchers scattered in Italy
> between 7 different locations. Meetings to be held are costly, because
> these locations are up to 700 km apart.
>
> It would be nice to have a possibility to set up a video conferencing
> tool between our institutes. However, it must be possible to connect
> more than two partners. Is this possible in Ekiga? How does it work?
> In the video, how can I switch between the various partners?
It's not the application, it's the protocol.

I don't think Ekiga supports this.  However, other VOIP video clients
probably do.  Also, this could be done by a server.  Those clients and
services are probably not free as in beer.  However, by sticking with
the open and documented VOIP protocol, you leave your options open for
the future.  Check out Mac VOIP offerings.

Another piece of advice for your scenario: set up a VPN between your 7
locations.  This greatly simplifies VOIP configuration, since you avoid
NAT issues, and your conversations are automatically kept private as a
bonus.  (IP6 also avoids NAT issues, but not all clients support it.)