VirtualTalker: an online multimedia system on token passing networks

VirtualTalker, a multimedia system based on the PC and/or workstation environment, is described. This system has been developed on the token ring and FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) network running the TCP/IP (transmission-control-protocol/Internet protocol) suite. This system allows people to interactively communicate with each other at different locations through video phone and shared white board services. VirtualTalker basically consists of two applications. The VideoPhone application transmits video and voice simultaneously while the ScratchTalker application provides the telephone service with a shared white board by using a tablet. Since the system transmits real-time traffic such as video and voice over the network, many design and technical issues such as the network protocol, encoding technique, delay jitter, packet size, synchronization of video and voice, and priority assignment are considered