 incredible work ethic, and his genuine concern for his fellow man. A more real and "human" person has yet to cross my path. I would like to thank my true love, Cyndi for her support and patience throughout our marriage and especially through the additional challenges experienced in the research, compilation, and delivery of this work. I would also like to thank my loving children Ryan, Aaron, Kaitlyn and Nathan for the food, hugs and kisses you delivered while "daddy is working and needs to be left alone." I would like to acknowledge my Mother and Father for teaching me that there is no goal that is beyond the grasp of those who are willing to work for it. I thank and acknowledge the grace and goodness of God to bless me with such a family. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge all the scientists, developers, technologists and dreamers without whose crazy ideas we would still be sending smoke signals to one another. The "next big thing" that will reshape our world is probably scratched on a notepad or scrawled on a whiteboard in your office. Please go get it and make the future a reality for all of us! David K. Gibson, CISSP PREFACE "The hinge of radical change almost always swings on new information systems. James Champy, Chairman CSC Consulting Group his book is about video communication tools and the applications that are built upon them. Video communication represents an aggregation of technologies that includes information coding and compression, telecommunications and networking, broadcasting, and end-user presentational and data manipulation tools. The field of interactive video communication is not new, but it is rapidly evolving. In this book, we seek to present clearly and concisely the complex subject of video communication. It is helpful, but not necessary, that the reader know a little about video communication and about networking. We start with the basics to build a foundation with which the reader can grasp the elementary issues. The intent is to spend equal time on technology, standards, and appli