Asynchronous videoconferencing: a hybrid communication prototype

The article introduces a hybrid asynchronous, distributed audio/video group conferencing system. One of the chief benefits of Internet communication systems is that they allow communicators to write messages when they need to, and read messages when they can. However, most theories of interactive technologies suggest that users would achieve more accurate interpersonal perceptions and more efficient work transactions if all visual and auditory nonverbal cues were available via desktop communication systems. Synchronous multimedia communication technologies achieve this, but forego the benefits of store-and-forward and retrieve-on-demand. The technological barrier has been in wedding asynchronous communication to the storage, indexing, and retrieval of sound and video. The paper reviews the literature on the costs and benefits of synchronous and asynchronous interaction, and full- versus partial-cue messaging that prompted development of the system. It also discusses the technological basis of a working prototype asynchronous audio/video (a/v) conferencing system, including its facility for a nonlinear indexing system. Validation tests for the utility of asynchronous a/v that are being conducted are discussed. These address the affective, co-presence, satisfaction, and effectiveness outcomes such a system provides.