Microsoft ActiveX Conferencing

Enabling Real-Time, Multimedia Communication over the Internet

April 1996
Updated: May 24, 1996

The Microsoft® ActiveX™ Conferencing platform consists of a suite of technologies that enable real-time, multiparty, multimedia communication over the Internet. In effect, these technologies and the associated interfaces turn each and every PC into a new kind of highly programmable and extensible telephone--a multimedia telephone capable not only of audio communication, but video and data communication as well.

For more information on Microsoft ActiveX conferencing, please see the Web pages below.

ActiveX Conferencing, in a nutshell

We've provided an overview of the Microsoft ActiveX Conferencing platform, user scenarios, and releases.

ActiveX Conferencing SDK

The ActiveX Conferencing Software Development Kit (SDK) 1.0 (Beta 1) is now available for downloading. The SDK provides nine functions for adding conferencing support to your application. Please note that you need to install the Microsoft NetMeeting™ 1.0 (Beta 1) application (see below) to use the SDK.

Microsoft NetMeeting

We've provided a link to the Internet Explorer 3.0 Web site for version 1.0, Beta 1 of Microsoft NetMeeting, which is now available for free downloading. Microsoft NetMeeting (previously called the ActiveX Conferencing test application) enables real-time voice and data communications over the Internet, including the ability for multiple users to share applications, transfer files, view and illustrate a shared whiteboard, and chat over standard communications. Developers who are using the ActiveX Conferencing SDK can also use NetMeeting to test their applications.

Frequently asked questions

The Internet Explorer 3.0 site also includes an FAQ, which provides answers to users' questions about Microsoft NetMeeting.

PDC presentation

Steve Liffick from Microsoft gave a presentation at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (March 1996, San Francisco, CA), which focused on the ActiveX conferencing platform and Microsoft's commitment to standards-based multimedia communication over the Internet. Topics covered include:

• Why standards are critical to a real-time communication platform.
• Microsoft's proposal to the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for a user location protocol that enables communicating applications to dynamically discover IP addresses of viable communicating peers accross the Internet.
• Audio capabilities of the ActiveX conferencing platform.
• APIs that enable applications to establish conference calls, plug in custom codecs, and leverage services such as application sharing, whiteboarding, chat, file transfer, and data transfer.
• The ActiveX conferencing architecture.

• "More Than 100 Leading Companies Join Intel and Microsoft to Support Standards-Based Implementation for Video, Voice and Data Communications over the Internet" (March 11, 1996) describes the open platform, jointly developed by Microsoft and Intel, which builds on industry standards to make video, voice, and data phone calls commonplace over the Internet.
• "MCI and Microsoft Announce New Strategic Alliance" (January 29, 1996) describes the Microsoft/MCI alliance to jointly develop and market a range of Internet and network services, including conferencing services.

Interoperability events

Intel and Microsoft, in cooperation with the International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium, Inc. (IMTC), recently co-sponsored an event focused on testing and resolving interoperability issues between desktop conferencing products, multipoint services, and application providers. This event (Event-120), held March 25-27, 1996 in Santa Clara, CA, tested vendors' T.120 implementations to ensure interoperability across a wide range of products. For more information on the interoperability events, see the links below. (Please note that the last link points to a server that is not under Microsoft's control. Please read Microsoft's official statement regarding other servers.)

• "First Interoperability Event Scheduled for Q1'96, Focused on T.120" (press release for the events)
• "Industry Leaders Conduct Interoperability Tests for Data Conferencing" (results from Event-120)
• IMTC's Report on Event-120

The following links point to the Web sites of organizations and groups that focus on conferencing and interoperability standards. (Please note that these links point to servers that are not under Microsoft's control. Please read Microsoft's official statement regarding other servers.)

• The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• The International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC)
• The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)