Skype for Busiiness, Zoom and Vidyo are called software video codecs. The video encoding is done on a computer/laptop connected to the network. Therefore the presenters need to install on their laptops:
- an application or a browser plugin
- drivers for cameras and microphones
- have network connection
The biggest advantage is that software codecs can be more cost effective in terms of licensing and hardware for smaller presentation rooms.
Cisco and Polycom video equipment can provide hardware encoding, therefore they are reffered to as hardware codecs. The biggest advantage is that presenters do not need to install anything on their computers. All that is needed is to duplicate their screen, pass the video to the codec hardware and the codec takes care of encoding, cameras and microphones and network connectivity.
The standard way of providing providing connections between different software and hardware codecs is to have them all use the SIP protocol. This is achieved by using a video bridge hardware and/or software. The video bridge provides virtual rooms. Users can connect to the virtual rooms if their codec of choice, software or hardware, supports the connection protocol to the virtual room.