Communicating with Computer Audio and Video
When you use computer audio and video with Sametime, you and your colleagues can discuss a presentation while viewing it online. You can speak into a microphone, and everyone in the meeting can hear your voice. The number of people who can speak at a given time depends on the type of audio that you use in the meeting.
If your meeting includes computer video and you have a video camera attached to your computer, your video image is transmitted to everyone in the meeting when you speak into the microphone. You can also view your own video image in the My Video window, even when you are not speaking.
Types of Audio
You can use two types, or modes, of audio: Automatic Microphone mode and Request Microphone mode. All meetings begin in Automatic Microphone mode.
Automatic Microphone Mode
Automatic Microphone mode is suitable for small meetings in which everyone might need to speak or in meetings with interactive discussion. When you use Automatic Microphone mode, any meeting participant can speak into the microphone at any time to be heard by the other participants. However, only two participants can be heard at the same time. (This is a natural way to converse, because it is possible for one participant to interrupt another.) The first two people in the meeting who begin talking become the speaking participants. If two people are already speaking at once, a third person must wait for one of them to stop speaking.
A "currently talking" icon 
appears next to the name of the speaking participant in the Participant List.
Request Microphone Mode
Request Microphone mode is suitable for larger meetings in which only a few people need to speak or for meetings with minimal interactive discussion. For example, Request Microphone mode works well for meetings in which participants need to speak in turn, without interruption.
During a meeting that uses Request Microphone mode, only one person can speak at a time. You can click a button to request the microphone and speak during the meeting. A "currently talking" icon appears next to the speaking participant's name in the Participant List. The speaking participant must release the microphone before another participant can talk.
In Request Microphone mode, the Moderator can remove the microphone from the person who currently has it and pass the microphone to the next person who requested it.
Video Windows
The two video windows are labeled Speaker's Video and My Video. The Speaker's Video window displays the person who is currently speaking in a meeting. The My Video window displays your own video image. You must have a video camera attached to your computer to view your own image, but you can view the speaking participant's image without a video camera.
Permission to Speak
The Moderator must give you permission to speak before you can speak or transmit video during a meeting that includes computer audio and video. To make sure that you have permission to speak, move the mouse pointer over your name in the Participant List and look at the tooltip. See "Viewing Your Permissions" for more information. If you do not have permission, see "Asking for Permissions."