Communicating with Computer Audio and Video
When you use computer audio and video with IBM® Lotus® 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.
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.
Preparing to use audio and video
Before you attend your first audio/video meeting, test and configure your sound card and install a video driver.
Types of Audio
You can use two types, or modes, of computer 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. When there are two people in the meeting, both can speak at the same time. However, when more than two people are in a meeting, only one can speak at any time. If one person is already speaking, then the second person must wait for the first to stop speaking. The "currently talking" icon 
appears next to the name of the speaking participant in the participants 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 chair 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 video window is labeled Video, with a Show drop-down list to switch between "Current speaker" and "My video" views. The Current speaker 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.