Video IVR is conceptually similar to voice Interactive voice response (IVR) but with the addition of video to enhance the experience. The user interacts with a real-time video stream by pressing DTMF buttons on his terminal (typically a mobile handset).
Most Video IVR is delivered over 3G video calls but could be delivered over any media that is able to carry voice, video and DTMF signals between the terminal and the Video IVR server.
One advantage of Video IVR is that it places all the application logic on the server. The terminal is a thin client. From a compatibility point of view, a Video IVR application need be developed only once to run on all 3G handsets. This is different from delivering applications as Java applets which may require over 200 different builds to cater for all the different handsets.
Because the application is delivered over a live video call, the user must make a video call to access the application. In some cases this may be undesirable but is generally seen as a benefit as it gives the content holders much greater control over the way their content is accessed.
Famous quotes containing the word video:
“These people figured video was the Lord’s preferred means of communicating, the screen itself a kind of perpetually burning bush. “He’s in the de-tails,” Sublett had said once. “You gotta watch for Him close.””
—William Gibson (b. 1948)