Equipment & Technology Video Phone (VP)

Video phone is a phone using the internet system not a land line telephone system. A video phone connects to a live person who can communicate by sign language.

Video phone communications can be executed in a variety of ways. Initially, video phone calls were made solely via computers equipped with Webcams. Using an Internet connection, two callers can communicate visually through streaming video. The drawbacks of using computers and Internet connections is the screen size is small, and video quality can drop if one’s Internet connection speed slows.

A true video phone is a receiver that is hooked up to a TV and transmits communications through a cable line. Using a video phone, an individual can call another person with a video phone directly, or he or she can use a relay service to call a regular telephone.

A video relay service connects a deaf person with an operator who interprets calls for the individual. The deaf person signs to the interpreter who then speaks what is being signed to the hearing person on the other end of the line. Then, the interpreter signs the responses from the hearing person.

Currently, there are new types of portable video phones. These devices can be transported and used anywhere there is an Internet connection.

Additional information about the Nebraska Specialized Telecommunications Equipment Program (NSTEP) that provides free video phones to Nebraskans with a hearing loss