Multipoint Control Unit

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What Does Multipoint Control Unit Mean?

A multipoint control unit (MCU) is a video-conferencing device that links two or more audiovisual workstations into one audiovisual conference call.

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An MCU may also be referred to as a bridge.

Techopedia Explains Multipoint Control Unit

The MCU sits at the local area network’s (LAN) endpoint and gathers relevant system capability data, such as bandwidth, at each video-conferencing workstation. To ensure full participation, the MCU arranges the call to suit the capabilities of the least powerful system.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.