What is video call? Plain-English meaning

Short definition: A video call is a live conversation between two or more people that includes both audio and moving video images transmitted over the internet.

Plain-English explanation

A video call lets you see and hear the person you are talking to in real time, even if you are far apart. Instead of just using your voice like a regular phone call, a video call uses a camera and microphone to send and receive both sound and video. The video and audio are broken into small digital packets that travel over the internet and are reassembled on the other person's device. Video calls can be one-on-one or involve many people at once, which is often called a video conference. They are widely used for personal chats, remote work, online classes, and staying in touch with family and friends.

Why it matters

Video calls matter because they make long-distance communication feel more personal and effective. Seeing facial expressions and body language helps reduce misunderstandings that can happen with voice-only calls or text messages. For people who work remotely, study online, or have loved ones in other places, video calls provide a way to connect that feels closer to being in the same room. They also enable collaboration, such as sharing screens or files, which is useful for work and education.

Concrete example

Imagine you are a student in Japan and your grandmother lives in Brazil. Instead of only hearing her voice on the phone, you open a video call app on your laptop. You see her face as she talks, and she can see you too. You can show her a drawing you made by holding it up to the camera. The video call lets you share that moment together even though you are thousands of kilometers apart.

Common confusion

People often confuse video calls with voice calls or with video messaging. A voice call (like a regular phone call) only transmits audio, while a video call also transmits live video. Video messaging, on the other hand, is not live: you record a video and send it, and the recipient watches it later. The key difference is that a video call happens in real time, with both parties participating at the same moment.

Related terms

VoIP, webcam, videoconferencing, screen sharing, bandwidth

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More context

Video calling has evolved from simple point-to-point calls to multi-party conferences with virtual backgrounds and real-time translation. The technology relies on codecs to compress audio and video data for efficient transmission. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of video calls for work, education, and social interaction.

Additional background

Video calling dates back to experimental systems in the 1920s, but it only became practical for everyday use with the spread of broadband internet and webcams in the early 2000s. Early services like Skype popularized free computer-to-computer calls. Today, video calls are integrated into many platforms, including smartphones, desktop apps, and web browsers. The technology uses codecs to compress video frames and audio, sending data packets over the internet. Echo cancellation and noise suppression are built into modern apps to improve clarity. Security features like end-to-end encryption are now common, but users should still be cautious about sharing meeting links publicly. Video calls have also evolved to support virtual backgrounds, real-time reactions, and shared whiteboards, making them useful for both business and personal interaction. Despite their convenience, video calls can cause fatigue due to the extra cognitive load of processing non-verbal cues on a screen.