Video IVR

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 of the great advantages of Video IVR is that it places all the application logic on the server. In some ways the terminal could be seen as the ultimate thin client. From a compatibility point of view this means that a Video IVR application need to be developed only once for it to run on all 3G handsets. This is in marked contrast to delivering applications as Java applets which can 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 always 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.