What is the difference between "mcu" and "conference terminal"?

The main difference between multipoint control unit (MCU) and video conference terminal lies in their functions and uses.

The multipoint control unit (MCU) is responsible for forwarding, exchanging and processing the audio and video streams of the video conference terminal in the video conference system, while the video conference terminal is responsible for the collection, coding and transmission of audio and video signals in the video conference system.

MCU (multipoint control unit) is a video conference server, which provides users with the connection service of group meetings and multi-group meetings. Responsible for the access of all video conference terminals and the exchange, forwarding and processing of conference video and audio streams. It determines the reliability and stability of the whole video conference system and is the core part of the video conference system.

Video conference terminal is a kind of multimedia communication terminal equipment, with which people can participate in video conferences. It is used to collect, encode and transmit the video and audio signals of the conference, which can be displayed by TV or projector, and it is a part of the core component of the video conference system.