Catch-up playback in a conferencing system

1. A computer-implemented method for conferencing over a network comprising:

receiving input at a server indicating that an endpoint associated with a user connected to the server over the network is dropping out of a real-time mode of attending an on-going conference session;

recording a portion of the on-going conference session beginning at a time point when the endpoint drops out of the real-time mode;

recording a comment/question received from the endpoint contemporaneous with the recording of the portion of the on-going conference session;

receiving additional input indicating that the comment/question has ended and the endpoint is ready to resume receiving the on-going conference session;

playing back the portion of the on-going conference session to the endpoint at an accelerated rate; and

returning the endpoint to the real-time mode of attending the on-going conference session playback when the portion recorded catches up with the on-going conference session.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising storing the comment/question in a storage unit.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising detecting the comment/question.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein the comment/question comprises the speech of the user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the on-going conference is a moderated conference and further comprising inserting the stored comment/question as a floor control request to the moderated conference.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising storing a mark indicative of a point in the on-going conference session just prior to the comment/question.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising adjusting the mark to set a context for the comment/question.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising providing a reminder to the endpoint that the comment/question is not being sent to the on-going conference in real-time.

9. A computer-implemented method for conferencing over a network comprising:

sending, by a mixer, a real-time media stream of an on-going conference session to an endpoint associated with a user;

detecting, by a server, speech of the user transmitted from the endpoint, the speech comprising a comment/question that pertains to content of the on-going conference session;

recording the speech;

recording the real-time media stream beginning at a first point in time when the speech is detected;

storing the speech; and

playing back the recorded real-time media stream to the endpoint at an accelerated rate relative to the on-going conference session after the speech has ended; and

resuming sending of the real-time media stream at a second point in time when playback of the recorded real-time media stream catches up to the on-going conference session.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising attaching a document to the speech.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising editing the stored speech.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising entering the stored speech in a floor control queue for subsequent playback.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising marking a context to be played along with the speech.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising triggering playback of the speech.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:

detecting, by the server, additional speech from the endpoint during playback of the recorded real-time media stream;

halting playback of the recorded real-time media stream;

recording the additional speech;

recording the real-time media stream beginning at a third point in time when the additional speech is detected;

storing the additional speech in a storage unit; and

playing back the recorded real-time media stream from the third point in time to the endpoint at an accelerated rate after the additional speech has ended.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, is operable to:

send a real-time media stream of an on-going conference session to an endpoint associated with a user;

record speech of the user sent by the endpoint, the speech including a comment/question;

record the real-time media stream beginning at a first point in time when the speech is detected;

store the speech;

enter the stored speech in a floor control queue for subsequent playback; and

playback the recorded real-time media stream to the endpoint after the speech has ended.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein the playback is at an accelerated rate relative to the on-going conference session.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to resume sending the real-time media stream at a second point in time when playback of the recorded real-time media stream catches up to the on-going conference session.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to attach a document to the speech.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to edit the stored speech.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to mark a context to be played along with the speech.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to trigger playback of the speech at a certain point in the on-going conference session.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to:

detect additional speech from the endpoint during playback of the recorded real-time media stream;

halt playback of the recorded real-time media stream;

record the additional speech;

record the real-time media stream beginning at a third point in time when the additional speech is detected;

store the additional speech; and

playback the recorded real-time media stream from the third point in time to the endpoint after the additional speech has ended.

24. A system comprising:

a conference controller to handle call signaling for a plurality of endpoints participating in a conference session;

a mixer to mix input real-time media streams received from the endpoints and produce one or more output real-time media streams to be sent to the endpoints;

a server operable in response to control signals received from the conference controller to:

record speech of a user sent to the server by a first endpoint;

record an output real-time media stream produced by the mixer for the first endpoint beginning at a first point in time when the speech is detected;

store the speech;

playback the recorded output real-time media stream to the first endpoint after the speech has ended; and

playback the stored speech to the mixer at a future point in time after the speech has ended.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the speech comprises a comment or question that pertains to content of the on-going conference session.

26. A system comprising:

a multimedia storage unit; and

means for handling call signaling for a plurality of endpoints participating in a conference session, and for mixing input real-time media streams received from the endpoints to produce one or more output real-time media streams to be sent to the endpoints, the means further for recording a comment/question received from a first endpoint, recording an output real-time media stream produced by the mixer for the first endpoint beginning at a first point in time when the comment/question is detected, storing the comment/question in the multimedia storage unit, and for playing back the recorded output real-time media stream to the first endpoint after the comment/question has ended, the means also for playing back the stored speech to the mixer at a future point in time after the speech has ended.