A videoconferencing and multimedia system is provided which comprises a personal computer (70) having an infrared and logic-level control board (86) in a peripheral slot thereof for controlling devices (16, 22, 24, 42, 44) therein via transistor-transistor logic-level signals, serial infrared signals and/or analog control signals such as variable-voltage level signals. The infrared and logic-level control board (86) processes feedback signals for board and external device diagnostics. The multiple nodes (142a-142d) in the videoconferencing system are networked using an audio and video communication link (162) and a parallel control data communication link (158). Another information transfer communication link (160) can be used on demand for file sharing and data transfer operations outside the bandwidth of the videoconference. Nodes (142a-142d) can be in a local area network (148) which is connected to a wide area network (150) via a gateway (152).
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