METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING PORTS IN A DIGITAL CONFERENCE ARRANGEMENT

For use in multiport digital conference arrangements wherein the speech samples of selected speakers are summed for distribution to the conferees, the disclosed arrangement features processor-controlled switching hardware responsive to a control signal from a conference control processor. Generated in response to a request from a port for priority treatment, this control signal designates particular conferees as having assigned priority treatment such as attendant and broadcast priority in the speaker selection process. In addition, the arrangement also includes a speech detector for each port. By evaluating the conferee's assigned priority treatment, the conferee's speech level, and other factors, each conferee is dynamically assigned an adjusted priority level by a conference processing program. The speech samples of only the highest priority level conferees are summed to control various types of distortion and to permit designated conferees to be always heard by the other conferees.