Since the fall 2009 release of its VodBurner Skype video call recording software the Netralia team has offered the ability to record, edit and upload or publish Skype video calls. Their challenge has been to keep up to the ensuing enhancements in Skype video calling:

• from VGA resolution at 30 frames per second (“fps”) to 720p (initially at 22 fps, now at 30 fps) to the recent availability of 1080p at 30 fps
• the various Skype-certified HD webcams from FREETALK, FaceVsion and Logitech
• changes in the Skype for Windows software and how it handles video calling

As reported last week the new Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 finally makes it feasible to participate in Skype video calls at 720p resolution at 30 fps¹; the recent launch of the TelyHD Skype video calling platform has made it possible to make Skype calls from any TV set with an HDMI input – also 720p at 30 fps.

And now VodBurner has the ability to record 720p HD video calls followed by editing and sharing the recording.

What follows is a short clip from a video that will appear in a forthcoming post about the TelyHD. Using VodBurner the video was recorded onto a Windows PC where the Logitech C920 served as the webcam; the person being interviewed was using Skype for TV on a TelyHD Android-based platform that incorporates an HD webcam (720p @ up to 30 fps).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJe3lWzubM

Note that this is a short clip from the beginning of the interview simply to demonstrate VodBurner recording HD video. For the full video go to the review post for the TelyHD platform (link coming when published).

Here’s the Skype for Windows Call Technical Info behind this call (click on the image to enlarge):

I expect to be doing an interview with VodBurner’s Jeremy Hague soon to discuss VodBurner and its many features in more  detail.

Requirements on the recording side: Skype 5.8 for Windows, VodBurner 1.0.9.148 or later, Logitech C920 webcam, Internet service with at least 1.0 Mpbs upload speed.

Download VodBurner with installation instructions here.

¹ My service provider’s upload speed does not support consistent 1080p resolution.

Earlier this week Skype released Skype 5.8 for Windows as a gold release. It brings to all users features that have been creeping into recent beta versions including:

• Full HD video calling (720p and 1080p @ 30 fps) provided you have an appropriate webcam and sufficient Internet upload speed
• check out Logitech C920 Webcam: for a Superior Skype Video Calling Experience for more details
• Group Screen sharing – where a participant in a Group Video call can share either a window or the full desktop with up to ten participants; this requires that the host of the call have a Skype Premium subscription
• Check out Skype for Windows 5.6: Call Monitor, Enhanced Screen Sharing – and Ads! for a discussion on how Skype’s screen sharing works.
• Hiding offline Facebook contacts (Contacts | Hide Contacts Who | Are offline); in addition to hiding Offline Skype contacts
• Push-to-Talk – for multiplayer gamers – allows users to set a hotkey to toggle microphone muting on a Skype call
• Bing Bar integration (is this the first sign of a Microsoft integration?)

It’s a two screen upgrade process – in my case it took about five minutes as I have over three years of Skype chat conversations stored on my local PC; they still come in very handy using the search feature (Ctrl-F).

Video calling to Facebook users (independent from whether they have a Skype account) is still in beta but included with this release. What does beta mean? While it works quite well, there are still some issues to work through and still needs to address more feedback from user experiences:

• Need to be able to select speakers in FB window in addition to webcam and microphone
• Call from Skype to Facebook contact: when sending 720p 16:9 aspect ratio from Logitech C920 on Skype side; image on FB side is distorted to 4:3 aspect ratio – recipient on FB side should be able to see 16:9 aspect ratio

You can download this latest release by going to “Help | Check for Updates” in your Skype for Windows client or downloading here.

Over the past week I have been checking out some interesting new activities involving Skype video. I wrote about my experience with the Logitech HD Pro C920 and there are at least two more posts coming next week involving new experiences with Skype HD video calling.

Video calling has always had its own inhibitions and etiquette, especially when it comes to nervousness about being seen “live” for whatever self-conscious reason. Everyone has his/her own dress code in this regard.

But I’ve also learned that sometimes there are other social aspects to consider, especially when using Skype for TV. For instance, you have to be aware when others in the home may want to actually watch a TV program (is Skype for TV allowed during today’s Super Bowl in your home?). So you have to schedule Skyping on your TV appropriately. You probably want to think about the condition of the room from which you are calling; it’s probably not exactly a neat and tidy television news production studio.

But apparently there are other considerations also….

For developers planning to develop TV-based applications Skype lays out an entire etiquette under the topic “Design for TV: Skype on Your TV: A 6-Step Guide for Success” (you have to be a registered developer to see the entire guide):

What Makes TVs Different?

Despite recent advances, a television remains a primarily passive device—we watch it for extended periods of time rather than use it to converse, surf the Web, or run other software applications. And we rarely appreciate being interrupted when watching our favorite show!

Amber MacArthur, a Toronto-based social media guru (and author of the AmberMac test for Skype), is a frequent and long time user of Skype video, both for family calls and her participation on various video podcasts. Recently she was preparing to participate in an upcoming Fast Company show and received from her husband, Chris Dick (a video production expert), a list of things to remember when setting up for a web video conversation. She subsequently posted them in an extended Facebook post:

Here they are – please let me know if you have anything else to add to the list (I like #5 the best;):
1. Have a USB headset/microphone combination for maximum effect – failing that, use a pair of earbuds.
2. If you are using the on-board microphone, find a quieter location than a loud coffee shop or central office hub, both to minimize noise and possible colleague/passerby interference
3. If there is a large window or other light source, position yourself so YOU can look at it – rather than have it behind you, you don’t want to be backlit.
4. If you have an Ethernet connection for your Internet source please take advantage of it; wifi can occasionally be subject to drop outs
5. And lastly pop in a breath mint, you’d be surprised how advanced Skype is now

Certainly the first four are great tips and reflect my own experiences. However, imputing new features to Skype is an ongoing dialogue, especially for geeks. But this one has to amuse. Definitely not a new feature reported in the recent upgrades to Skype 5.8 for Windows and Skype 5.5 for Mac announced this past week.

Bottom Line: We’ll have to check out the SkypeKit developer information for the Halitosis API. And will we see Skype-certified breath mints on the Skype Store? Is it another intrusion into our privacy?

P.S. – Amber was the pioneer in using Skype for TV broadcasts: Skype Video for “Live On Location” Television – long before Oprah.

From the time just over four years ago when Skype introduced High Quality Video at VGA (640 x 480) resolution and 30 frames per second (“fps” or “frame rate”) I have had the opportunity to test many webcams for Skype Video calling. In the fall of 2010 I reported on the launch of HD Video calling (1280 x 720 or “720p” – @ 22 fps) using webcams from FREETALK and FaceVsion. In the spring of 2011 I first tested a “conference room” video webcam from FREETALK; “conference room” webcams are suited for covering the longer range typical of a small-to-medium conference room size rather than a close-up desktop PC webcam for both video and audio.

Last week I received an evaluation unit of the recently announced Logitech C920 webcam. In my CES 2012 post Logitech C920 sets new Skype HD Video standards I discussed some of its unique features such as:

• the first Skype-certified webcam to deliver 1080p HD video
• the minimum required upload speed to acheive 720p HD resolution is 1 Mpbs
• dual stereo microphones

On receiving the webcam I learned there is more:

• my first encounter with a Skype-certified webcam that delivers 720p HD video at 30 fps
• faster ramp-up to 720p HD from call launch
• delivers 1080p video at 21 fps
• 15MP webcam for photo capture
• delivers an excellent quality image (feedback all those whom I have called)
  • takes full advantage of Carl-Zeiss optics, 20-step auto focus and “Right Light” feature
  • Logitech calls this “Liquid Fluid CrystalTM” technology

Having made several calls with the C920; they have been my best Skype video calling experiences of all.  I am using a Dell Vostro V410 quad core PC that is about four years old. Requirements include: dual-core 2.0GHz processor, Windows XP/Vista/7, Skype 5.7 for Windows beta or later, Internet upload/download speeds as discussed below.

Worth noting:

Relevant speeds – to set the baseline for this discussion it is important to take a look at the frame rate observed and minimum upload Internet Connection speeds required, based on either vendor specifications or experience:

Previously Skype had specified 1.2 Mpbs upload speed as the minimum required. However, when I started receiving calls last fall from contacts with recent Logitech webcams (C310, C510, C910 and Webcam Pro 9000) I noticed that they went to 720p yet I confirmed that my contacts on these calls only had 1.0 Mpbs maximum upload speed. This was my first clue that Logitech had developed a webcam that allowed HD video on the very common broadband Internet services that cap out at 1.0 Mbps upload speed (and without an onboard H.264 processor).

My service has a 2.0 Mbps upload speed; however, in practice it usually delivers 1.6 to 1.85 Mpbs upload speed. So while I was expecting to easily get to 720p I was only being hopeful (or lucky) if a call went to 1080p.

Overall speed observations during a call:

When you initiate the C920 webcam (either when launching a call or by turning on the webcam during a call) it comes up almost instantly with a video image; no swirling icons waiting for the webcam to get started. But the other noticeable difference was that it usually takes less than 30 seconds for the webcam to start delivering HD video at 720p.

One other noticeable improvement was that the Logitech C920 is the only webcam that delivers 720p at 30 fps whereas the other HD webcams could only go to 22 fps. (Not a terribly noticeable difference but it becomes television quality with no choppiness or pixilation).

Overall one has a much improved call initiation experience and on all calls to other PC’s it has always switched to 720p HD in somewhat less than a minute.

All of my calls went to 720p at 30 fps as would be expected with my service’s upload speed; however, I did have two calls go to 1080p at 21 fps after about 10 to 20 minutes (remember I’m not supposed to get 1080p at all); this held for the last 20 to 30 minutes of those two calls. From the call technical info I could also see there was less demand on my CPU processors than I had previously experienced (usually had been well over 50%).

Note that these calls were to users with Skype for Windows or Skype for Mac; a call to Skype for iPad (to an original iPad) was observed to be at VGA resolution (640 x 480) at 15 fps; a call to Skype for TV on the TelyHD device went 720p at 15 fps on both sides of the call. In other words, the combination of Skype and the webcam will adapt resolution and frames-per-second to the resources of the device at the other end of the call.

The mounting bracket – one other feature that was immediately obvious was the flexibility of the mounting bracket. Using a combination of hinges and rubber surfaces, it easily mounts onto the top of any flat panel display; yet it can also sit on, say, a desktop surface. Not only does it mount readily and firmly but when on the display frame it can easily be titled up and down. Finally the underside has a tripod thread such that it can readily be mounted on any tripod.

Software: The C920 is accompanied by software that is downloaded from the Logitech website. This includes the Logitech Webcam Controller which can be used for setting zoom/pan/tilt as well as making adjustments for lighting (“RightLight”), auto focus and sound (“RightSound”). Also included is “Logitech Webcam Software” which provides:

• Video recording (up to 1080p resolution),
• Links to common video calling applications (Skype, GMail and Logitech Vid),
• Motion detection  – start recording when motion is detected, and
• Video mask maker – special effects
• Web Gallery – storing and editing recordings with the  ability to download to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or to share via email.

Audio: The C920 also includes a microphone on each side to pick up a stereo effect and making it suitable for larger distances in, say, a small conference room. I was able to test this out in a small office environment during an HD video call and found it to work satisfactorily. While the other party on a 90 minute call reported that there can be a bit of “barrel” effect, Skype’s echo cancellation worked perfectly.

Call Example:

Call with Mike Phillips¹ (@mcphillips) who had a Logitech C910 webcam; this was captured when the C920 was delivering 1080p resolution. Mike’s Internet service had a 5 Mbps upload speed. Click on the images for a larger version:

What does H.264 have to do with this? Everything! Recall:

• Previous webcams with H.264 onboard processors took 30 seconds to 3 minutes to go to HD resolution; they capped out at 22 fps. They required 1.2 Mpbs upload speed and would take 15 seconds to a minute from launch just to show an image.
• The previous Logitech HD webcams had no onboard processor (in other words they did their video processing on the main PC using up CPU cycles); they went to 720p resolution on services with only 1.0 Mbps upload speed.
• The Logitech C920 turns on immediately, goes to 720p HD much more quickly (15 to 45 seconds), goes to 30 fps – and it goes to these performance levels consistently when calling another PC.
• The Logitech C920 reduces the demand on your main PC processor and bandwidth requirements.
• It allows a much better experience when recording a video call with, say, VodBurner, reducing wait times and quality loss that would arise from encoding on the main PC.

Putting these observations together tells me that the Logitech engineers have been hard at work not only to deliver the the best video calling experience at HD resolutions but also to  ensure that technology to achieve this performance becomes transparent to the entire Skype video calling operation. (And, given that it requires Skype 5.7 for Windows (beta) or later, it says they have been working with Skype’s audio/video engineers.)

What does the other party have? I have made calls where the other party had various Logitech webcams (C310, C910 and 9000 Pro), a recent MacBook Pro webcam and a FREETALK Everyman HD webcam. In every case my experience with the the C920 was as described here. Of course to receive HD video they must have at least a 1Mbps download speed (usually not an issue with any broadband Internet service) and a recent version of Skype – Skype 5.x for Windows, or Skype 5.3 for Mac or later. It also worked at 720p HD on a call to Skype for TV on the TelyHD device. It makes calls, but at VGA or loeer resolution, to Skype for iPad and Skype for iPhone.

There was one instance where the other party switched to an older non-Skype-certified webcam during a call (from a Logitech C910) and basically we could not get any semblance of good call quality. On the other hand it appears to work well when the other party is using a webcams built into laptop and flat panel monitor displays.

Skype Group Video Calling: While Skype Group Video Calling only delivers VGA resolution, due to screen real state issues when showing up to 10 participants and desktop sharing, I would expect this webcam to perform better in terms of speed to get into a call and robustness during a call as well as demand on the local CPU resources. I’ll report back after my next group video call later this week.

Bottom line: The Logitech C920 delivers a quantum leap to the user experience for Skype video calling, especially when it comes to taking advantage of HD video:

• The webcam fires up delivering video images almost instantly after launching video
• It reduces the minimum upload speed requirement for 720p HD video to a speed available on most broadband Internet services
• It goes into 720p HD video much more quickly (not to overlook at a TV quality frame rate)
• If you have sufficient Internet connection upload speed, it delivers 1080p video at a reasonable frame rate.
• It delivers a smoother, more robust and sustainable HD video call experience
• Its optics deliver the best quality images when it comes to natural colors and color depth, sharpness and dealing with lighting issues.
• It reduces the load on your PC processor/CPU
• It easily adapts to mounting on any monitor or laptop display, work surface or tripod.
• It works with other services such as GTalk and Logitech Vid
• It provides a much better experience with video recording
• I have recorded a Skype call with VodBurner
• It includes a recording ability with single click download to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

As mentioned at the beginning I have followed Skype video calling for over five years; I have checked out many webcams, especially when it comes to HD video. If you are looking to have the best overall Skype video calling experience from a Windows PC, it’s well worth spending the $99 to achieve it.

The Logitech C920 is available on Amazon and at electronics retailers such as Best Buy.

In another post I’ll talk about successfully recording a Skype video call using this webcam and VodBurner.

And the inevitable Mac question: while a reviewer on Amazon.com claims it worked on his Mac, Logitech will not comment on future products. In any event full Mac support, certainly for 1080p resolution, would also require an upgrade from Skype for Skype for Mac – Skype has made no announcement in this regard. In a response on Logitech’s community forum:

Unfortunately, at this time, there are no plans to provide Mac support for the C920; however, I suggest keep checking our website as we are always coming out with new solutions.

Currently the Logitech C910, as shown in the chart above, does support the Mac and offer most of the C920 features except support for 1080p  and the onboard H.264 processor as the major omissions.

¹Mike Phillips blogs on Scoop.it at Equipment and Techniques for Webcasters and Podcasters and hosts a weekly podcast Computers 2K Now Sundays from 9 to Noon ET where he and his co-hosts discuss podcasting, webcasting, broadcasting and audio. Follow him on Twitter @mcphillips

If there was one “Year Of” category in 2011, it would be the emergence of group video conferencing offerings. Skype started off the year by announcing the release of Skype Group Video Calling – up to ten participants using Skype video and audio technology with a cost of $8.99 per month (or lower on 3- and 12-month subscriptions that include Live Chat and U.S./Canada SkypeOut). Meantime vendors such as Cisco, Polycomm, InFocus and LifeSize (a Logitech company) have evolved their video conferencing offerings with the result that a business can end up with a “closed” service that limits their video calling contacts.

To overcome this barrier Vidtel, with a history of video calling experience, has launched MeetMe, a cloud-based open video conference hosting service. End points can be any of Cisco (E-20, Telepresence MXP 1700), Polycomm, Lifesize video conference systems or real time communications softphone clients such as Skype (including iPhone and iPad), GTalk and CounterPath’s Bria. During a demonstration call the various participants were a mixture of these end points.

Personally I joined this call from Skype for Windows; the Skype integration is still in beta. Issues with respect to maintaining the correct aspect ratio when viewed on Skype are yet to be resolved. On the other hand, Andy Abramson sent me what he was seeing at a Cisco E20 video phone. (Click on the Skype image to enlarge to see the various endpoints on the call.)

Vidtel is selling the service through video and audio conferencing resellers with both fixed rate and per minute pricing plans. It is targeted at businesses with 20 to a few hundred employees who need to deal with suppliers and customers on different video calling endpoints.

Recently I have mentioned that tablets with the iPad format are candidates to become the default platform for a desktop video phone. At last week’s ShowStoppers event during CES CounterPath announced support for video calling on its Bria for iPhone softphone while demonstrating versions for iPad and Android forthcoming by the end of January.

Lending credence to Vidtel’s offering CounterPath and Vidtel today announced an interoperability agreement to provide small-to-medium enterprises with a low cost, high quality enterprise grade video conferencing option using Bria for PC’s and mobile devices. According to the press release:

Interoperability between Vidtel and Bria allows SMEs and other customers to:

• Participate in video conferences from hotel rooms, airports, home offices, coffee shops, client facilities and other remote locations with mobile devices.
• Enter a video conference room using the already familiar methods of simply dialing a phone number, PBX extension or SIP address (eliminating the need to add a contact/buddy or learn the unique requirements of third-party services).
• Achieve high video conference quality by using SIP-based native interoperability rather than transcoding.

With its multi-platform support this agreement is contributing to a trend where we’ll be taking business voice and video calls on not only “traditional” desktop phones but also increasingly on mobile devices and PC’s. Rogers One Number service, which also uses CounterPath technology, provides another example.

Bottom line: Vidtel MeetMe certainly provides an initial glimpse into interoperability across video conferencing vendors. It supports the major players in this space. On the other hand it’s an emerging technology. For instance, as one who has participated in a weekly Skype Group Video call, the Vidtel audio quality, while acceptable, is noticeably narrowband, as confirmed by the Skype Call Technical Info window, whereas Skype Group Video supports its SILK audio technology providing a much crisper, clearer audio. And one issue to be addressed before coming out of beta with Skype as an end point is to get the aspect ratios correct.

On the other hand for businesses that have invested in one particular vendor for video conferencing, it provides an very viable path for small to medium business to hold video conferences with their business partners, whether suppliers, customers and/or contractors without concern for the video conferencing technology being employed at each endpoint.

Update: Check out Andy Abramson’s post: CounterPath, Vidtel Marry Up for Portable Video Conferencing:

While Skype and GoogleTalk are both interoperable with Vidtel, most enterprise size businesses don’t really “endorse” Skype or GoogleTalk or even the very simple-to-use Hangouts. With Vidtel’s MeetMe and the suite of CounterPath Bria clients, there’s now an enterprise ready, carrier grade and often approved softclient that can connect to a multi-standards based video conferencing bridging service so anyone can see and be seen. Add in the cost efficiences of both offerings, and all of a sudden the IT buyer has the budget for iPads or Android tablets and alot more software vs. those desk phones or room based video systems.

Two years ago at CES 2010 Skype announced Skype for TV with two partners (Samsung and LG). It was only available on very high end Internet-enabled TV sets and required vendor-specific webcams. Effectively the cost of adoption was over $1,500. CES 2011 saw an expansion of the number of TV set vendors (Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Vizio) and the support of Skype for TV on BluRay DVD players from Panasonic and Sony, bringing the cost of adoption down to about $400 for the player and a supporting webcam.

One other complication was that all these offerings required a webcam that was specifically designed for the individual TV/player vendor. At a July 2011 panel discussion, Skype President Tony Bates mentioned that Skype for TV was installed into over 50 million TV sets; however, again these were mostly high end sets with a price point that did not encourage mass consumer adoption.

At CES 2012 there were some demonstrations and announcements that effectively make it possible to enable every television set to support a Skype for TV video or voice call at a much more reasonable cost:

• Tely Labs launched its TelyHD platform – an Android-based webcam that embeds HD video support of Skype for TV. Most significantly it is TV vendor-agnostic as it can work with any TV set that has an HDMI input. More on TelyHD to follow in an upcoming review. Total cost: $249.00 including webcam, available at the Skype Store.
• The newly announced Sony BDP-S790 BluRay player, available later this spring, is unique from a Skype perspective in that it will work with any webcam that supports Skype.

• Sony was also demonstrating a prototype of its forthcoming Android-based “Smart TV” set top box as its version of Google TV. It will deliver all the common Internet social networking applications such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Skype, amongst others, to any TV set and again work with any webcam.
• Samsung announced its inTouch Android-based webcam supporting Skype and other social networking applications; deliveries to commence later this spring.
• All of these devices support not only HDMI and 720p HD video resolution but also an embedded WiFi internet connection.

Samsung was demonstrating Skype for TV where, as shown on the right, the webcam was embedded into the top frame of the television set. While apparently still supporting Skype for TV, there were no demonstrations in the Toshiba or LG booths.

Panasonic and Sony had new versions of their BluRay player, as well as new firmware supporting Skype for TV on their Viera and Bravia lines respectively. As shown in the video below, Panasonic’s firmware allows you to watch TV during a Skype call where you can switch the audio between Skype and the TV channel audio within the context of the conversation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQhj7za2uNk

A couple of the booth personnel mentioned that the one feature missing in a world where all TV vendors are actively encouraging 3D TV was the ability to adopt Skype for TV to 3D; apparently many of their other “smart TV” social networking applications somehow have the ability to “upscale” 2D to 3D. Not something I’m holding my breath waiting for, especially given what the webcam requirements would be.

Bottom line: The launch of products lowering the adoption cost of Skype for TV, especially on existing TV sets, significantly expands the potential user base of Skype for TV, not only for consumers but also for business use. The number one advantage is the ability to hold video calls where the other end point can be a PC, smartphone (iPhone, Android phone) or tablet – or another TV set that supports Skype for TV.

On the other hand, at the time of writing this post Skype for TV does not support Group Video Calling; in fact, currently one cannot even be a participant on a Group Video Call with Skype for TV.

While the webcams for Skype for TV are currently vendor-specific, it appears that the ability to use a generic Skype-certified webcam should appear later this year on the Sony devices. On the other hand TelyHD offers a complete solution in one hardware package.

Related articles

• Google TV’s biggest competitor looks awfully familiar (gigaom.com)

The Consumer Electronics Show is the industry’s largest international gathering that tends to take over Las Vegas for four days. Skype at CES 2012 is rather low key this year with no press announcements, a small “open air” Skype Lounge in the Central Plaza in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center and a kiosk in the Microsoft booth.

The Skype Lounge features a demonstration of the recently announced TelyHD Skype video calling for any TV set and Skype Video Calls on a large screen with various local Las Vegas locations such as a museum and some school attractions. Occasionally they get worked up with “jump time” throwing out free cell phone socks to passersby. The biggest issue here is visitor traffic; due to its location barricaded largely by a key roadway for shuttle busses and taxis, it’s a little like the barriers put up by an urban freeway.

Meanwhile over at the Skype kiosk in the Microsoft booth are two sides; one with four PC’s where visitors can make Skype calls; on the other side a 55” LCD TV screen receiving an HD video transmission from the Skype Lounge. Lots of traffic; but no presentations as done at some other Microsoft kiosks (Windows 8, Kinect, Windows Phone, etc.)

Make Free Skype Calls	Skype for TV at 55” (720p HD, no pixelating)

On the show floor so far I have seen Skype in the Logitech booth (new C920 1080p HD webcam), Blue Microphone with a unique USB microphone for laptops and NVidia where there is another TelyHD demonstration.

I’ll have more to report on TelyHD after an interview later today.

And our presence did get tweeted.

Bottom line: It is called the Consumer Electronics Show where the focus is on the business relationships behind end user experiences for consumers. While Skype had no news announcements, they focused on demonstrating the user experience and applications of video calling. At the same time I suspect Skype is working out the path to its incorporation into Microsoft products – Live, Xbox/Kinect, Office, Windows Phone, etc. And we’ll hear about it at some Microsoft -sponsored event – tying in with their reasoning for dropping out of CES as both keynote and exhibitor.

Last night at ShowStopper at CES 2012 Logitech was demonstrating its newly announced HD Pro Webcam C920; it sets some new performance standards that open up a much larger market for HD video on Skype:

• the first Skype-certified webcam to deliver 1080p video
• the minimum required upload speed is 1 Mpbs
• dual stereo microphones

It also now supports H.264 encoding which reduces the load on the main PC processor and allows HD Video calling on more PC’s. Standard Logitech features such as autofocus and Carl-Zeiss optics are also included. All for $99.99.

The reduced minimum upload speed (as opposed to the previous requirement for 1.2Mbps upload speed) opens up HD video calling to anyone with the most common broadband connections which are most often capped at a 1Mbps upload speed. (I have recently had calls from the earlier C310 and C910 where the caller’s video went to HD yet their upload speed was capped at 1 Mbps.) And supporting 1080p allows “telepresence-like” images on much larger displays in full screen mode (720p video does a great job on up to 22” displays).

In their demonstration they had two PC’s on a Skype video call where one (in the right) used its native webcam while the other(on the left)  used the C920. The image quality difference shown in the photo was definitely real. (Because it’s a video call the transmitting webcam on the left shows its image on the receiving PC on the right.)

At the moment it only supports Windows® XP (SP3 or higher), Windows Vista® and Windows® 7 (32-bit or 64-bit); it requires Skype 5.7 beta for Windows to support the 1080p video. The 1080p video can be received on any Skype client.

Bottom line; Logitech has a long history of supporting Skype Video calling (going back to the launch of Skype’s High Quality Video VGA calling) and appears to continue to have leading edge offerings. It should be available in retail stores and the Skype Store by the end of January. At that time I’ll look to do a more thorough review.

Update – The Review: Logitech C920 Webcam: for a Superior Skype Video Calling Experience

Logitech Press Release

Logitech Blog Post

Related articles

• Logitech C920 first webcam with 1080p video calling (ces.cnet.com)
• Logitech outs C920 HD webcam, lets you Skype with your mates in 1080p (engadget.com)

Since its launch in August 2003 Skype has developed its brand through “free” calling for Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls as well as chat. However, whenever they launch a revenue generating offering, users need to experience the actual feature before paying up. Recently Skype has come up with a couple of ways to have a free user experience of a feature.

Experience Skype WiFi

Skype WiFi is a “last resort” offering that allows nomadic Skype users to make calls when traveling from over 1 million access points worldwide at airports, restaurants, hotels and coffee shops amongst other “road warrior” locations. But at a cost that is country dependent but about 20 cents/minute in the U.S.

Yesterday Skype announced free Skype WiFi over the Christmas period (December 21 to 27) at 50 U.S. airport locations. Provided your battery is charged or you have access to a waiting room power outlet, you can not only make Skype and SkypeOut calls but also check your email and surf the Internet for up to one hour. (You can also access Skype WiFi on your iPhone or iPad if you have installed the Skype WiFi app.)

Experience a Simulated Group Video Call … and have some social fun at the same time

Skype’s Group Video Calling requires a Skype Premium subscription; however, through Skype’s Facebook page you can experience how Group Video calling works while sending birthday greetings or Happy Holidays wishes via a Skype Facebook application: Say It With Skype. Skype has worked with several bands to create melodious greetings that can be sent via a friend’s Facebook wall, a URL or embedded into an email message. Click on the tabs to see the progress.

The resulting video is a simulated Group Video call where each member of the band selected is a separate Group Video Call participant. And, if you elect to record, your own video is added in. Not quite a full Group Video Call experience but you start to get a feel for it. On the other hand the couple of recipients to whom I have sent these have appreciated them; it’s one way to have a bit of fun with Skype.

For a complete Group Video Call experience the 7-day trial remains available.

Personally I have been on a weekly Group Video Call that has participants in three continents across nine time zones for the past five months. When you consider that a Skype Premium subscription also incorporates Skype Out calls to U.S./Canada and Live chat support, at $4.49 per month for a one year subscription, it’s a no brainer.

Today Skype announced the availability for user testing two upgrade clients: Skype for Windows 5.7 beta and Skype for Mac 5.4 beta. Most importantly this brings major feature equality, including one major new feature, to both:

• Both expand their ability to combine real time communications with asynchronous social networking. The major feature introduction is the launch of one-to-one video calling from the Skype client to your Facebook Friends. In addition there are updates to the delivery of Facebook presence information to/from your Skype client.  Combined with the previous Facebook news feed and Facebook chat, the Skype client is also becoming a unique Facebook client/user interface.

• Skype 5.7 for Windows beta now supports screen sharing in Skype Group Video Calls – a feature available on the previous release of Skype for Mac.
• Skype for Windows has also added a “Push-to-Talk” microphone toggle in its hot-keys menu (Tools | Advanced | Hotkeys). (OK, this feature, addressing a request from gamers, is missing from Skype for Mac).

Bottom line: For the first time it would seem that both Skype for Windows and Skype for Mac have feature equality for all their major features. The challenge remains to make the user interface, including navigation, consistent between the two. At the moment they require two different learning experiences. And Skype for Mac is still missing the Call Quality Information bar.

More to follow once there has been a chance to try out the new features. Keep in mind this is beta software and may still have bugs. From one of the announcement posts:

Please post your comments and suggestions on our Support Network and in case you see the odd bug then please report it to us on our public issue tracker, so that we can make the next release an even better one.

Update: Dan York confuses feature equality with porcine aviation: OMG! Skype Simultaneously Releases (Almost) The Same Version on Windows and Mac OS X

Related articles

• Hands on with Skype’s new Skype-to-Facebook video calls (gigaom.com)

Applicable to both Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad, a Skype for iOS5 3.5 hotfix released to the Apple App Store earlier this week restores Skype chat sessions on the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad to pre-version 3.5 performance.

While Skype on my iPhone or my iPad is not my primary platform for using Skype, it has become an important backup for monitoring Skype chat threads when I don’t have access to a PC. I could at least follow a thread and make a short response, if appropriate in context. (Full disclosure: I have over 500 Skype contacts which challenges the performance of Skype on these devices due to presence and other ongoing “tracking” issues.)

While the iPhone’s processor speed limits performance relative to responsiveness on a PC, chat sessions with individuals had usually been fairly quick in responses while a little bit of patience was required to follow group chat sessions, especially with more than 50 participants.

However, the release of Skype 3.5 for iOS5 in late September, while introducing some new features and modifying the user interface, also degraded the performance of chat activity. Going to a group chat session would totally freeze the application on either device; even one-to-one chat sessions were unforgivingly slow to follow and respond to. Launching Skype for iPad had long durations bringing up the most recent conversations. I had reported these issues (and I’m sure amongst many others) through Skype’s bug reporting channels; this issue is also raised in several reviews at the iTunes App Store.

Earlier this week I found a new hotfix version 3.5.454 of Skype for iPhone/iPod Touch and Skype for iPad available on the Apple App Store. I have downloaded it and tested it. On a couple of occasions when away from the home office the past few days I found that Skype chat activity on both devices has returned to its pre-version 3.5 performance levels and can once again be a resource for monitoring Skype chat activity while away from a PC. As for group chats, they still take a one to three minutes to catch up but once the content is there, it is fairly responsive.

I have tested Skype-to-Skype calls and SkypeOut calls; for the few times I use this feature, it seems to be working fine.

One caveat: I notice some reviews of this upgrade report that Bluetooth functionality, initially available with Skype for iOS5 3.5, is broken. Update: on my own testing with my car audio by calling Skype Test Call, the Bluetooth connection always attempted to connect but only held the connection to the actual call on one out of three calls.

Bottom line: if you have not done so already, go to the Apple App Store and upgrade your Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad (it should automatically be offered as an upgrade). It’s not yet at the point where it can take over for Skype on your PC but at least it’s workable for those times when you’re away from a PC. Skype still has some work to do to get to a PC-level of performance at least in terms of chat operation.

For further performance improvement I would still like to see an option to create a subset of my Skype account’s Contacts via the “Category” feature of Skype for Windows or “Tags” feature of Skype for Mac¹. These can then become the Contacts followed on an mobile device. (At least until we see dual core 2.0 GHz processors on these devices.) This would also assist in addressing the ongoing battery drain issue, especially on the iPhone/iPod Touch. (I will continue to monitor this upgrade to see if there is any improvement in the battery drain.)

¹Note that “Categories” in Skype for Windows become assigned as “Tags” in Skype for Mac.

Skype announces new names for its developer offerings, new video API’s for SkypeKit for Desktop and “plugged into Skype” designation for Skype Desktop API programs.

Since 2004 Skype has evolved an API kit that allows third party developers to offer Skype-enabled applications that require access to the primary Skype client on Windows, Mac and Linux. Basically it allows developers to extend the functionality of Skype while using the Skype client application. Examples have included call recording applications such as Pamela and VodBurner and hosted desktop sharing applications such as InnerPass (now transitioning to GroupMix).

This past June Skype announced the public beta for SkypeKit, which is intended to add native Skype functionality directly into partner applications. From the developer website:

SkypeKit enables developers to create innovative products and applications that deliver virtually the entire range of Skype’s functionality—including calling, chat, account creation, and contact management—without the need for your users to separately download Skype.

Whereas SkypeKit had largely focused on embedding Skype in consumer electronics hardware, feedback from that announcement demonstrated a demand for more support of desktop applications with integrated Skype functionality.

Today Skype announced changes to the names of their developer offerings:

• SkypeKit for Desktop, which is intended to add native Skype functionality directly into partner applications
• Skype Desktop API, previously known as the Skype API or Public API, which allows developers to extend the functionality of Skype for Windows, Skype for Mac and Skype for Linux.

Basically the previous Skype developer programs continue to exist; however, their branding is changing. It also means that applications developed using the Skype Desktop API can now use the “plugged into Skype” designation shown above.

In addition Skype announced the SkypeKit for Desktop now includes Video API’s which “will allow developers to bring their desktop applications to life using video calling, with the goal of making their applications feel less isolated and more human.” Previously developers could access the the video stream via Skype’s proprietary RTP interface; however, the new API’s relieve developers of a lot of time consuming and complex “wrap around” work that would have been required to provide video in an application. At this point support is for one-to-one video calling; however, group video chat and screen sharing are on the roadmap.

While the announcement post references three case studies, where one is VodBurner that has been using the Skype Desktop API since VodBurner’s launch two years ago. The other two are planning to use SkypeKit for Desktop:

• Tely Labs is still taking beta testers and expects to launch early in 2012;
• Trillian’s Instant Messaging aggregator product has a beta version of Trillian where they are demonstrating Skype integration using SkypeKit.

The announcement also references the new Skype Apps Directory which was discussed here about two months ago.

Bottom line: SkypeKit was first announced mid-2010; it went public in June 2011. If Skype wants to have an viable developer program we need to see results soon that can bring revenue to the developers. Maybe the incentive to recover a $8.5B acquisition investment will provide the focus required to demonstrate that it’s worthwhile to become a Skype developer partner.

Dan York also comments: Is Skype Soon To Release New APIs? Skype Renames Public API And Extends “Plugged into Skype” Partner Program

Today Skype announced the release of Skype for Android 2.5 with support for 14 additional phones, taking the total of supported phones to 41. Notably, Skype for Android is now supporting five Motorola phones, the popular Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus models, including the LG Optimus Black that has a Skype edition for TELUS customers. A complete list of supported phones can be found on the Android Market (click on the “more” button).

Update Dec. 16, 2011: Skype released Skype for Android 2.6 which provides hotfixes for several issues reported by users.

Other notable features include:

• Enhanced video on several models: including switching between landscape and portrait mode and zooming in through a simple double tap on the screen; video calling enabled by default on more devices
• Improved support for Bluetooth headsets
• Revised user interface for message history
• Support for joining a (multi-party?) call
• Support for editing and deleting messages
• Advertising for non-paying subscribers, continuing a program previously announced for Skype for Mac 5.4, and Skype for iPhone/iPad 3.5.

In the direction towards a more common user interface across all Skype clients Skype’s Garage Blog elaborates on the “Revised user interface for message history”:

The main notable changes to the message history views are that we are now grouping the instant messages, calls, etc. all together. Skype 2.5 for Android works now exactly the same as your Skype on Windows or Mac already.

The Skype Garage Blog post also provides more details on the new features as well as a list of known issues. The one issue not mentioned is whether Skype is taking any initiative to improve the impact on battery life.

One caveat: for several of the models make sure you have the latest version of Android (2.2 or 2.3, as appropriate).

This release continues the recent stream of Skype upgrades where we are seeing enhanced video calling support and a move towards more consistency in the user interface across platforms, such as support for editing and removing messages.  But one cannot overlook the move towards more revenue generation through either advertising or encouraging purchase of Skype credit or a Skype calling plan subscription. Certainly the latter is helping to build value for the post-Microsoft acquisition days.

(Note there is a hotfilx upgrade for this version; more information here.)

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time, I was able to make a Skype-to-Skype call from my car using Skype for iPhone over a 3G/HSPA+ wireless service and the Bluetooth connection to my car audio system. I held a (legal) hands-free conversation with a contact in the U.K.; in fact at one point, while waiting to make a turn, I was able to use the rear-facing video camera for a few seconds where he saw, referring to the video quality, a “very fit” lady running down the sidewalk and across the intersection.

Yesterday Skype released new versions of Skype for iOS devices, namely Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad. The main features promoted by Skype include anti-shake technology and the Bluetooth connectivity mentioned above. However, I also found a couple of additional changes:

• restoration of the ability to access the dial pad during a Skype-to-Skype call; this is necessary to work with PBX’s that can be called via a Skype for business SkypeID using Skype Connect.
• a new call management bar on Skype for iPhone that is more consistent with the call management bar on Skype for iPad and Skype for Mac.

While most of these are self-explanatory, the anti-shake technology probably is best explained through this video; basically it compensates for small movements of your hand while showing a video via the rear camera on the device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLKE58eA-S8

As mentioned above I made a Skype-to-Skype call from my car to a U.K.-based contact where:

• the Bluetooth connection using my car’s audio system for the speaker/mic worked quite well
• there was crystal clear audio due to the use of Skype’s SILK codec technology
• the other party confirmed that the anti-shake technology appeared to be working for the ~30 seconds when I could use the rear webcam while managing hands-free driving (that’s the law in Ontario)
• one could access the dial pad

Three screen shots to show how the new call management bar works:

• Clicking on the blue “+” icon, second from the right, provides access to the dialpad and chat session
• Selecting the dial pad brings up the dial pad shown
• Clicking on the video camera icon allows selection of the front- or rear-facing camera on the device.
• Clicking on the center icon, initial image above, allows selection of the device’s internal speaker/mic or an external earpiece/mic connected via the 3.5mm audio jack

Four other points to note:

• The new version delivers advertising if you don’t have Skype credit or a Skype Calling Plan subscription; this expands a policy launched with the release of Skype for Mac 5.4 two weeks ago.
• A security issue on Skype for iPhone has been addressed; probably the one reported last week.
• This upgrade supports iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, 2nd and 3rd Generation iPod Touch, and both iPad and iPad 2, running iOS 4.
• During an earlier call to the same Contact between his iPhone and my Skype for Windows, the video transmitted from my PC started out at VGA resolution but dropped down to 160 x 120 resolution, probably to match more closely the 192 x 144 resolution that the iPhone delivers for video calling.

Bottom line: Skype for iPhone 3.5 addresses some user feedback issues, especially when it comes to the Bluetooth connectivity as well as a couple of housekeeping issues that had arisen with previous versions. The new Call Management bar also provides more consistency although it would also be useful if one could see call connection quality information, such as has appeared in previous versions.

It’s not quite at the point where I could say “Call James B. on Skype” whereas, using my BlackBerry, I can say “Call James B. mobile” in a totally hands free way. I had to park the car to launch the call via the
Skype client; for most of the call the front-facing camera showed the retracted windshield shades. It would also certainly be useful to have a mounting bracket above the dashboard to hold the iPhone such that the rear camera can show where you are going during a video call; otherwise one needs a passenger to hold the phone safely.

Note: A few hours after the release was announced Skype came out with a notification that there were a couple of issues with respect to loading Skype contacts – which I’ve noticed – and showing Skype credit. While Skype has provided a work around involving uninstalling and reinstalling the application, we should be expecting a hotfix release in the next couple of days to address these issues. Update – 28/9 evening – the hotfix update that resolves the contact sync issue is now available.

Three months ago Skype and TELUS announced an agreement whereby TELUS Mobility, a Canadian carrier, would become proactive in supporting Skype through several initiatives:

• Providing full platform and customer support for the use of Skype on iPhones and Android phones
• Offering a Skype edition LG Optimus Black phone powered by Android with a pre-installed Skype client, support for Bluetooth connectivity and 60 minutes of SkypeOut calling
• Purchase of Skype credit in $5, $10 and $20 amounts charged to the customer’s TELUS account
• Offering Skype with TELUS’ Data Flex Plan whereby data charges are automatically incremented with increased usage. For instance, using <500MB in one month will cost $35 but using 1MB to 2MB in the subsequent month would cost $55.

Late last week I received promotional emails from Skype (in fact, one email for every Skype account registered in my name) that would appear to be going to Skype’s Canadian users. This is the first indication that TELUS is now executing on their agreement with Skype.

On scanning the TELUS Mobility website:

• Skype is proactively being promoted on any iPhone with iOS 4.0 and any Android phone with at least Android 2.1
• Skype credit can be purchased either from a telusmobility.com web page or via a text message that delivers the link for purchase.
• Skype effectively becomes the recommended international long distance service for any of the supported phones
• TELUS is deploying Skype on their 4G network with 21Mbps speeds, being upgraded in many locations to 42Mbps and LTE over the next few months. However, they expect users to see download speeds of 4-6 Mbps in practice.
• Skype is also being heavily promoted on their recently released Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate 4G running under Android 2.3. A $29.99 purchase price requires a minimum $50/month voice and data plan.

The one cautionary note is battery life. As mentioned in a previous post covering Skype for Android,  when running Skype, battery life can be shortened to as little as 3 to 4 hours. This is reinforced on some otherwise very favourable TELUS user comments on the Samsung Galaxy S phone (click on the Reviews tab):

It does have a good battery life, as long as you are closing your apps and other programs properly. Leave stuff open, watch too much video, use the camera, and other battery-draining apps, and yes you will run your battery dry in 1/2 a day. Use it in moderation, along with your casual texting and communication tasks and you will be fine for a day’s worth.

The combination of a 4G Samsung Galaxy S Android phone with Android 2.3 should be sufficient for making Skype video calls on the Fascinate 4G. However, as TELUS is effectively pre-installing a Skype client on these phones, they need to complete some testing and Android software upgrades before confirming that video calling works. In the meantime, if you are able to have a video call experience with either of these phones, please enter a Comment below. TELUS did inform me that video calling will work with the forthcoming 4G Samsung Galaxy S II X .

Skype’s support by TELUS is different from its previous offerings with Verizon in that TELUS is supporting a full Skype for Android peer-to-peer Skype client delivering Instant Messaging, participation in Skype multi-party calls and mood message – and it works over an LTE network. Based on other Skype for Android features it should include native address book integration; as discussed above it certainly has the potential to work with Skype video calling.

The initial Verizon service is a voice and Instant messaging service over a 3G network with no potential for video calling due to its underlying calling architecture which also requires gateway server overhead. On the other hand Verizon did announce plans, at CES, for offering new Android phones that would run Skype, including video calling, on their forthcoming LTE network. (But Andy Abramson seems to be having difficulty with video calling of any kind specifically on Verizon.)

Bottom line: TELUS is now offering full support of Skype on iOS devices and designated Android phones, where the latter is providing customers with a seamless path to both acquiring and sustaining Skype services. Provided they have an appropriate data plan users can make free voice (and video?) calls worldwide to their Skype contacts and low cost international calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide.

For Skype it becomes another contribution to SkypeOut revenues; there is no mention of any royalty arrangements when it comes to revenues generated associated with the purchase of Skype-enabled Android phones. TELUS, as Canada’s third wireless carrier in subscriber base, demonstrates its aggressiveness once again through a unique offering in the Canadian market. While making it available to their existing customer base, time will tell if Skype support becomes a primary reason for adopting Skype; I have yet to see any TELUS advertising promoting  Skype.

Related articles

• Skype joins forces with TELUS to bring affordable international calling rates to customers in Canada (blogs.skype.com)
• Skype 2.1 for Android enables video on majority of Android devices (blogs.skype.com)

In previous posts I have mentioned how the iPad is an ideal form factor for a “Desktop phone” experience, whether using CounterPath’s Bria, as a business phone extension, or Skype for iPad, targeted largely to the consumer and small business market. This is especially true for video calling where the 10” screen combined with the iPad’s portability is an ideal format.

Today at DEMO Fall 2011, a new player, but with lots of veteran IP-communications experience, announced their forthcoming entry into the fray with an offering targeted at the small-to-medium business and enterprise market. Hookflash has been designed from scratch to take full advantage of the iPad’s display format and touch screen features to provide a unique business class video calling experience.

According to Trent Johnsen, Hookflash’s CEO and co-Founder, in a press release today:

“With Hookflash, millions of iPad users will immediately have access to the powerful communication capabilities previously limited to expensive corporate telephone and video conferencing systems.  Leveraging the iPad’s size, touch-based controls and connectivity allowed us to create an integrated experience that will dramatically improve how people work.”

In addition, Hookflash will offer a docking station which hold the iPad but also provide a familiar phone handset for picking up the voice channel of a call. When away from the office, the iPad (say, with a mounting case) remains a convenient form factor for handling video calls.

Hookflash does not simply provide voice, video and chat support with a heavy focus on collaboration, including group video calling, but also leverages social networking tools to provide unique “participant profiles automatically created from information extracted from business and social networks — all seamlessly integrated within an intuitive interface.”

The touch screen user interface allows swipes to be use for activities such as exiting and entering a group video call without killing the conversation. There is also a feature where two video calls can be brought together.

Other features include:

• One-on-one and group video, voice and chat;
• View all active conversations in one place;
• Merge together or divide active group text, voice and video conversations, with a simple swipe of the finger;
• View real-time social and business profiles right inside Hookflash;
• Transfer calls at the click of a button;
• Record and share previously captured conversations–voice, video and chat.

In effect Hookflash proposes to offer a social media-enhanced business video calling experience where participant background, through social networking services and contact information, is available by simply by touching on a participant’s picture. Hookflash’s key value-add appears to be the comprehensive user interface and its ability to quickly show participant information, merge calls, make call transfers, peer into the cloud for background information, and manage other aspects of the call, including recording for later recall.

But what are its chances for market adoption?

• Do business users want the level of information being offered? Can it become distracting to the call’s primary agenda?
• How will it build up a user base? Being targeted to the business and enterprise market requires management endorsement and support.
• What is the level of interoperability? Can multi-party call participants be brought in from, say, the PSTN or other platforms such as PC’s and smartphones?
• How quickly can it become available on other platforms? While certainly the iPad has had huge adoption, how soon will it be supported on other platforms that may be more convenient to some users?
• What are the demands on the network connection? Especially when it comes to considering 3G/LTE data plans and roaming charge issues?

While Hookflash looks to be an alternative to Skype here are some issues they need to address:

• the network effect. How will Hookflash build a user base or will it be restricted to participants within an individual business’s ecosystem?
• platforms: at the moment it requires all participants to have an iPad. While expansion to support iPhone is fairly obvious, what about PC’s, Android devices, TV’s?
• what will the Microsoft acquisition of Skype bring to the table in terms of offerings for the small-to-medium business and enterprise market? Not to mention that Microsoft has already built up a significant business and enterprise customer base.

And finally, where is the revenue model? According to their Home Page “Hookflash for iPad is a free communications app that makes working together easy.” In the long term “free” does not pay the bills.

From reviewing their website, which appears to be incomplete at this point (the video and trial “sign up” is not available for instance), Hookflash overlays social networking for contextual information about participants, end-to-end call management (set up –> call with management –> archiving) and integration with other key services (Outlook Calendar, YouTube, Plancast) onto an open source peer-to-peer voice, video and text chat communications platform. It really remains to see it in action to determine its ease of use, level of market adoption and potential for revenue generation.

Bottom line: based on the limited information available Hookflash layers significant user interface features onto voice, video and text conversations. However, given Skype’s network effect and broad platform support, I can see Hookflash being considered as an acquisition by a post-Microsoft acquisition Skype business unit to provide a richer video calling experience.

Related articles

• Demo: Hookflash aims to make phone calls at work more productive (venturebeat.com)

Yesterday on the Skype Big Blog Skype’s Jennifer Caulkin published an infographic, A day in the life of Skype, with some illuminating usage information:

• 65 million people sign into Skype daily (certainly a confirmation that the order of magnitude of Hudson Barton’s “real user” count is in the ball park)
• 30 million SkypeOut minutes per day represents about 4.3% of all Skype calling minutes, yet Skype has stated that about 8% of its users have Skype Calling Plan subscriptions. Probably the only deduction here is that “paid” calls to the PSTN are, on average, shorter than “free” Skype-to-Skype calls.
• 42% of all Skype minutes are video calling. Certainly justifies Skype’s heavy promotion of video calling as well as its introduction to mobile devices. (And July does not include any video calling using Skype for iPad, launched August 2).

These numbers certainly set a benchmark for any other IP-based communications offering to match in terms of user adoption. And would they even want to publish similar usage numbers?

The one number that’s not updated is the number of active users during July, last reported as about 170 million in the previous quarter.

What’s your comment or insight on these numbers? Or other information you would like to see?

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Skype’s launch as a free voice calling and instant messaging service running on Windows PC’s. Within the first month Skype had over 500,000 users; today Skype can boast of 170 million active users with as many as 30 million users online concurrently.

Skype’s Jennifer Caulkin, in her post, Celebrating Video Calling on Skype’s 8th Birthday, talks about the impact of Skype’s most unique feature: video calling. Having followed Skype since the launch of Skype video at 320 x240 resolution in 2006 followed by High Quality Video calling in the fall of 2007, one continues to be amazed at the various stories where Skype video has made a difference in people’s lives:

• Courtship: Skype’s initial low quality video (320 x 240) helped Eric and his wife carry on a long distance courtship five years ago at a time (before the launch of High Quality Video) when they were physically separated; today they are the proud parents of two children.
• Marriage: in times of geographical and cultural challenges, many Skype video calls have been used to assist and view marriages.
• Birth: Baritone Lawrence Brownlee was under a contract obligation to perform in Paris when his wife gave an early birth to their first son. Lawrence called Skype Video “an invention like the wheel”.

And the recent launch of Skype Group Video, combined with the voice quality of Skype’s SILK voice technology, is behind a very productive and interactive weekly meeting of an mentoring group in which I participate. I have also participated in other Group Video calls with participants across four continents for business meetings.

Aside from the “network effect” of Skype’s 170 million active users is the evolution of Skype well beyond the PC. With Skype’s cross-platform calling, video calls can be made between not only PC’s but also iPhones, iPad, Android phones and Internet-enabled TV sets. The recent launch of Skype for iPad is a perfect platform for video calls from the perspective of both portability and display size.

As Skype’s Jonathan Christensen pointed out at eComm 2008, Skype’s 2003 launch in success was not only due to Skype itself but also due to the confluence of PC market and Internet infrastructure conditions that made it possible to be easily installed and for adoption to take off:

Most Skype video calls on PC’s run at Skype’s High Quality Video standard of 640 x 480 (VGA) at up to 30 frames per second and require a minimum 384 Kbps upload speed on the Internet connection – easily achieved on most broadband Internet services. Recently Skype for Windows and Skype for Mac, combined with appropriate webcams, incorporated support for 720p HD video provided you also have sufficient Internet upload speed.

Today’s infrastructure challenge when it comes to Skype Video calling is the requirement for a 1.2Mbps upload connection to support HD video calling (720p @ 22 fps). Several webcams now support HD video calling; when it happens and your bring a video call to full screen display on a >20 inch monitor, it’s the closest Skype offering to telepresence. But most consumer broadband services cap out at 1 Mbps upload speed. Surely this will be addressed by broadband service providers over the next couple of years.

On the other hand, most users are simply happy with a good quality video call, whether at VGA or HD resolutions. It’s the call experience that matters most. It’s a bonus experience when you can take full advantage of High Quality Video or HD video.

Bottom line: Skype’s video calling has become the mass adoption of AT&T’s picture phone first demonstrated at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. With over 40% of Skype calls using video, it has become Skype’s most prominent defining technology; best of all, one-on-one Skype video calls are free and at a low cost for Group Video calls as one of three features of a Skype Premium subscription. It will be interesting to see how video calling evolves once Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype has been completed (later this fall?).

Update: Phil Wolff at Skype Journal reviews and speculates: Happy 8th Birthday, Skype! Many happy returns.

Note: webcams supporting HD video calling include FREETALK Everyman, FREETALK Conference HD Webcam, FaceVsion Touchcam N1 and V1, Logitech C310/C510 and C910 webcams as well as the webcams on the recently released MacBooks and iMac’s with Intel’s 2nd generation “SandyBridge” iCore processors.

Related articles

• How is it different from Skype? (skypejournal.com)
• Skype CEO Tony Bates talks about making Skype video calling ubiquitous (blogs.skype.com)
• 30 million people online on Skype (blogs.skype.com)

Recently a couple of acquaintances who were leaving for Europe asked me whether they could use Skype for iPhone for “free” calling. The bad news: with high data roaming charges when outside the country on “foreign” 3G/LTE carriers, using Skype for iPhone  has the potential to double the cost of their trip and create “bill shock” on returning home. The good news: put the iPhone (or iPad) in Airplane mode and take advantage of the rapid and pervasive growth of WiFi access points worldwide.

Skype for iPhone (and Skype for iPad) over 3G/LTE uses the carrier’s data, not voice, channel. At a minimum of $3.00/MB (if on a roaming data plan), one needs to make use of the stealth carrier, WiFi. And, if free WiFi is not available, use a service with a per minute connection charge without any data limit.

But how to find a WiFi access point?

Hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, airports, train stations and offices will tend to have WiFi access points. Some will be free, some will require a subscription service such as Boingo and some hotels may charge daily fees for WiFi access. Some airports will provide access via wireless services, such as T-Mobile WiFi at Frankfurt and Munich airports, at an hourly or daily rate.

One alternative, if you are a Skype user and have bought Skype credit, is to check out the availability of a Skype WiFi access point (formerly called Skype Access).

The bad news – yes it has a charge starting at US$0.06/4p/€0,05 per minute (may vary by WiFi operator) but you are only charged for connected minutes with no limits on the amount of data transmitted. Instead of being charged for 20MB of data for a 10 to 15 minute Skype call at, say, Rogers’ @$5.00/MB data roaming charge (total $100), you can pay as little as under $1.00 for the same call.

And Skype WiFi can also be used to check out Twitter, Facebook or some web browsing activity.

But where does Skype for iPhone/iPad come into play? Skype has announced the launch of an iPhone/IPad application, Skype WiFi, which will provide access to Skype WiFi access points at the same rate. Skype WiFi, the application, is available via the Apple App Store. Simply login and Skype WiFi is active; you will see a notification if you are near a supported access point – along with the charge for using the access point.

As stated by Skype WiFi Product Manager, Shadi Mahassel:

With the new Skype WiFi app, you can go online on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (running iOS 4.1 or above with multitasking) at over 1 million WiFi hotspots around the world, including hotels, airports, train stations, convention centres, bars and restaurants. And with Skype Credit you only pay for the minutes you use. So, there’s no need to buy an hour or day WiFi voucher if you’re only looking to check your email or make a quick Skype call.

One caution: be careful to only open Skype for iPhone when you really need it; otherwise, especially if you have a large number of Skype contacts, you could drain your battery in 3 to 4 hours. (With experience to date, battery drain has not been an issue when using Skype for iPad.)

Bottom line: The service now called Skype WiFi (formerly  Skype Access) provides not only a “last resort” WiFi access service but also can significantly reduce the cost of making “otherwise free” Skype-to-Skype calls while bypassing wireless carrier roaming charges. The iOS application called Skype WiFi extends this access service to use on iPhone and iPad.

Note that from 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, August 19 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, August 21 you can try out Skype WiFi for 60 minutes at no charge. Otherwise you will need Skype credit to use the service.

When will we be seeing a similar application for Android phones?

And with a 6GB per month data plan, I’ll continue to use Skype for iPhone or Skype for iPad on my “home” Rogers 3G/HSPA+/LTE service.

After a beta period of several months last fall, Skype launched Group Video Calling on Skype for Windows at CES 2011 as one element of its Skype Premium service. Group Video Calling on the Mac became available with the release of Skype for Mac 5.0. Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to host a weekly group video call for an Internet Marketing mentoring group in which I participate.

This was a group that had been using a hosted push-to-talk conferencing where only the speaker’s video would appear – using Adobe’s Flash Video. It provided a tedious (and not terribly robust) way to share voice and video but ….

• being push-to-talk, only one person could talk at any given time; any ad hoc conversation had to be via the text chat window.
• there were pregnant pauses while the video started for each participant who wanted to talk; it was not what one would call “totally interactive” or spontaneous ad hoc conversation.
• the chat window was only available during a session; if you lost the connection and reconnected, you only picked up new chat messages and lost any previous content, such as URL’s and email addresses.
• voice quality was acceptable but definitely compromised by the audio technology employed
• the service itself often could not stay connected for the duration of a conferencing session.

Once we were about to cancel one of our weekly sessions due to hosting issues when we realized there were fewer than ten participants on the scheduled call. Instinctively I fired up Skype Group Video Chat; immediately we had:

• seven or eight participants on a call, each with live video (provided s/he had a webcam)
• a fully interactive meeting experience where one could start talking “spontaneously”
  • due to the nature of the group and a “business meeting” discipline, no moderator was needed
• participants were on both Windows and Mac platforms
• a persistent and archived chat session is available
• while some participants used headsets, others used microphones and their PC speakers – but there were no echo issues from any party – echo cancellation played a key role in the audio quality experience
• voice quality is “as if we were all sitting around a table in the same room”
  • due to Skype’s superwideband SILK audio technology

But don’t take my word for it when it comes to the audio performance. During an interview with the mentoring group’s leader, Brad Gosse, about how he uses Skype to build and support his business, I asked him about his impression of Skype Group Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOhIYERp2Y

Any participant with Skype for Mac 5.3 could actually share his/her desktop to a Skype Group Video call; hopefully this feature will soon be supported in an upcoming release of Skype 5.x for Windows.

One other “robustness” feature I noticed during a recent call. For whatever reason, one of the participant’s Windows PC crashed during the call; Skype for Windows gave me, as the host, “transparent” notice of an Internet Connection issue, the participant’s video disappeared from the call screen, yet the called carried on without interruption. However, once he rebooted his PC and opened Skype he was presented with an opportunity to rejoin the call, did so and reappeared in the call with no disruption of the call itself. (As shown in the image, participants who have left a call are prioritized in the Add to Call screen.)

Bottom line: you probably have to participate in a Skype Group Video call to fully appreciate the participant audio and video experience. Suffice it to say all the participants’ feedback from these calls relates to the value of the discussion content – the video and audio technology has become totally transparent to the real purpose of the session.

A couple of related posts:

Andy Abramson talks about Video Calling In The Living Room where he intends to use Group Video calls for his weekly staff meetings:

Virtual face to face meetings that will replace the faceless conference call. With video calling in the living room, or the conference room available for so little money, you have to wonder why people are waiting?

Michael Graves points out why he continues to use headsets at his home office to avoid introducing “room tone” into his audio: Can You Hear Me Now? Headset vs Speakerphone In The Home Office

Note that Skype continues to include unlimited calls to North American destinations with a Skype Premium subscription.

Related articles

• Facebook Video Chat – Powered by Skype: First Impressions (voiceontheweb.biz)