Making the most of Skype video-calling

By Joseph Hanlon on 13 August 2008

With friends overseas and family interstate, video-calling for some people is a godsend, a means of communicating that makes these vast distances feel so much closer. While many messaging clients feature video streaming, Skype has become the name synonymous with the concept.

To date video-calling has come with trade-offs. To maintain the speed of the stream, we have endured low-quality feeds, and in truth, this hasn't changed too significantly just yet. However, Skype has recently introduced a new High Quality video service which we've recently had the chance to play with.

This new service improves the image resolution from QVGA (320x240 pixels) to VGA (640x480) and doubles the frames-per-second broadcast from 15 to 30. The result is much cleaner images and much smoother movement. To take advantage of this improved video you'll need the latest version of Skype, which is a free download, but you may also need to fork out for some new tech.

Webcams
Firstly you'll be needing a better webcam than the integrated model in your laptop or computer monitor. In fact, at the time of writing there are only three Logitech webcam models that support the higher quality video streams; the QuickCam Pro for Notebooks, the QuickCam Pro 9000, and the AF-Sphere. One of the cams will set you back between AU$149 and AU$249 depending on the model.

Bandwidth
Sending and receiving higher resolution at twice the frame rate means significantly larger packets of data being transferred so you'll be needing at least an ADSL broadband connection. Skype recommends 384Kbps or faster.

Processing Power
You may also need to upgrade your PC. Skype indicates that the minimum requirement to use High Quality video is a dual-core processor (a Core 2 Duo or similar). You'll also want to have sufficient memory or else the stream will lag.

It's also important to remember that both parties need to meet these requirements. Your friends don't need a Logitech cam to receive the High Quality feed from you, but without the minimum required PC and internet speeds then the extra quality to the stream will be lost due to lag.

Topics: call, desktop, laptop, messaging, skype, video, logitech, video calling, stream, need

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Comments (7)

  • Paul Andrews commented on 30/10/2009 18:32 Report abuse

    A new product released today - VodBurner - allows recording of Skype video calls and editing of both sides into a single video suitable for uploading to YouTube or distributing to interested parties within a business.

  • steve commented on 26/10/2009 10:29 Report abuse

    You should be aware that skype dont charge you extra to get the HD resolution as ooVoo does

  • S. commented on 09/06/2009 10:16 Report abuse

    Is there any way to make a video call from a PC to a mobile phone?

  • El Nino commented on 26/02/2009 18:22 Report abuse

    They should make the ability to make video calls to 3G Mobile Phones.

  • disgruntled commented on 27/08/2008 08:47 Report abuse

    skype uses half the letters in hype

  • Not Provided commented on 22/08/2008 12:48 Report abuse

    And the usual issue of data caps should be mentioned. At 384Kbs most users will want to be very cautious and avoid long calls or they'll run out of bytes before they know it. Heaven forbid they might even get a bigger bill.

  • J.A. Watson commented on 13/08/2008 17:04 Report abuse

    You should make it clear that only SKYPE High Quality Video is limited to those three Logitech webcams. Others in this field, notably SightSpeed and ooVoo, also support the same resolution and frame rate, and do NOT choose to restrict their user's choice of webcams. If the camera is capable of 640x480 @ 30 FPS, you get it. Period. Only Skype is so convinced that "they know best" (or have made a marketing deal with Logitech) and thus restrict the selection of webcams.

    In fact, one of your statements is absolutely wrong, as I recently learned myself. You said "you'll be needing a better webcam than the integrated model in your laptop", but in fact when I installed the latest release of ooVoo (1.7.1.x), I found that the webcam integrated in my Fujitsu Lifebook S6510 is perfectly capable of High Quality Video.

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