Skype To Improve Video Calls

Remember when video calls were the wave of the future? So far, as anyone who’s used them knows, they’ve been, well, a bit of a disappointment. But VoIP service Skype and Logitech have come together in an attempt to improve that, with a new idea called High Quality Video on Skype.

 

It will require the yet to be released Skype 3.6 for Windows, and Logitech QuickCam Software v11.5, and will run at 30 frames per seconds (fps), as opposed to the current 15 fps, and will require a broadband connection of 384 kbps or more, along with a High Quality Video-certified Logitech webcam (the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, the Logitech QuickCam  Pro for Notebooks and the Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF (Logitech QuickCam Sphere AF in Europe). and a PC with a dual-core processor.

 

Granted, that will mean the numbers who can use it will be limited, but the idea could well be a step into the future.

 

“This is a major leap in the clarity and smoothness of free video calls over the Internet,” said Gareth O‘Loughlin, Skype’s general manager, mobile and hardware devices. “High Quality Video is a tremendous opportunity to delight our more than 246 million users and take their Skype experience to a whole new level. One in four Skype calls already involve video, so we know our users love to show and not just tell. High Quality Video will take Skype conversations to a whole new level of realism. In the past, only big businesses could afford this kind of video quality. It’s now time to take it to everyone else.”

 

Both pieces of software will be available for free download early this month.