Network management Toolkit

Skype and Logitech tackle video-call quality

David Meyer ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 02 Nov 2007 11:14 GMT

Skype has announced enhancements to the quality of its video calls, but only for users of certain new webcams from Logitech.

Using the moniker "High Quality" (HQ), the enhanced video runs at a frame rate of 30fps rather than Skype's usual 15fps, and at VGA resolution (640x480 pixels) rather than QVGA (320x240 pixels).

The boost comes as the result of collaboration between the engineering teams of Skype and the peripherals manufacturer Logitech. As a result, it will only work on an upcoming version of Skype — 3.6 — and through the use of Logitech's QuickCam Pro 9000, QuickCam Pro for Notebooks or QuickCam Orbit AF cameras, all of which sport Carl Zeiss optics and high-speed autofocus capabilities.

Read this

Tutorial: Creating a secure and reliable VoIP solution

Increasingly widespread, it is important to be aware of measures which can increase VoIP's security and reliability...

Users also need to be running Skype on a dual-core machine and over a broadband connection.

"We believe HQ will be the next industry standard for video calling," said Gareth O'Loughlin, Skype's head of hardware services, last Wednesday. O'Loughlin admitted to ZDNet.co.uk that HQ was no match for the high definition (HD) capabilities of more expensive, enterprise-oriented rivals such as Cisco's TelePresence or Lifesize's Express, but pointed out that Skype's offering "does not require £10k worth of equipment in a room somewhere".

"We don't get phased by what others are doing in a different space," O'Loughlin added, while suggesting that small-business users could afford to put one of the new Logitech webcams on every computer in their organisation.

According to Skype, one in four of the free calls made over its network is made using video capabilities.

Did you find this article useful?
20 out of 20 people found this useful

More In Network management

Company/Topic Alerts

Create a new alert from the list below:

Related Jobs

Application Management Analyst - Java

Key Responsibilities and Activities: - Resolution of incidents within the targets defined in the Client contract Service Level Agreement - Develop ...

Cisco VoIP / IPT Engineer - Oxfordshire

The job holder will be based at the Oxfordshire HQ and will work within a team that build and support the growing network and communications ...

Senior Technician (Web Developer)

Job Title: Senior Technician (Web Developer) Salary Scale: 18,907 to 27,594 Location: Warwick, Warwickshire 3 positions Warwickshires schools lead ...

Featured Talkback

Could it be that ISP’s are making this out to be a bigger problem than it actually is? We’re a small country with an internet penetration of less than 60%, for every Youtuber there’s someone who only uses the internet to check their emails, more people surf on their mobile handsets than a few years ago. Surely things should even themselves up.