Los Angeles— High-tech video-conferencing is not just for only large-scale enterprise users anymore. Skype Technologies SA, the Web-based telephone company sold last year by eBay Inc., has announced support for 720p high-resolution video phone calls on TVs and computers in association from Panasonic of Japan and South Korea’s LG will feature Skype voice and video calling.
The latest version of Skype will ship pre-installed on selected LG Electronics Inc. and Panasonic Corp. television sets by June, Luxembourg-based Skype said today in a statement. Skype also stated that its free Skype 4.2 software will be integrated into HDTVs.
High-quality video calling, once available only to prosperous businesses, could be coming to a computer or TV near you. In addition, the company said its software application will be embedded into various Net-connected HDTVs from several manufacturers.
The new Skype 4.2 beta for Windows will provide 1280×720 resolution, at up to 30 frames per second. Every user will need a high-speed broadband connection of at least one Mbps on both sides of the conversation, a new HD webcam, and a PC with at least a 1.8-GHz dual-core processor, in addition to the software.
Skype, with more than 520 million users, has expanded beyond a service that lets consumers call each other from computers for free. The upgrade in resolution is intended not only for businesses, which have been using high-end tele-presence setups to cut down on in-person meetings, but for consumers as well. It is now available on mobile phones, and the company is upgrading its product line and targeting corporations to boost sales.
“The popularity of Skype video calling has increased substantially in recent years, with an average of 34 percent of Skype-to-Skype calls now using video,” Chief Executive Officer Josh Silverman said in the statement.
He continued: “The new HD Skype video calls will allow consumers to see the sparkle of your grandchild’s eyes or the setting of your best friend’s engagement ring.”
Brad Shimmin, an expert with industry research firm Current Analysis, mentioned that the high-end providers of video conferencing are beginning to converge with the low end of peripherals and communication.
The Skype HD upgrade is intended for both businesses and consumers. Skype-certified HD webcams optimized to work with the new Skype software are being introduced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and will be sold by Quanta Computer Inc.’s FaceVision unit and In Store Solutions SL, Skype said.
“Many people who are video calling on Skype… expressed a desire to communicate with their friends and family from somewhere comfortable, and preferably on a big screen,” Silverman said. “Logically, this led to the development of Skype embedded on HDTVs.”
Two editions of the FaceVsion web cameras go on sale in February, ranging from $69 to $99, and the In Store Solutions cameras will be $120 to $140. The Skype software is free. While some business telepresence setups can handle multiple video feeds from multiple locations, the current incarnation of Skype HD calls only permits conference calls by voice.
Skype software will be available as part of Panasonic’s 2010 VIERA CAST-enabled HDTVs, and in various LG Electronics plasma and LCD models with NetCast Entertainment Access. The sets from both manufacturers will be available by the middle of the year, and both will also offer their own Skype-optimized webcams.
Shimmin was also optimistic about high-quality video calls coming to a smartphone near you in the not-too-distant future, as well as the “inevitable” integration of high-end video conferencing into social-networking sites.