Mountain View, California — Without visual communication the world would become quite stale but that is more than obvious. Video chat addicts who use video chat in Gmail can now rejoice as, search engine titan Google over the weekend rolled out a new feature in Gmail Labs, dubbed “Video Chat Enhancements“.
Gmail’s video chat application just got a lot better with the introduction of a number of technologies which considerably enhances the video quality. These technologies are available in Labs for now.
The Official Gmail Blog states that the introduction of an experimental series entitled as “video chat enhancements,” increases not only the size of the video chat window, but its resolution too. The variation in size between the old and the new is quite significant, both in the window of the person you are talking to, and the preview of your Webcam that appears in the bottom right-hand corner.
Google suggests that more features will be introduced over time. For now, those who have “Video Chat Enhancements” enabled will automatically receive new features as soon as they are made available.
Google Product Manager Serge Lachapelle explains:
“The higher resolution video uses a new playback mechanism which enables widescreen VGA and frees up valuable resources on your computer. For it to work, both you and the person you are chatting with will need to have the lab turned on. Remember that you can always revert to standard video chat by disabling the lab.”
Video Chat Enhancements can be found in the Gmail Labs section under Settings. Google asks users to submit feedback in its video chat forum. In addition, users can leave their opinion on Twitter by using the #googlevideochat hashtag.
Here’s a before and after:
On the left is the older, standard video chat in Gmail. On the right is the newer, high-quality feed, which is properly widescreen. Click to see in its native resolution. (Credit: Screenshots by Josh Lowensohn/CNET)
Here also is a taste of the difference in the quality, courtesy of Google:
(Credit: Google)
The search engine leader says that it plans to add additional video chat enhancements to the lab in the future. Having the lab turned on will mean getting those features first as well.
Besides Gmail, the enhanced video chat feature works in iGoogle and Orkut.