Web Video Chat

It has been possible to chat via the Internet using webcams for years thanks to services such as Skype, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. But in many ways it’s only this week that the idea has come of age.

This is due to a couple of new services in the form of Hangouts on Google+ and Skype on Facebook. Both of which bring new features and easy-to-use video chat into the mainstream.

Google+ Hangouts

Google+ is a new integrated social network from Google currently in beta testing. And one of its many features is Hangouts, a simple-to-use video chat service which can be used for one-on-one chats or for groups of people of up to 10 at a time to come and go.

The group video chat element works exceptionally well and will be recognizable to anyone who uses other Google products. The one-on-one element isn’t quite so accomplished, but luckily for us there is an alternative.

Skype On Facebook

Skype video chat has now been integrated into Facebook, showing up as an option right on the homepage and one your friends’ profiles. This comes after Microsoft acquired Skype, and it clearly wants to make it pay by placing it on the biggest site in the world.

Skype already offers group chat, but it isn’t free, requiring one user to be a premium service subscriber. This means that Skype on Facebook only caters to one-on-one video chats, but it does so with ultimate ease. You can now chat with any of your Facebook friends without any kind of effort.

Conclusions

Google+ Hangouts and Skype on Facebook offer different experiences and will cater to different needs. The former is great for group video chats, the latter for instantly connecting with friends on a one-on-one basis. Both are good additions to a bustling sector.

[Via CNET]

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SuperTinTin is webcam recording software for Skype that records both audio and video from Skype calls and emails.

What is SuperTinTin?

SuperTintin is a webcam recording application for Skype. SuperTintin can record audio and video streams for all kinds of Skype calls and voicemails. The program requires Skype 3.0 or higher.

As an aside, ‘SuperTinTin’ is sort of a goofy name (for some reason it makes me think of a 1960’s TV dog with super powers…)

Features of SuperTinTin

SuperTinTin works with both the audio and video features of Skype. You can record both audio and video from calls and voice mails, with the ability to record and playback as well.

It also captures original media data, insuring that no data is lost. Since it isn’t a screen-capture recorder, the video quality isn’t affected from opening, closing or changing the size of Skype windows while recording.

How to Get Started with SuperTinTin

SuperTinTin is available for download from a number of places online such as CNET. Available as shareware for a (meager) 5-minute recording trial, it’s $24.95 if you want to purchase it.

I downloaded, installed it, and toyed around with the software on my PC. It’s very simplistic in its design, with options for recording and playback, and the ability to open the recent file folder in explorer. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but to it’s credit it was a fast install and ran quickly.

Reviews and Feedback about SuperTinTin

There were only a couple reviews on CNet, both of which seemed unimpressed with the audio recording of SuperTinTin.

Softsea listed out a number of helpful features about the SuperTinTin, such as the fact that you can browse other web pages or videos during the recording, meaning that you can minimize the MSN/Skype/Yahoo Messenger window while its recording.

Buy SuperTinTin & More info

• More info on the SuperTinTin website.

You may also be interested in:

• Xilisoft DVD Ripper Platinum Audio and Video Converter Software
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As Yahoo prepares a new version of its Yahoo Messenger chat application, a beta version of Yahoo Messenger 10 is already downloadable for Windows users.

For this version of the application, Yahoo has focused its attention on webcam features. The selling point on this update is the ability to start high-quality video calls with audio. Until now, users could make low-quality video calls with no audio feature.

This new feature will only work for one-to-one calls to other users with the same version. The older ability to broadcast your webcam to multiple users (no audio) has not been updated.

From the Yahoo Messenger Blog:

Features include the ability to swap video windows, position the video windows side-by-side, mute the call or place it on hold. You can even go full-screen with your video call. To get started, click the new “Video Call” button in the IM window.

Video of New Features:

In addition to the video update, Yahoo has made a few other improvements:

• Real-time stream of updates from Twitter, Yahoo Buzz, last.fm, etc.
• Start chat from updates (recent activity, availability)
• New ways to sort contacts
• Updated icon designs

I don’t know anybody who uses Yahoo Messenger anymore; most of my friends have migrated to Skype or Google Chat. However, they either have enough users that Yahoo would bother to invest in building up the video application or else they are trying to attract users from other apps.

Complaints Already Pouring In

Despite the Beta tag, over 100 comments on the Yahoo Messenger Blog are complaints about design, missing features and user friendliness.  At least 20 bugs were found by users within the first few hours of release, which will hopefully be fixed for the final version.

Personally, I think they’ve lost this fight, although Y! Messenger seems to be very popular in some European countries. Several commenters from Romania are begging for a translation; one said:

Oh come on Romanians are mega-fans of Y! Messenger… it’s a true phenomenon… we even have the word “mes” to denote Y! Messenger in sentences like “hai intră pe mes” (”go log in on Y! Messenger”)

Get Yahoo Messenger 10

Download:
Version 10 Beta Available at Yahoo

You may also be interested in:

• WebTVWire’s Free Video Chat Guide
• Trillian – Use AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN, ICQ and Gtalk, Skype Twitter & more all in one program.

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Recording both video streams at each end, with in synch audio and the ability to splice the two video recordings in to one has been a tough goal for almost any company out there.

Over a year ago I wrote in fact an article publicly invoking a video interview recorder as the need for such a tool kept increasing among online independent publishers, but no technology provided an easy way to record video conference calls with enough quality and without significant technical troubles.

Until now.

A terrific feature for bloggers and online interviews, the technology to online video interviews while recording them is finally here for you to use.

Sightspeed Responded To The Need

Sightspeed, the videoconferencing company behind one of the best and most successful real-time collaboration tools out there, has finally listened and quietly released a new version of its conferencing software which now integrates a fully-featured video interview recorder and splicer.

This is more than just a dream come true. The Sightspeed video recorder can capture any of your online video interviews and record them in separate high-quality AVI video streams.

All this while offering the ability to convert your original recording into either FLV or MPEG video file formats, and a dedicated facility that automatically splices your separate recorded video streams into one master video that can be easily published online.

Here are the details:

If you have not heard about this technology before, what you should know is that Sightspeed ver. 6 is a cross-platform video conferencing platform that allows you to have one-on-one or multi-party video conferencing calls (up to four people) for as little as 4.95 month. 

Here are my past reviews of this excellent video conferencing technology.

SightSpeed works across PC and Mac operating systems via a downloadable application. 

It’s key standard features already include free one-on-one video conferencing, free PC-to-PC (Macs included), calls to regular landlines and mobile phones at low rates, text chat, personalized web page that your readers can use to video-call you, contact list, video blog message recording and more.

Not bad, considering that all of the above features are accessible to everyone at absolutely zero cost. Just sign-up, download the software and you are ready to go.

New Features

But here the real news is for Sightspeed super cool new feature which allows you to record video conferencing calls. All of the issues about audio recording at both sides and how to sync separate recordings have all been taken care of by Sightspeed excellent engineering and product development team.

As if they had religiously read my original call for an online video interview recorder, the SightSpeed guys did it again in being the first in bringing to the market something that is not only cool and cutting-edge but which is also highly useful and immediately applicable to a number of professional needs.

For however simple it may appear to you to have an additional recording button on top of a video conferencing dashboard, the reality is that PC Windows audio idiosyncrasies had made live video conference recording prohibitive for almost everyone until today;

The need to record in the highest possible quality both the local and the remote video, as well as the one of then being able to splice these separate recording files together again while preserving good sync between them got in the way.

Yes, there were tools and ways to get around the existing limits (Flashmeeting offered one, and Camtasia could be used for recording any video conferencing screen), but setting this up was a nightmare and, for what I have seen with my eyes, the results were always quite unimpressive.

Until…. Sightspeed came to the rescue.

SightSpeed New Recording Feature

The new SightSpeed Call Recording feature records all types of live calls – one-to-one voice and video calls, multi-party conference calls, as well as Phone Out and Phone In calls.

Usability-wise, recording a video conference call is a no-brainer. You just press the red record button and you are done. Recordings are safely and automatically stored inside a dedicated SightSpeed Recordings folder you will find inside your documents area.

All of the original recorded video conference calls are stored on your computer as AVI files to preserve the best quality possible.

The nice thing is that Sightspeed creates an AVI file for each one of the recorded audio-video streams. That’s right, after recording an online video interview with SightSpeed you will find two separate AVI files inside the SightSpeed recordings folder. 

In this way Sightspeed can preserve the highest audio and video quality possible for each stream while preserving maximum flexibility for editing and working with the raw recordings.

In summary:

* Choose what you want to record – remote video and voice, local video and voice, or both.

* Record also PC-to-PC voice calls (works with Macs too).

* Record and playback one-to-one or Multi-Party video calls.

* Record separate AVI files for each audio-video stream.

Keep in mind that this call recording is available only if you sign-up for a PRO Plan account, which starts at $4.95 month. Since with this plan you get unlimited video conference calls and recordings I deem the price an absolute bargain for what you get in return.

Only one question remains open: how do you splice together the separate video recording files Sightspeed has recorded for you?

Read on to find out.

The SightSpeed Call Recording Exporter

“But how do you then splice together the separate video recording files while keeping them in sync?“

In its latest release SightSpeed has now integrated a super-cool facility (not so much in terms of interface design but in terms of innovation and usefulness) which allows the following:

Automatic splicing and syncing of your original video recording files.

Encoding into FLV or MPEG video file formats.

Choice of video layout (side by side, picture in picture, etc).

Choice of what audio and video channels to include.

Audio sync fine tuning control.

Option to output only audio to WAV or MP3 formats.

Controls on aspect ratio, video size and quality.

Video Interview Example Recording

Here an example of a short test interview (we were just improvising) I recorded with SightSpeed a few hours ago with BlaxWan, the home-made build-your-own hi-tech device guru.

I assembled, spliced and synched this with the Sightspeed Call Recording Exporter. The final FLV file that was created, was simply uploaded to Blip.tv (below) “as is”.

Click To Play

Video Message Recorder

I also remind you that with free basic edition of SightSpeed, you have a full video message recorder that you can use to record news or marketing messages at absolutely zero cost. 

The only limit is a 180-seconds maximum duration for these. If you want more, you need to go Premium at 4.95/month.

Here above is a short video clip I have just recorded to show you how simple it is to record video messages and post them inside your own blog. It literally takes the time to say what you need to say and the additional time that a copy and paste operation may require.

Here below you can in fact see the snippet of code that you are given at the end of your recording and which you need to copy and paste inside your select web page.

System Requirements

Pricing

Sightspeed is available to use for free for basic video calling and video recording, but for live online video interview recording you will need the SightSpeed Pro Plan which costs $4.95 a month.

Download

Download Sightspeed

Learn More

How to create a Video Mail in SightSpeed

Two great 1-minute clips from the Peter Zottolo, the SightSpeed guy, giving you a perfect demonstration of how easy it is to record a video message.

How to make a call in Sightspeed

SightSpeed Review Summary

If you have been looking for an online video interview recorder allowing you to videoconference with someone else at a distance while recording a high-quality publishable clip, your search is over.

For USD 4.95 a month you can get a full video-conferencing package that includes this new powerful video interview recording feature. Even without it, Sightspeed is worth every cent of its monthly fee thanks to its high-quality multi-party video conferencing facility with integrated text chat and free video blog message recording feature.

Sightspeed records separate AVI files for each stream in a conference and then provides a unique splicing and synchronizing tool that encodes your recordings into your preferred video or audio-only format for online distribution.

For anyone interested in online video interviews this is definitely the first official technology solution that is both reliable, good quality and affordable.

Try it out

Originally written by Robin Good for Master New Media and entitled: “The Online Video Interview Recorder Is Here: SightSpeed 6 Review” on September 17th 2007. Some Rights Reserved.

Disclosure: Robin Good is not associated with SightSpeed in any way and does not receive commissions or other tangible returns for the writing of this or any other review article. There were also no contacts between Robin Good and SightSpeed during the writing of this review and there was no request from SightSpeed to write or even evaluate the features of its tool here reviewed.

Skype then launched its own free video conferencing service; however, this only allowed one-on-one video calls and did not support multiple users.

Festoon on the other hand supported up to 200 people for video conferencing. Unfortunately Festoon (festooninc.com) has now completely disappeared leaving no multi-party video conferencing option for Skype.

Any Hope for Skype Video Conferencing?

Unless Festoon comes back then I guess we’re left hoping that Skype extends it’s one-on-one video calling service to allow multi-party video conference calls.

Other than that there is one Skype plugin active called video4im.com (previously Video4skype). This free video calling software from Dialcom doesn’t support multiple simultaneous users so you may as well just use Skype Free video calling.

However, Dialcom do say that multi-party video conferencing is in the work.

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Broadcaster.com has released what it says will be the next evolutionary step in social networking – its free Social Video Network.

The Social Video Network combines traditional online community building features with a two-way interactive video and chat interface. Users can communicate with each other through the video interface on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis.

The CEO of Broadcast Inc says it’s:

“the ultimate form of online social interaction and instant communication that combines the most popular aspects of social networking with our technologies.”

It caters for people with both voyeuristic tendencies – the ones that like to watch (I mean that in the nicest possible way) – and those that want to show off their talents to the world.

How it Works

Users are presented with a multi-view interface with three windows. The middle window shows the user’s feed being broadcast, the second window shows other people the user is watching and the third shows people that are watching the user.

The interface includes several interactive broadcast controls, the ability to ignore users and the ability to enter a private one-on-one chat.

You don’t need to have a webcam to join the Social Video Network – a feature is the ability to broadcast pre-recorded content or a playlist of favourite videos.

The Future

Broadcaster’s grand plans include developing a plugin for other social websites, such a MySpace and Facebook. It also hopes to integrate the technology in to portable devices, making it one of the largest players in the Social Video networking market.

[Press Release]

Up to now, we’ve seen UStream.tv, YouCams and Stickam.com for streaming live video, and you’ve probably heard about Talkshoe.com for live audio casts.

Operator 11 is the full package enabling you to have your own live television network online, 24/7, for free… and it’s fun!

SightSpeed

SightSpeed offers free voice and video calling over the internet. It allows you to keep in touch with friends, family and business acquaintances via online video chat. You can also chat with random people in the SightSpeed community. The software also comes with a free internet TV browser. The premium product also allows multi-part video conferencing.

Click here to learn more about SightSpeed

Skype & Festoon

Skype is the leading software for voice calls and recently it added video calling into the mix. As ever the Skype system is very simple and easy to use, and if you have a WebCam you can crack on with video calling.

Skype can also be used in conjunction with Festoon to offer free basic video conferencing for up to 200 people.

Click here to download Skype

Paltalk

PalTalk advertises itself as being a free video chat community rather than a platform for making video calls, although it equally works well as both.

PalTalk boasts the largest chat community with over 4 million users and allows video conferencing with up to 10 people. It features a variety of online video communities with a variety of video chat rooms on an assortment of topics.

Click here to download PalTalk

Also See

• Overview of Video Calling Software, News & Tips

Released just a few months ago in February the Polycom RMX 2000 is one of the most advanced and sophisticated pieces of video conferencing equipment available.

The Polycom RMX 2000 is highly focused on the user experience creating a seamless video conference platform that will bring 30 frames of video per second, much like a traditional TV experience.

This cuts out the problems of stuttery video, dodgy lip synching and low frame rates resulting in jerky video. It even provides video in high definition if needed with multiple video resolutions available.

The Polycom RMX 2000 allows for multipoint collaboration over IP-based networks and can scale from 20 ports to 80 ports. This allows customers to start with a small video conferencing network that has the potential to grow to a large size on just a single platform.

Click and View

Polycom has developed a new user interface for the RMX 2000 which it has named Click and View. This aims to take the complication out of video conferencing and provide an interface where users can start up a video conference easily from a room or desktop environment.

A nice feature is how the Polycom RMX 2000 automatically adjusts the screen for the number of people in the conference so the optimum on-screen layout is always shown.

Cost for the Polycom RMX 2000

This device definitely doesn’t come cheap and renting is currently the best option for small and medium sized businesses. Pricing for the modular systems starts at US$53,000.

[Polycom RMX 2000 website]

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Also See

• Video Conferencing Overview

Continuing from our last 7 tips for web video conference calls, here are 7 more.

1. Annotation

When showing slides, documents, graphics, or searching the web you can annotate everything like you were writing with a pen on the screen. Good video conferencing software like GoToMeeting will allow you to do this.

Annotation is good for drawing the audience’s attention to a specific item and making things easier to explain.

2. Q&A Session

Having a question and answer session towards the end of video conference calls will be very beneficial.

A video call is supposed to be interactive and your audience should get a chance to express their opinions and ask their questions.

Bear in mind that the Q&A session of a video conference call can get quite lengthy so budget this into your time. The Q&A session could take just as long as your actual presentation. Even allowing up to 30 minutes for this can be acceptable.

3. A summary

The last few minutes of a videoconference should be spent summing up what was discussed to keep everything fresh in people’s mind. Laying out some further reading or “homework” is often a good idea.

4. Measure Results & Show stats

A good video conferencing platform will include statistics that can help you measure how successful your conference was. Almost all aspects of the whole video call can be shown in some form of report allowing you to evaluate your audience participation, as well as many other factors.

These statistics can also be useful to show to your audience in a follow-up email as people are often intrigued by stats. For example your stats may show that one person didn’t say anything during the whole video conference, which may encourage them to share ideas in future.

5. Homework & Follow up

Before the video conference call is over give everyone some homework, be it just something to read. This helps keep people thinking about what was said in the conference keeping it fresh in their mind.
Also ask them to email feedback or comments about what was discussed in the video conference.

Your video conferencing platform should make it easy for you to email and follow everyone up with a standard email and even automate it for you.

6. Archive Presentations

Not everyone may have been able to make it to the video conference and sometimes people who did attend would like to re-visit some of the things discussed. For this reason it is important to record and archive your video conference calls and make them available over the internet.

7. Practice Run

If you have your video conference all planned out it is still very important to have at least one practice run where you actually use the video conference call software so that you are familiar with how it works.

Time is precious and you certainly don’t want to embarrass yourself and lose time by making mistakes during a live video conference call.

Also See

• More on Video Conferencing on WebTVWire.com