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Internet video phone technology from Skype will bring IP video telephony into the mainstream
May 15, 2006
By: Alice Osborn
With futuristic Internet video phone technology at their
fingertips, users can see and hear the person they are
calling in full motion and color. Although the public has
not embraced IP video telephony use like audio-only voice
over IP technology due to video phones costing at or above
$100, selecting a video phone can save money on
long-distance calls, and allows callers to see each other's
facial expressions as they enjoy a conversation.
Skype
recently launched its own PC-to-PC video phone solution that
uses the VP6 compression codecs (coder/decoder) from On
2 Technologies for professional video quality. Other
video phone services for the commercial market are paying
attention to Skype's entry into their field. Video phone
interest may be behind for consumers, but businesses are
interested in this technology for its cost-effective video
conferencing and collaboration solutions.
Packet8
provides video telephony services and hardware for both
consumers and businesses, and companies like
Cisco
Systems and
D-Link
offer video phones and IP networking solutions for both
markets. Santa Cruz Networks and Dialcom entered the video
telephony market with
Festoon
and
Spontania Video4IM respectively, which are both Skype
third party APIs (application programming interface) and
free to Skype subscribers. Spontania Video4IM allows Skype
subscribers to make one-to-one video calls via a webcam, an
instant message program, and a broadband connection, while
vSkype is a multi-user interface.
Packet8's video phone solution
Packet8 offers a simple, affordable and high-quality
video
phone solution that uses a broadband Internet
connection. After purchasing a Packet8 video phone for $99,
you can access the service for $19.95 a month with a
two-year agreement and have a choice of six calling plans.
Although both users must have a Packet8 video phone to see
each other, the video phone is all-inclusive and only
requires a broadband connection. In fact, the connection
will still work if one of the users does not have this video
phone.
Skype's role in the future video telephone market
If the video quality is good and it offers adequate
application integration and collaboration, then Skype should
be able to dominate this market that is open for a leader.
Once users adopt Skype's free video telephony solution that
includes first-rate video compression technology, consumers
and businesses alike should become more comfortable with
this PC video technology, which should either lower the cost
of video phone hardware or make it obsolete in favor of
video-enhanced PC communication. As Packet8's success
reveals, consumers and businesses want a video telephony
solution that is affordable, easy to install, and will
deliver clear audio and sharp color images.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Video-Conferencing-Guide.com. Your definitive guide to everything you need to know about video driven communications, including multi-view video conferencing solutions for business, broadband video phones and personal webcam chat rooms.
Also See: [
Classroom video conferencing to enhance distance education
courses ]
[ The future of
video conferencing among businesses and individuals ]
[ Video
conferencing and telemedicine tackle today's healthcare
challenges ]
Home Page:
[ Video-Conferencing-Guide.com ]
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