Tag Archives: free video conferencing reviews

Google Hangouts High Bandwidth Issues Solved…Sort of

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Google Hangout slider for low bandwidth video chatGoogle+ Hangouts is trying to be more bandwidth-friendly with its new bandwidth slider and audio-only features. This is welcome news for those on 3G, Wifi, DSL, or otherwise slow Internet who have had a hard time jumping into a Hangout. In particular, bandwidth limitations can be a problem for people living in rural areas or traveling to other countries.

Apparently this is a much needed feature, because according to this Mashable article by Rob Lammle, Google Hangouts is the worst offender when it comes to video chat services that eat up your bandwidth.  It uses a whopping  150 MB  for 10 minutes, compared with Microsoft Skype and Apple Facetime’s 30 MB.  However none of these can even come close to the mileage you can get out of VSee’s low bandwidth video chat.  VSee was specially designed to work over slow Internet and uses half the bandwidth of Skype for the same video quality. (You can check out the numbers and video comparisons here…or better yet, do your own tests!)

The Google Hangouts bandwidth slider is really a simple work around for its high bandwidth use issues. It gives users some ability to control their video resolution so they can still participate in a Google Hangout at a lower video quality or even no video.  It’s a common feature in many other group video chat services (including ooVoo, and Vidyo ). Although, other video chat services, like Skype, may automatically adjust video resolution to the available bandwidth without allowing any input from the user.  VSee uses dynamic video quality adjustment without any user intervention; however, the user can force a particular setting such as HD, etc.

Of course, you can completely sidestep the whole Google Hangout bandwidth issue by using VSee. VSee works even in difficult-to-connect places such as Syria, Morocco, rural Haiti, the African rainforest, and the jungles of Southeast Asia. Why settle for poor video or audio-only in Google Hangouts when VSee can give you great video and a better user experience no matter where you are.

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VSee vs. ooVoo: A Look At Video Quality, Collaboration, and Security

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Are VSee and ooVoo really that different? After all we both claim to have HD video conference, ongoing collaboration, free video calls, and no need for fancy equipment.  While I can’t tell you if VSee is the ooVoo alternative for your needs, I will point out some issues with video quality, collaboration design, and security that may help.  Of course, the best thing to do is to try out VSee and ooVoo for yourself, especially since both offer free group video calls.

Video Quality

I’m not alone when I say that VSee provides some of the highest quality interactive video around. VSee’s proprietary technology is designed to use 30-50% less bandwidth than most video calling solutions including ooVoo, WebEx, and Skype, which means that VSee is able to deliver high quality video over some of the weakest networks. In fact, VSee is able to deliver four HD video feeds simultaneously over a 4G wireless network. So when ooVoo says it offers HD video, while it may work in theory, it’s questionable how well it works in practice. Even Skype offers HD video, but few people are able to actually take advantage of it.  In any case, we did our own little comparison of how much network resources VSee and ooVoo take up. I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves:

*Figures are for upload/download speeds, respectively and are taken from two-way video calls.

Resolution

VSee

ooVoo

ooVoo’s self-stated network requirements
Default (320 x 240 p, VSee) (352 x 288 p, ooVoo) 50-150 Kbps 192-216 Kbps 180 Kbps
High Resolution (480 p) 70-250 Kbps 504-592 Kbps 384 Kbps
High Definition (720 p) 300-1000 Kbps 960-2000 Kbps 435 Kbps (download)

Instant Collaboration

OoVoo, Vidyo, and Skype are not designed for fast collaboration. They are designed for video conferencing or VoIP calling, and have added on screen share and maybe some file transfer functions. VSee, on the other hand, was specifically designed to facilitate sharing and collaborating based on years of Stanford PhD research on how people work and play. This means it only takes one click for anyone to share an application window (and it doesn’t have to be your entire desktop, which saves you from having to clean your desktop of incriminating or personal information.) Furthermore, VSee allows all participants to instantly annotate, circle, and draw anywhere in a shared window. Participants are also able give and take mouse/keyboard control for any shared application. Finally, VSee’s drag-and-drop file send is an intuitive way to immediately “hand over” files that you have just finished collaborating on together.

Security

Not to continue beating a horse that’s still very much alive, but ooVoo relies on a go-between server that can expose your information to the public. With VSee, your information is encrypted from the moment it leaves your computer all the way to its final destination (the receiving person). At no point is your information ever decrypted and re-encrypted at a middleman server. Finally, I was very surprised to find that ooVoo actually e-mails your account password to you in plain text.  This is a big security no-no that’s taught in any introductory security class. Even my non tech-savvy mom knows not to send passwords via e-mail.

Summary

  • VSee’s network adaptive technology allows for higher quality video calls than ooVoo
  • VSee’s research-based user design makes group collaboration more intuitive and more productive than ooVoo
  • VSee’s client-to-client architecture creates a more secure video calling connection than ooVoo’s client-server model

In short, if high quality video, instant collaboration, and strong security are important video conferencing and video calling features to you, make sure you know what you’re getting into with your video conferencing service, so you don’t end up with any regrets!

 (article updated Apr. 18, 2013)

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Zoom – New Kid On the Block (15 Friends Video Chat Free in High Def)

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Zoom Video ChatThe newly launched Zoom Video Communications hit the waves last Tuesday and received a rave review from WSJ’s Walt Mossberg.  In his AllThingsD review of Zoom, Mossberg was wowed by Zoom’s “free, high-definition, group video calls for up to 15 people simultaneously,” its ability to work over “wired and WiFi Internet connections, or cellular 3G and 4G networks,” and its “sharp and smooth” video quality.  He also approved of the text chat and screen sharing features.

I also gave it a whirl.  And I like it a lot.  The product is simple, the video quality is good, and it has basic screen sharing.  It also supports mobile devices – a big plus!

I was relieved, however, to discover that VSee video performance has a huge advantage compared to Zoom for group conferencing or when the network is not fast (like DSL, WiFi, 3G, etc, similar to the VSee advantage over Skype).

Zoom also made some less appealing design decisions like its voice activated switching.  This can get very annoying since often we don’t want to see the speaker, but a particular audience member.  Zoom also does not offer any security,  and its screen sharing does not allow remote control or annotation.  I should mention, this is a bit of an unfair comparison since Zoom is a consumer app, while VSee is designed for work.  Overall, I have to agree with Mossberg – Zoom did a great job!!

Zoom is founded by former WebEx/Cisco VP of Engineering Eric Yuan.  Eric did a superman job growing WebEx from 10 to 800 engineers.  Eric was also an investor and advisor to Tango.  Additional web searches suggest that their engineering team is in China, and they wrote their version of H.264 SVC, like Vidyo.

It will be interesting to see how Zoom pivots in its future.  Will it go after Vidyo or Tango?  Will it become a plugin for social networks or something else?  Right now it is neither consumer enough nor enterprise enough – and that tends to be the Death Valley for video companies.  I’m looking forward to seeing their next steps :)

Update: Will Zoom’s new enterprise offering hurt Vidyo and Blue Jeans?

Skype Group Calling? 7 MORE Reasons VSee Stands Above

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These are by Rich Griffin, who wrote them as a comment to the original “VSee Stands Above Skype” post.  Thanks Rich!

Here are my reasons Skype’s 5-way video chat doesn’t do it for me:

1.) Skype is often verboten in the enterprise because it works around corporate network policy. VSee uses known ports and offers customer premise directory services and Active Directory integration

2.) VSee uses certified, well known, open and widely deployed encryption libraries required in many industries. Skype’s encryption is unpublished. Can banks, medical records or legal communication meet industry required privacy certifications with Skype?

3.) VSee’s presence is client-server based; providing accurate and quick status change/availability. Skype’s presence has always had issues with presence both in accuracy and speed of user’s status changes.

4.) VSee’s standard multi-participant conferencing is client-to-client* forgoing increased latency inherent in traditional MCU approaches. *Although VSee does have relay and MCU for port restricted and +6-8 participant sessions respectively; it seldom is needed.

5.) Skype’s “extras” potentially increase user’s exposure to malware, security leaks, bugs and additional corporate network policy violations.

6.) Support. Just try calling Skype or finding an issue tracker for online ticket submission.

7.) Bandwidth usage when not using application. Skype *still* will consume much of your bandwidth even when not in use due to the JoltID overlay network. Try justifying that to your Network Admin.

Skype Group Calling? 6 Ways VSee Stands Above

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1.  Skype’s beta only allows up to 5 callers—I’ve had an 11-way call* on VSee.

2.  Skype only shares desktop OR video—VSee shows both.

3.  Speaking of screen sharing:  Skype’s screen sharing quality can be sub-par—VSee’s starts pixel perfect.

4.  Skype has little else for collaborative tools—VSee does it all.

5.  Skype is aimed at personal use—VSee is meant for getting work done!

6. Skype charges (about $5 for a day pass or $9 per month)—VSee is free for personal use, period.

*Remember, you have to have the CPU and available bandwidth to do this.  This will also be true for Skype.  I use a 2.2 GHz dual core computer with roughly a Mb of bandwidth both up and downstream.  However, even on a netbook on an EVDO card I can have a good 3-way call.