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I think video calling is pretty much a dead duck for the reason you outline - until we have reasonable data allowances and adequate coverage it's pointless.

Plus, of course, since most people prefer to pop off a quick SMS rather than talk to someone I'm not sure what the general demand for video calling is in the first place.

No it won't take off and you have summed up why with this sentence.

"I was video calling an old friend and colleague. Given that we were talking over a 3G network, the quality was perfectly acceptable, though in future I think my friend's voice will be quite sufficient."

Apart from the novelty factor voice only calls are just more efficient on mobile device.

Some, if not all, mobile networks specifically exclude VOIP from internet usage bundles. So Skype calls are not going to be free as users will have to pay the standard data rate for each call.

"The other big question is for Skype itself - can it cope with this kind of traffic? "

FYI Skype to Skype calls are not routed through their network. The Skype network just acts as a sort of dating-agency, allowing the two ends to to hook up, then letting the two ends get on with it.
Video calls place no more strain on the system than regular calls.

Those of us who have fiddled with our iPhones, know that Facetime works fine over 3G - and seems to use a bit less data (and has nicer image quality).

I suspect the only reason that Apple don't currently offer 3G calling, is that their partner network in the US would probably burst into flames and explode if a million people tried video calling over 3G.

C.

"Video calls place no more strain on the system than regular calls."

So what carries the additional data? Fairydust?

@Mark_MWFC

Sigh.

I thought it was quite clear what Carniphage said. The sentence was in relation to Skype's ability to handle video calls, not the phone network's ability to handle video data traffic.

I'll try and clarify it for you. Calls (video and voice) do not pass through Skype's systems. When a call is initiated, Skype's system tells each party's client how to contact the other party directly over the internet. This means that Skype's system needs only a small amount of bandwidth and server capacity to monitor the call status, not a large amount of bandwidth to actually receive and re-transmit all the data associated with the call. There is little, if any, additional capacity required on Skype's system for video calls than for voice calls.

@tried_of_this

Right... so the load is borne by the carrier over their HSDPA network.

What do you then think happens to Skype's service if the carriers cannot support this service?

You can't really separate the two because one is dependent on the other.

are we forgetting (yet again) that video calling is not new. RCJ - you said yourself "You've heard it so many times before". I cant remeber the last phone i had without a front-facing camera and video calling capabilities

Can someone simply tell me what the advantage of this is over me video calling who-ever i want on my non-apple phone? i even get free video minutes each month (which i never use)

@Mark_MWFC

"You can't really separate the two because one is dependent on the other."

Well Rory's article did exactly that - he specifically talked about Skype's ability to handle the volume in light of the recent breakdown they've had (separately from the phone network's ability to carry the data). So @Carniphage made a rather good informative point.

Ah, I see what you mean. Fair point on that one.

The problem remains though: if the infrastructure isn't there then it's not going to happen.

@Mark_MWFC

Look at the context for the comment...

Rory: "The other big question is for Skype itself - can it cope with this kind of traffic? Just before Christmas, the company suffered its biggest-ever technical disaster when millions of users suffered a 24-hour outage leaving them incapable of using the service."

Carniphage: "Skype to Skype calls are not routed through their [Skype's] network. [...] Video calls place no more strain on the system than regular calls."

The data for the call, whether video or audio, is borne by whatever type of network connection is used by each of the clients. If an individual client's network speed falls and cannot support a call anymore, then the call is dropped. Granted, that is more likely for the higher demands of video over a mobile phone network, but that dropped call doesn't effect the rest of Skype's services.

So, in answer to your direct question: nothing.

Am not sure what the big deal is with Skype having
a video calling feature. Yahoo implemented a video chat
feature on their messenger app for iPhone a few months ago
or am I missing something here?

um, was skype video calling my kids daily while away weeks ago on a Nokia (N900) for the price of the wifi connection; passable video, audio was no problem. Using video calling for contact with the kids is the only non-prurient reason to use skype video. Obviously not Apple so not important. Small extra point, only iPhone 4's have a front facing camera so other iPhone users need a mirror or continual flipping to show themselves and see the other party I assume?

"Skype tells me that a video call uses data at approximately 600Kbps; by my calculations a one-minute call would use around 4.5Mb of data. (Full disclosure: I asked friends on a well-known social network to do that sum, so blame them if the figure is wrong.)"

The calculation is wrong by a factor of 8, due to a confusion between bits and bytes.

b is for bits, B is for Bytes
8bits = 1Byte

600Kb/second * 60seconds = 36Mb = 4.5MB

Funny, I've been making Skype Video calls on my Nokia N900 (over WiFi, and 3G) since it launched over a year ago. What is the big deal about this service now launching on the iPhone, or is this the usual ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ obsession with everything Apple?

I remember getting my Nokia N73 a few years ago (4? 5?) and being quite excited about video calling. Then I realised that I mostly made video calls to people in the same room, for fun. Every other video call I made or received was either inconvenient for me or the recipient. We were either in a bar, on the street, in a shop or at the office. At no time was it convenient to shout at a handset held in front of you.

I love Skype and iChat for having a proper conversation with someone - as often as not my Lawyer, so I can see whether he's lying to me. But it's by arrangement only, and certainly not on my phone.

Video calls are already a success on desktop PC's, so it's natural to progress onto other platforms such as Mobile phones and the growing number of Internet enabled TV's.

If current ISP's and mobile providers don't stop hindering this progress, I suspect new companies will come onto the scene to fill the gap and seize the opportunity using new business models.

skype is a hungry thing it uses 800MB a hour(when on mmo as well as skype i use 1gb a hour) for voice chat,why so much info for a chat program when others out there use loads less how much does it work out that you pay a gig from your isp,it aint right so i say boycout it and save your MB

Carniphage wrote:

"I suspect the only reason that Apple don't currently offer 3G calling, is that their partner network in the US would probably burst into flames and explode if a million people tried video calling over 3G."

Exactly. There is nothing wrong with AT&Ts network. It's just that too many people are overloading the network. Until there is a huge increase in bandwidth and network infrastructure then all the current video and audio streaming and downloading is unsustainable.

So who else routinely uses video calling and why?

"You've heard it so many times before - but is this the day that video calling finally takes off? Skype has just updated its app for Apple's iPhone 4 and iPod Touch, making it possible to use the front-facing camera for video calls."


It's easier to make telephone calls via a mobile than a landline (which meant the virtual death of landlines), and it's easier to make Skype video calls via mobiles than via a PC, so I expect Skype video via the PC to go downhill while Skype via the mobile phone (iPhone and then the rest) on wifi to be THE way to make video calls.

Due to everyone and their dog having a phone, over a relatively short time, video calling will finally take off, first at home on the wifi net, then as users get used to video calls, via 3 & 4G networks.

I personally cringe at the idea as all my friends are pig ugly...