I’m confused. If I want to have a video chat with somebody else, do we have to both use the same software?
I use an iMac desktop and an iPhone, and have used FaceTime with other people who have iPhones, which worked fine. I’ve done this only one person to one person.
I also have a laptop for work, and it has Microsoft Teams which does video calling, and that works fine too. I’ve done this one on one and in groups.
I don’t understand what is necessary to do video calling with somebody that has neither FaceTime nor Teams. It hasn’t come up yet but I was contemplating getting ready for when it does.
One clue seems to be that Skype would be a good addition, but I read a scary article about Skype bugs that can crash Macs.
In general, yes, both parties need to be using the same software. Fortunately, most software is available on PC and Mac so that’s not really a huge issue. One easy common platform is Facebook Messenger. At work we’ve been using Zoom mostly but we used WebEx before that.
Another alternative is WhatsApp video calls on your phone or laptop. It works well, and is available for iPhone, Android, and both Mac and Windows PCs.
As other have said, Facebook Messenger is already on most people’s device if they have Facebook. I find it works very well and allows 2,3,4,5 way calling.
At a guess, any web-based application would require a plugin to be able to access the camera.
The solution for everyone needing to have the same program is for everyone to get the same program. Simple enough. At that point, which program it is hardly matters.
So is it just me, or has Zoom just burst out of the woodwork lately?
I mean, professionally I’ve used a LOT of Skype, WebEx, and GotoMeeting over the last decade for teleconferences/online meetings, and not one use of Zoom. Then everyone gets locked down, and all I’m hearing about is Zoom… except for work, which is Skype, or GotoMeeting for a few vendors.
Zoom has been creeping up recently but has exploded with the pandemic.
They are especially good for large - 500+ - attendees which a lot of providers struggle with.
Zoom has an advantage over Skype in that it’s incredibly easy to set up - just send your contact the http link, and the software basically takes it from there. I don’t really know about Teams and Hangouts - haven’t had occasion to use them. FaceTime has a problem with seemingly being tied to Mac. Whattsapp (this may be true of others that I haven’t used) has a bit of a start-up problem in that you have to have installed Whattsapp first, as far as I can see, and then you can set up your video call. If you’re trying to set up a random meeting with people who may or may not be using the app already, that’s a barrier.
I’m one of the Zoom-boosters - I used it about 3 years ago when I had a job involving video calls, and found it very smooth.
I’ve been teaching with Zoom for two years now. The California Community College system, (the largest system of higher education in the nation), gives every employee a free professional level account, so we’ve all been having meetings with Zoom for at least a couple of years, too. (And I was using it on a private account, before that.)
I think the point is that what particular program you use isn’t that important. It’s very easy for everyone to download the same program if you send out a link. Which link you choose doesn’t have a whole lot of impact on the process as a whole.
You don’t need to get ‘the world’ to settle on one program, only the people you want to speak to.
Simply set up a call on Zoom or whatever you’re going to use, and send them an invitation. Zoom will handle the download for them if they have the link. Very simple.
Or if you’re using something else, just tell them to download and install whatever it is you’re going to use.
That would work to a point. It gets you a standard codec. What is still missing is the magic that does the user location, call setup and authentication. All of that exists in available foss packages. If you and a few geeky friends wanted to use WebRTC to converse, it would be pretty easy to set it up. But if you want to converse with someone you don’t know, or don’t know where they are, you are going to need some form of centralised clearing house for authentication, calling and possibly routing optimisation, especially for conference calls. WebRTC will do the heavy lifting at each end.
WebRTC seems to have a bit more latency than some (despite its name) and the quality of conversation might be a bit laggy compared to some proprietary systems.
Of course, a huge problem in the area of internet video calls are patents and IP licensing. About the only way that will be sorted out is to out wait the patents.
And if you pick a popular program like Zoom (at least, nowadays), it’s likely that most of your callees won’t even need to install something to do it, because they’ll have already installed it.
