Skype GVC - Group Video Calling . . .

Until recently Skype supported only point to point video calls and multi-point audio conference calls. Now Skype has multi-point video capabilities and Skype calls it Group Video Calling - see https://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/  and attached new Skype GVC pdf file. Confusingly, in other environments, Group Videoconferencing often refers to a group of people in one room conferencing with a remote site or a group of people in another location.

Here are images from the new Skype GVC pdf file 5 page data sheet

Here are the current Skype GVC system requirements: as of Jan 2011:

Skype Group video calls can be between three or more people (up to a maximum of 10). For the best quality, we recommend calls with up to five people. . . and at least one person on the call needs a group video calling subscription.

Note: People with Skype video-enabled mobiles are currently able to join group video calls via voice only.

For the best video quality, we recommend you use a high-speed broadband connection of 4 Mbps down/512 kpbs up and a computer with a Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz processor.

The minimum you'll need is a high-speed broadband connection of 512 kbps down/128 kpgs up and a computer with a 1 GHz processor.

For the best quality, we currently recommend video calls with up to five people.

For group video calls with three people, we recommend a minimum connection of 2Mbps downlink, a Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz CPU, a 128MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c (min) graphics card and 1GB of memory.

For group video calls with five people, we recommend a minimum connection of 4Mbps downlink, a Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz CPU, a 128MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c (min) graphics card and 1GB of memory.

For group video calls with 7 or more people, we recommend a minimum connection of 8Mbps downlink, an Intel i7 CPU, a 256MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c (min) graphics card and 2GB of memory.

Skype Group Video Calling - Commercial -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nmbM4LYJiw&NR=1

 

If you need to make multi-point conferences over the web, here's a recap of some alternatives :

  1. Use Skype GVC for conferences of  3 to 10 Skype sites
  2. Get an MCU (Multi-Point Control Unit) to handle the real time communications between the many sites & multiple conferences at one time - here's the link to possible solutions - https://www.tzmc.us/catalog/networks/index.htm
  3. Use an embedded MCU in one of the Room Group Conferencing systems - to handle from 4 to 8 sites - here's the link to possible solutions - https://www.tzmc.us/catalog/video/index.htm
  4. Use one of the MCU Video services on the web to conference with multiple sites  - here's the link to possible solutions - https://www.tzmc.us/videoconferencing/bridging_services/index.htm
  5. Use the VSS-1 System to conference one Skype site, or a group of Skype sites with
    • one Enterprise Room system, or
    • a group of Enterprise Room systems on a single conference.

03/05/2024