Hands On: Facebook Video Chat With Skype

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March 22, 2023

Hands On: Facebook Video Chat With Skype

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We already like Skype and, despite ambivalence, we’re trained to use Facebook, so an announcement that brings the two together has our interest. Facebook Video Chat, announced at today’s (debatably) “awesome” event, integrates Skype video calling into Facebook Chat. It isn’t perfect—the video quality is average and calling is restricted to one friend, for now—but the new feature makes video calling a whole lot more convenient for Facebook’s 750 million users.

You can get Facebook Video Chat today by navigating to facebook.com/videocalling (Opens in a new window). On Facebook.com, you can initiate your first call by opening a chat with an active, Webcam-equipped friend and clicking the video camera icon to start a video call.

The first time isn’t entirely effortless. I had to install a Java file on my MacBook Pro, but thankfully it’s a tiny (29KB) one-time deal. From there, starting a call with PCMag junior analyst Jill Duffy was easy: The video started up quickly and the quality was acceptable for personal use (and it’s Facebook, after all).

Facebook Video Chat is a minimalist at heart. In the vein of FaceTime, a video call occurs in a small, button-free window with edge-to-edge video. When I cursored over the video, the window buttons were revealed and the size of my video feed (tucked in the top-left corner) expanded slightly. From here, I could end a session by clicking the “x” or launch a full-screen conversation by clicking the maximize button.

After I finished chatting with Jill, I brought in PCMag software analyst Michael Muchmore, who reviewed Skype 5.3 for Windows. At first we hit a snag: The call initiated as it had with Jill, but I was unable to see his video feed. Once I quit and re-launched the chat, however, it worked as expected. While Michael was impressed with the simplicity of the experience, he found the quality, especially from my video feed, underwhelming, though this could be attributable to my standard-fare, built-in Webcam.

Facebook Video Chat won’t soon replace the standalone Skype client. It doesn’t have the valuable features, HD video quality, or multi-party video chat. It does, however, make Skype video calls incredibly convenient by embedding the definitive conferencing service in the definite social network. Take a look at the enclosed slideshow for a detailed account of our first experience with Facebook Video Chat.

1. Video Conferencing

Video Conferencing

Skype just got a lot more convenient, and probably a whole lot more popular. By integrating Skype video calling directly into Chat, Facebook makes video chat incredibly easy for its 750 million users. The new Chat window includes a video camera icon that initiates a videoconference.

2. Setting Up

Setting Up

The first time you initiate a video call with a friend you’ll encounter this dialogue window. I tested Facebook Video Chat on a MacBook Pro using Google Chrome 12. My test buddies Jill Duffy and Michael Muchmore used PCs with Firefox 5 and Internet Explorer 9, respectively.

3. Running the Installer

Running the Installer

Facebook Video Chat relies on a 29KB Java Jar Installer, “FacebookVideoCalling.jar.” Once downloaded and installed, you’ll be ready to video conference via pop-out window or full-screen mode.

4. Closer Look

Closer Look

Here’s a closer look at that tiny Java .jar installer. The largest component by far is something called “FacebookUpdate.class,” which tallies about 10KB compressed or 20KB uncompressed. For casual users, that’s a considerably lighter lift than the standalone Skype 5 application, which weighs about 20MB on the Mac.

5. Initiating a Call

Initiating a Call

PCMag junior analyst Jill Duffy was my first video call. Lucky lady. Clicking “Start Video” opened a pop-up window with my video feed. Once Jill (begrudgingly) accepted my invitation, her image filled the window and my feed minimized to a small box in the top-left corner of the window. There was very little lag between initiating the call and starting the conversation.

6. Pop-Out Window

Pop-Out Window

Rather than integrating correspondence as it does with Messages or Chat, Facebook video calls in a separate pop-up window. To end a session, simply close the window. To launch a full-screen conversation, simply click the maximize button. Here I cursor over the window to expand (slightly) the size of my video feed. It’s still quite small and there isn’t any obvious way to manually adjust the size of your mug. Perhaps Facebook is keeping the secondary feeds small in anticipation of multi-party video conferencing, which, for the time being, isn’t available.

7. Minimalistic Video Conferencing

Minimalistic Video Conferencing

Here’s a sample screen of the experience when you move your mouse off of the window. The UI is comparable in its minimalism to FaceTime: button-free with edge-to-edge video.

8. Video Messages

Video Messages

While I was chatting with Jill, I missed PCMag software analyst Michael Muchmore’s chat request. I watched his video message from Facebook Messages and promptly initiated a new call from my Chat list.

9. Slight Hiccup

Slight Hiccup

Considering he’s reviewed Skype, I wanted to get Mr. Muchmore’s impression of Facebook Video Chat. At first we hit a slight snag: The call initiated as it had with Jill, but I was unable to see his video feed (instead I was forced to stare at my ugly mug). Upon quitting and re-initiating the chat, however, I could see and hear Michael without issue. While Michael was impressed with the simplicity of the experience, he found the quality, especially on my end, underwhelming, though this could be attributable to my standard-fare, built-in Webcam.

10. No Facebook Necessary

One benefit of employing a pop-up window is that you don’t need to leave the Facebook window open. We continued chatting in both windowed and full-screen mode after I had closed Facebook.

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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/news/hands-on-facebook-video-chat-with-skype