Skype users can now make high-definition video calls as long as they have an HD webcam and sufficient bandwidth and processing power, Skype said on Tuesday. The company also announced that HDTVs will ship later this year with its Internet calling software embedded on them.
This is exciting as it proofs the walls between personal and business use is coming down like the Berlin wall. This movement was started by social networks and instant messaging. Now Skype is extending that to video conferencing.
Clearly Skype is already used in many businesses. At when scared corporate CIO’s are not trying to block it. But it has never been a contender for ‘real’ video conferencing systems, due to the lack of quality and multi party video conferencing calls. One of these issues is now solved.
And if the scared CIO’s think for a moment, it makes their lives much easier. It is out of the box, cheap and easy to use. How’s that for driving down your operating and support costs?
Now there is a few more things for Skype to solve, in order to really get their feet between the business doors. For one a connection to popular directory services, another is better support for multiple accounts (private, business) or a way to link these cleverly. And clearly a more refined directory service where you can search for your corporate colleagues or share contacts with them.
More on the Skype blog, their press release and on skype.com/go/tv.
