ooVoo adds screen sharing, free conference calling and more
Date : 2008 02 06 Category : Web Webware.com
Remember ooVoo, that iChat-like video conferencing and chat tool we took a look at back in June? Today they've launched a new version that's got a handful of useful, and very powerful tools that make it a viable alternative for small workgroups using conference calls and screen sharing apps the likes of WebEx.
First up is a new recording feature that lets you tape your video chats with other participants. Since the video and audio are being recorded to your hard drive, your only time limit is how much free space you've got. In testing, I managed to get a nearly 15 minute four-way video conversation down to 95 MB file. The process only took about 10 minutes or so to convert my conversation into workable FLV file that was at full 1MB/S quality. You can also step it down to 256 or 512kb/s if you're trying to shrink it further.
Recorded video files can take up a surprisingly small amount of space. This one is just under 100MB and it's 15 minutes long at full quality. Setting the quality level down another two steps cuts down to just a quarter of the size.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The other really useful feature is a new conference calling tool that gives you and your participants a landline number to call. Other ooVoo users who call this conference line get sucked right into the audio that's a part of the video chat, and just like the video recordings this audio gets archived too. The new call in lines support up to six people, meaning you can have up to a dozen participants including those on the video side. The call in service is free for all of this month, then moving to a by-the-minute model in March.
Besides the video recording, the other new feature that I think people are going to like is an optional piece of software that's a companion for ooVoo's video player. It's got two main uses--the first is a screen sharing app that lets you show off your entire screen or certain zoom levels therein to other video chat participants. You can also drop media files like music, pictures or video into the stream for other users to view. Secondly, it's got a built-in facial overlay tool the likes of Fix8, to let you apply digital overlays either to your face or to replace the background. It's great fun.
OoVoo's new facial mapping feature is a bit campy, but it also packs a screen sharing tool alongside, for the times when you don't feel like impersonating Bruce Wayne.
(Credit: CNET Networks)OoVoo's creators let me in on some upcoming features planned for later this year. One is a more fleshed out API to let developers build in their own applications that work with the data from ooVoo's servers. The current API allows for widgets, but the creators are hoping to give developers more data to play with. Also coming is an updated version for the Mac, which is currently about six months behind in features from its PC counterpart. The team is hoping to close that gap within a year's time to get both versions on the same release schedule. Higher quality "HD" video streams are also on the way, but there's not a timeframe on that.
My two remaining qualms with the service are the audio quality which I found to sound to be a little too compressed, although to its defense I don't think any of our participants were using Microphones over $20. There was also about a second or more delay, which can throw a wrench in the gears of trying to have a heated debate with 12 participants. Also to the app's defense I've only used it a handful of times with users across the country, so if you're planning to user it inner-office your results might be better.
OoVoo is a free download. You can grab it over at Download.com.