Bytesize Lock down and meet up · Lock down and meet up Video conferencing apps can help you keep...
Transcript of Bytesize Lock down and meet up · Lock down and meet up Video conferencing apps can help you keep...
JUL/AUG 2020 CHOICE COMPUTER
REPORT VIDEO CONFERENCING SOFTWARE 22
S taying at home doesn’t have to
mean missing out on getting
together with friends and family.
You can still see each other, chat and
even have parties all while at a distance
using video meeting software.
Free video conferencing apps are a
great way to get some human contact
without actual humans nearby or even
physical contact.
If you’re feeling the itch for social
interaction, or just want to know if there’s
a better option for online gatherings,
we’ve put together a list of the features
and limitations of the big names in free
video conferencing.
Keep in mind that, in the current climate,
competition between these services has
never been higher. Their included features
and specifications are changing often, so
by the time you read this some of their
Lock down and meet upVideo conferencing apps can help you keep in touch face-to-face,
at a distance. Here’s how the most popular ones compare.
inclusions might have changed. Here are
some of the most popular contenders (not
ranked in order, but keep an eye out for our
upcoming test).
What you need to get startedAn internet connection, preferably
10Mbps (megabits per second) or more.
A connected device with a camera –
built-in or attached.
A microphone – built-in or attached.
Video chat can use a lot of data. If you
have a limited data plan or are using
mobile internet (3G or 4G), keep an eye on
your data usage.
Skype Works on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Web,
iOS, Android, Xbox One.
Maximum participants: 50.
Video quality: High definition.
Good for large and small groups.
Microsoft’s Skype is a well-established
video conferencing app that’s available on
a wide range of devices and comes pre-
installed on Windows 10 PCs. Macs can
download an app, as can phones and
tablets. You can also access it via web
browser and even as a video chat app for
Xbox (though you’ll need an Xbox camera
such as an Xbox Kinect).
The participant limit of 50 is generous,
and there are no time restrictions on calls.
Video quality is advertised as high
definition (HD), but isn’t specifically
defined. It’s decent, but not amazing. We
found it looks fine on a phone or tablet, but
can become pixelated (blocky-looking) on
a large computer monitor or TV.
Bytesize Most conferencing apps work
on most platforms The participant limit varies Your device’s hardware
matters Play the field and see which
you prefer
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PHONE CALL SUPPORTProbably Skype’s biggest strength is
its phone call support. If you don’t
have access to the internet, you can
join active Skype conversations by
dialling in (voice only), either locally
or internationally. Skype users can
also call you via the app.
This feature costs a flat monthly fee
for local calls – $9.02 per month – but
there are discounts if you sign up for
multiple months.
There’s a different flat fee for
international calls to eligible countries,
based on the country you’re calling –
e.g. $4.40 a month for unlimited minutes
to the US. You can also buy pay-as-you-go
Skype credits – e.g. $10 for 312 minutes
to the US. Not all countries can be called
via Skype, so check the ones you need
before getting excited.
LIVE TRANSCRIPTIONSkype’s automatic live transcription
(similar to live subtitling) can help
you keep in touch with friends and
family whose hearing might not deal
well with voice-over-internet sound
quality.
You can also share your screen with
other people and use text chat during a
video call.
ZoomWorks on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Web,
iOS, Android, Outlook plugin and
Chrome plugin.
Maximum participants: 100.
Video quality: High definition
(720p).
Call duration: 40 minutes (for
three or more
people).
Good for large
and small
groups.
Until recently,
Zoom Meeting
was mostly
aimed at
business
users, but its
popularity took
Skype (above) is one of the most popular video conferencing apps, although Zoom (below) has become more popular since the COVID-19 lockdowns were enforced.
CHOICE CO
cipants: 100.
High definition
0 minutes (for
off with increased remote working and
social distancing. With this growing
familiarity, people started turning to it for
their social calls too. The large 100-person
limit is also a drawcard. Massive
widespread adoption of Zoom for private
calls following the COVID-19 lockdowns
soon led to widely publicised security
concerns, which Zoom says it has
addressed in updates, along with
improvements such as the ability to
transcribe calls (live video meeting notes)
via the Otter.ai service.
Zoom’s free tier has a 40-minute limit
for groups of three or more people. But
you can always create a new meeting
once your time’s up. For calls with just
two participants, there are no time
restrictions. It has a web app, and is
downloadable on Windows 10, Mac, Linux,
iOS and Android. Call quality is high
definition (720p), and there are group and
private text chat options.
CREATE YOUR OWN BACKGROUNDAn attraction of Zoom that no doubt
helped its meteoric rise is virtual
backgrounds. These let you set an
image or video from your device as the
backdrop, blocking out what’s behind
you, sort of like a TV newsreader.
Originally gimmicky fun for the office,
this feature gives at-home users a
chance to hide messy rooms without
manoeuvring their
camera into an
awkward angle.
However, virtual
backgrounds work
best with just one
person in the frame.
It struggles with two
or more when figuring
out where the
background begins and
ends. Your computer
will also need a decent
processor to enable
virtual backgrounds,
especially video
backgrounds.
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AVOID ‘ZOOM BOMBING’A privacy note – Zoom meetings are
shared via a link. If you don’t put a
password on your meeting or restrict
attendance to invitees only, anyone with
the link can join the call (so-called ‘Zoom
bombing’). So be careful to lock down your
gatherings if you’re posting the link to
social media or another public forum.
Google MeetWorks on: Android, iOS, Web,
Gmail plugin.
Maximum participants: 100.
Video quality: Good.
Free (time limit after
30 September).
Good for large and small
groups.
No doubt spurred by the
success of Zoom, at the
end of April Google
announced it was lifting its
video conferencing game
by rolling out a new version
of Google Meet as its free
video option for businesses
and individuals, replacing
Google Hangouts. The
free Google Meet can
include up to 100
people and can last
any amount of time, till 30 September
when meetings will go back to a
60-minute limit.
Google Meet was formerly only part of
the commercial G Suite services for
businesses, organisations and schools.
There’s still a G Suite version of Google
Meet, with more advanced features,
repackaged under the title G Suite
Essentials, but this is also free for G Suite
users till 30 September.
Google Meet is available free for all
online at meet.google.com and via
mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Integration with Gmail and Google
Calendar means you can also start or
join meetings from there too, which
makes it easier to schedule meetings
ahead of time.
The more advanced version of Google
Meet, that’s part of the new G Suite
Essentials, is designed for team
collaboration. It includes the use of dial-in
phone numbers, more participants and
recording of meetings. It also integrates
with Google Drive cloud storage for real-
time collaboration via Google’s Docs,
Sheets and Slides.
Google DuoWorks on: Android, iOS, Web (for PC
and Mac), Google Smart Displays.
Maximum participants: 12.
Video quality: Very good.
Good for small groups.
Google Duo is another successor to
Hangouts – sort of. More accurately, it’s
Google’s competitor to Apple’s FaceTime.
For devices with an unaltered Android
OS (operating system), it’s built into the
mobile app. When you open a phone
contact, you can choose to ‘Duo’ them as
one of your call options.
If your phone or tablet has a proprietary
version of Android, such as a Samsung
phone, then you might have to download
the Duo app. iPhones and iPads will also
need to download Duo from the Apple
App Store. Windows
PCs and Macs can both
use Duo via web
browser.
HIGH VIDEO QUALITYGoogle doesn’t specify
the video quality of
Duo, but it’s high. We
found it was only really
limited by the camera
we were using. For
example, both the
Pixel 3 and OnePlus 5
we used delivered
very good quality.
Another thing
to keep in mind is
that if you’re not
Google Hangouts (above) will be discontinued in 2020, with Google Duo (below) taking its place.
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Apple’s FaceTime is quite popular, however it only works on Apple devices.
on a Wi-Fi connection, then Duo will
lower your connection rate to one
megabit per second (1Mbps). This helps
save your precious mobile data but will
likely lower the quality of video. You can
turn this setting off if your mobile plan
has plenty of data.
Because it’s designed mainly for use
with phones, there’s no desktop app. But
Windows PCs and Macs can both use Duo
via a web browser.
For Android devices, the video can be
minimised to a picture-in-picture style
window, so you can keep using your
phone’s other features.
When you get a call, you can see the
person live streaming on the other end
before you pick up. This “knock knock”
feature not only lets you see who’s calling,
but also the context of their call (for
example, whether it’s professional or
private). If you can’t pick up, they can
record a video message for you to watch
when you have time.
JUST 12 PEOPLE AT A TIMEDisappointingly, Duo limits you to 12
people on a call at once. This is far fewer
than competitor FaceTime, which supports
32 (see below) but Duo has a leg up on
FaceTime because it’s available on a
much wider range of devices.
FaceTimeWorks on: iOS, iPadOS, Macs.
Maximum participants: 32.
Video quality: Very good.
Good for large and small groups.
FaceTime is great for one-on-one calls and
group chats, but it only works on Apple
devices – iPhones, iPads and Macs. It’s
not directly supported on the Apple TV,
but you can FaceTime chat on your big
screen TV with a little workaround. Using
your iPhone or iPad’s built-in AirPlay
feature, you can mirror the screen of
your device to an Apple TV or AirPlay
2-compatible smart TV.
PRE-INSTALLED ON APPLE DEVICESFaceTime comes pre-installed on Apple
devices and if you live in an Apple-only
world it offers great integration into your
chat, contacts and phone apps. Apple
doesn’t specify resolution, but we found
video quality to be very good.
WORTH A LOOK
HousepartyAs the name implies, Houseparty puts the
emphasis on relaxed social connections
and you can even play games with others
within the app. Like Zoom, it rapidly
became a COVID-19 lockdown favourite.
However it suffered negative publicity
due to what its parent company Epic
Games (developer of game sensation
Fortnite) claims was a smear campaign.
The company offered a
$1.6 million bounty for proof of
such a campaign and said on
its blog “Houseparty is
secure. There have been
no data breaches and no
exposure of customer data
or third-party accounts.”
However, be warned: it’s
not set up like other services
with calling or invitations. If
you’re online, anyone can add you to
a conversation without warning. So make
sure you’re in a position to suddenly find
yourself on camera.
DiscordMostly known as a voice chat and social
media channel for gamers, Discord also
has video conferencing on Windows, Mac,
Android, iOS, Linux, and via web browser.
Video quality for the free version is HD
(720p) at 30 frames per second (fps) and
supports up to 10 participants, but if one of
you live-streams a game, the limit rises to
50fps. It’s more fiddly to set up than with
other group video chat apps, but offers
different features such as making your
own servers and granting specific
permissions to different types of users you
invite to your channel.
Facebook MessengerIf you have a Facebook account, you
have a Messenger account. That makes
Messenger one of the world’s most used
communication apps, so it’s a good
chance your friends and family
are already ready to go.
Up to 50 people can join
a single call. Messenger
has an app for iOS and
Android, and works with
Windows or Mac via web
browser.
Facebook has also
expanded its offerings with
Messenger Rooms, which works
similarly to Houseparty in offering virtual
socialising in a room for up to 50 people.
WhatsAppWhatsApp has a good video chat feature,
but only four people can join a video call at
once, making it one of the more limited
video conferencing options.
FaceTime is great for
one-on-one and groups, but it only
works on Apple devices – iPhones,
iPads and Macs
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