NEW YORK, NY — A new hardware-software partnership hopes to make videoconferencing — once the stuff of far-fetched science fiction — as ubiquitous in the home as it is in corporate boardrooms around the world.The technology being promoted by Quanta Computer and OoVoo relies on high-definition television, which rapidly is gaining market share. Quanta manufactures laptops, and OoVoo makes video-chat software. A prototype product the two companies debuted March 24th plugs into an HDTV and connects it to the internet.
Called Quanta Video Messenger, the product is about the size of a hardback book and allows live video-chat between users of the device. For those without HDTVs, the software can be loaded onto any computer outfitted with a videocam and microphone, both of which may ship with the product when it becomes available to consumers later this year.
The partners hope to find success in a market that never has embraced even the concept of videophones with any real enthusiasm. AT&T introduced a videophone prototype in the 1960s but never could generate enough interest in the product to make manufacturing it worthwhile. More recently, eBay’s Skype has attracted a dedicated following, but the user group remains relatively small because the product can be tricky to install on personal computers.
Another drawback to videoconferencing in the home: Video quality typically is less than impressive on all but the most sophisticated corporate systems because of a lack of processing power and bandwidth constraints at residential endpoints. Corporate systems, often called “telepresence solutions,” are well beyond the means of most home users at a base price of more than $9,000.
According to OoVoo Chief Executive Officer Philippe Schwarz, the Quanta Video Messenger will be available at prices home users can afford and will support resolutions up to 1,280 by 720 pixels at 30 frames per second.
OoVoo reportedly also is talking with U.S. telephone and cable companies about building a videoconferencing solution into their set-top boxes.
