Skype Journal: Quiet please. Video genius at work
September 30, 2005 11:20 AMImagine multi-user video conferencing for any IM client: Yahoo, Skype, MSN, ICQ, you name it. That is what I tested with developer Ashod Apakian at WigiWigi yesterday.
This program is not ready for prime time. Unless you are a real geek I would wait a couple of weeks before downloading. So why bring the topic up? I think this opens up a fascinating way to deliver media content.
It works like this. I install wigi5.exe. Wigi icon shows up in my system tray. I go to any IM client and open a chat message to a contact. Establish application focus by clicking my cursor in the chat window and hit the Ctrl key 3 times. A Chat Message is formatted see it View image">here.
The recipient of the chat message, if they have wigi5 installed simply double clicks the wigiwigi call code and copies to their clip board. The wigiwigi application send this code to a central server which then establishes a peer 2 peer video and voice link between our two computers.
Here is the result.
The wigi5.exe is only 450KB iin size. Remarkable for a video application! If the recipient of my chat message does not have the application it can be downloaded in about 10 seconds and installed and configured in another 10 seconds.
I tested with Yahoo and Skype. I will review in more detail when Ashod polishes the video quality and adds the multi-user capability. Lip sync was really quite good. Pictures were very fluid too.
Update: works great with Google Talk!
What ideas come to your mind for using this technology?
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Comments (8)
Learn how to spell "genius", Bill... Retard.
Posted by: Dr. Phil at September 30, 2005 12:10 PM
Bill, if I understand this correctly, this is a cross-IM product and solves the interop of all the different IM's? If so, this would create a mega-network and manage communications at a very high level above the separate IM's. Is this correct?
If so, I would get some venture money on this and knock the doors down!!
Posted by: Rick at September 30, 2005 1:33 PM
Is there an option to capture the video stream to a file? For example, a family spread far and wide have a family get together via video, save to file and post to their family/individual blog (I believe this combination of Video and Blog is know as "Vlogging").
Posted by: Andrew Sheppard at September 30, 2005 2:15 PM
Hey Rick!
Thanks for dropping by. I wish it was an interop of all IM's but it isn't. It uses the IM of any chat messaging client to pass an address to a server. The server then acts sort of like a Skype SuperNode to connect the two (or more) PCs into a P2P video-voice conferencing system.
So it will allow bridging contacts from different IM communities. You and I might be on Skype IM and connect via wigi video and then I invite a Google Contact into the video conference and then you add a contact from your Yahoo contact list.
Regards, Bill
Posted by: Bill Campbell at September 30, 2005 2:55 PM
Hey Andrew!
Good to see you here.
That is a good idea. I do not see whay Ashod can't do that. Many other neat things you can do if he lets us capture the video streams. I believe he has an API.
Regards, Bill
Posted by: Bill Campbell at September 30, 2005 2:57 PM
Hey Bill,
Could you explain what do you mean interoperable ? As far as I know you need any chat window for this version of Wigiwigi to work...does not matter in which network (ie MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, Gtalk, oh..skype, etc). If that is not interoperable then what is the meaning of interoperability ? Sorry, I am not that old as you to know everything ;)
Sanks
Posted by: Sanks at October 1, 2005 12:00 PM
Hey Sanks!
Glad you dropped by. Good question about "interoperability". From one point of view you are correct. Wigi will interconnect a voice-video conference regardless of what IM system you have. But both parties need to have a common IM client running. To me that is multi platform operation. But is you are on Google Talk and I am on Skype we cannot create a wigi vedio conference. If we could I would call that interoperable.
Soon, when Ashod releases multi-user conferencing we will have something closer to interoperability in that you can bridge a third participant to conference you and I are having from your Google Talk community. Skype2Skype2Google.
Maybe Ashod can provide users a contact list that can be made up of multiple IM communities. Then we would have a level of interoperability.
You are welcome to correct my thinking on this Sanks. See you on wigiwigi.
Regards, Bill
Posted by: Bill Campbell at October 2, 2005 9:29 AM
where can i download the wigiwigi thing?
wigiwigi website never works...
Posted by: Deburn at October 15, 2005 9:13 AM