If you are lucky you will get a great lip synched conversation. For many that have never even used video before if they get this "perfect world" performance then they will love Skype Video. However, if you are one of the million that have used Sightspeed, Spontania or perhaps Festoon, you won't be so easily impressed. Skype Video still begs the question: why rush it to market now? And, why does Skype continue to ignore other avenues for real advances --- in audio, voice messaging, podcasting, archiving etc.?

My first impression of Skype Video was very disappointing. So this writeup is after some testing. It was blurring with every movement, and my partners at the other end of the video call found the framerates, clarity and sound were something to complain about. So I junked my laptop (a Thinkpad XP PRO 1.3 Centrino with 1000Kb memory two years' old) and hooked everything up to an almost new HP desktop running an Athlon 3400+ chip and again 1000Kb of memory. Only then could I honestly say I promise to stop running Yahoo Messenger video in conjunction with Skype.

So what's the net net here? Skype Video will likely make it to good enough when it launches. It won't get instant wow's and is unlikely to get any accolades for breaking new ground or creating new markets. Example video messaging for free or micropayment. It will stop any leakage when MSN and Yahoo, perhaps AIM (see Triton video) actually offer effective programs to compete with it. At the moment I'd say MSN Messenger 7.5 is probably better and more stable. So at best it strengthens Skype's hold on those of us that Skype. It doesn't break any really new ground. Features that would have made it newsworthy have not been activated. Eg Video Messaging and Video Blast (send video message to more than one simultaneously). Concurrently they could have cleaned up the voice messaging system and enabled effective recording programs and files. The podcasters and vloggers would have loved that. Skype is forgetting the viral impact of what and who built it. Wouldn't it be nice to have a side-by-side video recording post of the event, with the right security and access?

Buy a new PC:

At the moment it seems to require too much CPU. My laptop continually ran at 90 to 100%. It gets hot running like that! The desktop runs at 50% or so. Thus under perfect conditions you can have a fantastic video experience over Skype. That is great PCs at each end and a good broadband connection. As a result I began to reconfigure my desk.

Start Video

The default setting is "start video", thus when 2.0 is loaded correctly everyone on your buddylist becomes a potential video caller. That goes beyond my intimacy and comfort zone and I think it will for most people. It's a wonderful way to demonstrate how easy video calls can be. I just have a buddylist that is more like a contact list and I'm not sure I want video to self initiate with all of them.

Second, this auto start thing assumes one is just at the PC. However, my Skype experience is now very much multi-modal with an RTX Dualphone being a key part of the action. So on the auto setting above I can be in another room on my RTX and the video is running back on the PC where ever it is located. This may not be a good practice in college dorms when you have carried your phone next door or outside for a private conversation. You get the gist. This can all be fixed. It just needs incorporating into the API (still waiting) and the certification program to ensure that devices without video that could be away from the PC don't inadvertently activate it.

It took two minutes of use for me to tick the video tab and change it to starting on demand. I think others will do the same. Now part of this is a shame. For the beauty of Skype's video-on-connect was the speed with which it appears. For those few that are prepared to always enable video, it's not an option and the "joy" factor and the "negotiation" factor now become issues. It's a shame you couldn't state Mum, Dad, brother, sister, girlfriend, boyfriend etc to have the auto function enabled. Perhaps when contact grouping become more "status" aware it will be possible.

I was sad to change it to press-to-start. The technology will move slower. Until it's embedded in Wi-Fi mobile phones and devices it may not get the same level of momemtum.

The UI - user interface.

Again I've been getting different comments. Most seem to dislike the small screens of themselves. However, this may actually be a good choice. It's all about reducing the impact and conscious thinking about yourself and all about concentrating on the other person. When they are full screen (particularly at 19 inches) their heads are lifesize on your desktop. It may well become a natural way to talk. This is a conscious decision by the designers I think. Maybe in further editions you will get the choice to make your own pic larger, however the only time I see that as a positive is when you want to make and send a video message to someone else. Most I've talked to find the full screen etc. buttons a little messy. That may go away with use. Still people won't give the "video" experience many goes before giving up on it.

Is "pause" a surprising omission? Video does pause if you put the caller on hold. You can also stop the video. Pause could be interesting and useful for sharing item or holding up a read this etc.

Those Developers:

Festoon and Spontania, the Skype plugins that heralded a video solution for Skype, remain more interesting in many ways. Still, over time, Skype will simply absorb solutions like these into its product. Short-term there is nothing to suggest that Skype can or will do multi-video conferences. It also failed to learn much from iChat which remains the premier video chat application. We wrote on these pages ages ago that iChat was the benchmark. At one time Skype would have surpassed a standard like that. They did with audio for example. Today the targets seem to be much lower. It's either growth pains or lack of vision.

In the end I believe Skype rushed Video to market. It's frankly no better than a (I think 1.3) beta that was sent to me back in February or early March of this year. That is partially engineering resources I'm sure. However, it was important to get it right and releasing this now, in this version and format, is "me-too" rather than we-are-leaders. It does show some thoughtful UI design but more is required. Where it really fails: product management didn't create a context for it that redefined media. Now Skype can only hope that users start running their TV Tuners through it, sharing desktops with it etc. Then maybe they will get some new ideas. Thus the story I see is one that is not yet being told on video.