I just participated in a launch test for desktop video conferencing service Oovoo and if you’re looking to have a private video session with up to six people then it’s worth checking out. Mac and Windows users can have a high resolution session with IM, file transfer and video recording (Windows) augmenting the call.
The clunky launch of Yahoo! Live last week has a lot of people talking about live video online. There’s a long list of services that you can use to do web based public broadcast of live video, but those services aren’t what you’d use for small group, private sessions. Forrester explained the landscape well in a report last year, “Legacy videoconference systems of all types have failed to live up to their promise because of technical complexity and user interface issues.” The tech problems are being solved and a free, cross platform solution with recording is great – but interface issues remain.
Oovoo looks like a good option so far, though the service is definitely in beta. Let’s be honest – Oovoo is good if you want to record a multiperson, private video conference. Otherwise there’s no need for it as basic video conferencing can be done just fine on the web. Recording is good, though. The Mac version is available for download at MyOovooDay.com.
There were lots of little issues that I and the people I chatted with experienced, including substantial interface confusion, occasional pixelation of international participants, file transfer/path strangeness and some people reported undesirable CPU demands.
That said, Oovoo is a service that immediately demonstrates its usefulness when you get a group of people on that have something to say. It’s got a very Skype-on Windows type of interface, it’s got a good feature set and the video/audio quality is generally very good.
The fact that Oovoo requires download of a desktop client seems like a drawback for very casual users. In almost any case where I am looking to do a quick multiperson video chat I will refer people to MeBeam and maybe Tokbox – both very easy to use web apps. There are a lot of options.
If I am going to do regular private chats and want to record, do file transfer, etc. then I may set up Oovoo with a group of people. People comfortable with trying out new web apps, and comfortable with video conferencing, probably don’t have much need for Oovoo except for the recording feature which right now is Windows only. If you’re working with people who don’t feel as comfortable in that world though – then this high quality, more formal desktop service may treat you well. In those kinds of circumstances the fact that it’s both Windows and Mac friendly will be much appreciated.
