The world’s largest social networking site, Facebook, failed to live up to the initial excitement it generated by announcing the launch of its ‘awesome’ video chat product, developed in partnership with the world’s leading voice over internet telephony (VoiP) player, Skype.
Last night, over 50,000 viewers across the globe converged on the Facebook site to tune in to the live webcast from the company’s Palo Alto headquarters. Even before the actual announcement, Facebook’s 30 million active users in India, together with Google fans, churned out thousands of tweets in anticipation of the ‘killer’ application.
In contrast, the reaction was muted today. Many users complained the video icons were yet to show up on their chat windows. Others received messages that their browsers did not support the video feature. While acknowledging that the product was still in its Beta version, most users said the experience could have been smoother.
Many users had to struggle to figure how to log in to video calling, despite the instructions on the URL: facebook.com/videocalling. Mahafreed Irani, a Facebook user, rued: “Where is the awesome video chat button? Why is it hidden somewhere inside this hangout?” Saurabh Kanwar, a twitter user, who tried to use the application but faced glitches, posted on his page he and his friend could have spoken on Facebook Video Chat, “but it’s not stable enough just yet”.
Another user, Axel Kussmann, complained, “Well, Facebook Video Chat crashes on me the same way Skype does. Not surprised.” Saksham Gupta, an IT professional said, “My first impression of the feature is that the product has been released in a hurry. Couple of reasons for this: While I could get the video, there was no audio. The latency is very high. The video streaming is very slow. Besides, the call was disconnected a couple of times,” he said.
However, some users were satisfied with the service. For instance, Anu Chitnis, a Twitter user, said, “Facebook chat finally gets a ‘face’.” Sharing her experience, Sudhindra Rao said, “Video starts immediately in few seconds. It’s good. I used it last night and today morning. Video is quiet clear, though a bit draggy, but that’s because of the slow internet speeds in India. The sound, on the other hand, was very clear.”
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Tejal Deshpande, a student based out of UK, said, “I do not know if this is an awesome feature, but it does make sense. It makes sense for users, especially ones like me who are away from home. Instead of using two different video calling applications, now I can use only one.” However, she added there were some audio problems. When contacted, a Facebook spokesperson said, “The company has nothing to share at this point in time.”
Meanwhile, Skype users couldn’t help but compare the two services. Maddy Mccarty gave a short and straight prediction: “Skype is now dead!” Indeed. Facebook users do not have to set up a Skype account to use the video chat feature. The user API is anonymous, so one can use it, independent of a Skype account.
| BREAKING IT DOWN |
| How to activate Facebook Video Chat on your account: |
| * Log on to https://bsmedia.business-standard.comwww.facebook. com/ videocalling |
| * Click on ‘Get Started’ |
| * It will install a plug-in called facebookvideochat.exe on your computer |
| * After the installation, a camcorder symbol will show up on the chat window of your friends |
| * Click on the camcorder symbol to make that video call |
| * You will see and hear your friend the moment they accept the call |
| * You will need the latest versions of browsers like Firefox, IE, Safari or Chrome |
| * You can still use video calling even if you don’t have a webcam. You will be able to see and hear your friends, but they will only be able to hear you |
| Ensure that: |
| * You are using a supported browser |
| * Another programme isn’t using your webcam. Check all instant messaging programmes, browsers and video editing software |
| * Check that your webcam is compatible with your operating system (if your using a laptop, this will not be a problem) |
| * If you are using Windows, make sure you have the latest version of Microsoft DirectX. |
| * Download the most recent drivers for your webcam from the webcam maker’s website |
But not all agree. Gupta, a Skype user, feels one does not have to use the Facebook video feature if he has a Skype account.