ooVoo has announced the launch of a Mac version of its video chat solution. According to ooVoo, the Mac release is one of the most advanced and feature rich video communication programs available to Mac users and allows people to connect with both Mac and PC users anywhere in the world for free.
With ooVoo, Mac users will now be able to connect face-to-face with up to six people at once regardless of whether they are Mac or PC users. ooVoo Mac’s features include the ability to send and receive video messages, exchange files and text chat messages as well as import contacts from other programs.
“We have worked hard to ensure the Mac version of ooVoo offers this valuable part of our customer base one of the most dynamic video experiences available today,” said Philippe Schwartz, CEO of ooVoo, in the press release. “As the highest quality cross platform Mac and PC video chat solution, we look forward to enabling more conversations between Mac and PC users across the globe, and breaking down the traditional barriers of video communication.”
Unlike instant messaging (IM) and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solutions that have incorporated video as an add-on feature, ooVoo was developed with video at its core delivering a richer communication experience with high quality video and reduced video delay, clear audio and better lip synchronization. ooVoo’s high quality multi-party video chat, with a resolution of 320 x 240 at up to 15 frames per second, can be experienced with a standard broadband internet connection and requires only 128 Kbps (up and down) of throughput, less than half required by competitors for a one to one video chat.
The launch of the ooVoo Mac version is a milestone in the company’s ongoing Mac development program, which will see further announcements in the coming months. Full system requirements for this software version include:
• Power Mac – G5 with 1Ghz or Intel Mac with 256MB of RAM
• 20MB Hard disk space
• Mac compatible Webcam and Headset
• Broadband connection
• Tiger, Leopard (Mac OS X 10.4 and up)
Currently friends, families and co-workers are using ooVoo to communicate face-to-face between more than 200 countries worldwide, with more the 3.5 million ooVoo video chat sessions completed each month on average.
More info here.
yeah– but is it snappy ?
Very cool. I will recommend it to friends and family.
Oh my God, no way!
Ooh hoo, not Hulu, but ooVoo?
Can it be used for porn?
Audio was of marginal quality when I tried it several days ago. Video was average to good. Attractive user interface. Desirable multi-user AV conferencing features.
Yeah but who is using this oohoo?
Nobody? Exactly.
What’s with the name?
It doesn’t seem to work on my Intel Mac with Leopard as stated. Sucks.
Hmmm, I am thinking of trying it. Not for Macs but for connecting to some PC friends. I think that there is another way but I have not found it yet.
en
Apparently after having installed the package it creates a program in the Program folder that has no size and an incompatible format for Mac. My MBP meets all requirements, but I can’t open anything. Is this program supposed to be run under iPhone OS maybe?
SightSpeed is great for making a Mac to PC video chat connection.
THIRTY frames/sec. FREE.
http://www.sightspeed.com
My wife chats with her family in the Philippines all the time using SightSpeed on our Macs (iMac G5 and MacBook both running Leopard).
Yeah, it looked interesting until I read on the download page that the Mac version does NOT include: Free phone calls, recording, or video effects. I’ll stick with Skype, thanks. At least they’re close to feature parity with Mac and Windows.
More wasted humanity.
Trash this crap.
Anybody here forgetting iChat ( = AIM on Windows)? Up to four people (not six, I admit), but extremely resilient and frugal with bandwidth (try one to one audio/video chat on DIAL-UP!!!), I have yet to see Skype, SightSpeed, MSN (sorry, Windows only), and now this ooVoo to match the robustness of connection and quality of video that iChat/AIM has.
Yet another product that does not provide feature parity with the Windows version. I informed ooVoo I won’t accept second class citizen status and will not use their software until it has feature parity.
“I won’t accept second class citizen status and will not use their software until it has feature parity.”
Ditto. Well said.
Forget this.
In my experience it’s iChat using Gmail login as a Jabber account. And Skype for chatting to the dark, very dark, Windows side.
Isn’t Windows a misnomer? Light what light?
@Predrag
What?!? I haven’t been able to audio chat using dial-up in years. I’ve tried connecting iChat AV with friends in the same room and get nothing but the “User not responding” message. And, with Leopard’s version of iChat, the program is even more bloated than ever.
As far as Windows users connecting with iChat users, I’ve heard all sorts of problems with that too. The idea that there are alternative AV IM programs being developed tells me that the existing ones aren’t really all that desirable.
I welcome the competition, alternatives, and further development for the Macintosh. Anyone who can come up with a better iChat is good in my opinion.
@Predrag,
You assume you can actually GET connected using iChat. My dad and I have problems CONSTANTLY getting iChat to work. One machine on his network will work, another won’t. Connection errors galore. Same problems at a completely different house with a different computer. We never used to have problems, so it’s something in the last few updates – maybe even Leopard. I’m running 10.5 and he’s not. We’d use Skype, but audio quality SUCKS on the MacBooks, because unlike iChat, it doesn’t mute the speaker that’s right next to the mic and you get feedback, ringing, echos… it’s terrible. We’ve almost quit using. Google “ichat connection error”.
“G5 with 1Ghz”
That’s bizarre. The first G5’s were 1.6 GHz if I remember right.
Predrag: ichat is great mac to mac but i have not been able to use it to video chat w/ pc user. tried skype and did get it to work a little. video quality was not good and audio was horrific to nonexistent.
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