Quanta, the OEM behind the OLPC and MacBook, just announced its move into home-based HD video conferencing. Quanta is teaming with OoVoo to produce the Quanta Video Messenger -- a 1,280 x 720 pixel / 30fps, multi-point-capable set-top box that plugs directly into your HDTV and home Internet connection (presumably via Ethernet or 802.11n, they don't say). OoVoo is also looking to integrate its wares in existing set-top boxes. The prototype STB is the size of a hardback book and does not currently include a webcam or mic -- those must be plugged into the device separately. They'd better bundle a webcam then, if they hope to generate mass market appeal across familial generations. Early tests of the H.264 video over an Internet connection capped at 512kbps upstream produced the occasional video sputter (when watching a fast moving object) in quality roughly equivalent to DVDs. Fortunately, Quanta and OoVoo have 9 months to sort out any issues as they don't expect to ship until "later this year" for a price meant to be "affordable to consumers."
[Via
MicroHoo News]
posted March 24th 2008 7:10AM
This is going to fail as hard as all the attempts at a video phone we've seen over the past decade. You'll buy one for you and your grandma, or whoever this products target audience is, and no one else will have one. Seriously, just do yourself a favor and hook a PC up to your HDTV. We need more PCs optimized for TV integration, its the way of the future I tell you! God made the PC for a reason...
I would just like to know if someone at Quanta could give me Jenny and/or Linda's numbers before they go out of business.
linda just found out that robert was cheating on her with jenny :)
More like "But I poop from there?!?!?!?"
I was thinking the same!
It looks like Robert is having fun on a webcam with those two...
Now where have I seen that reflective black "floor" in video chat software before? Hmmmmm....
Well, it's obviously NOT Apple that uses it. They aren't obsessed with reflections of their products in any surface...
http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/
No, never..
Oh look here, that looks familiar:
http://www.mennoboy.com/chris/archives/images/ichat/ichatconference.jpg
Does it truly matter? It just add a nice visual effect. Who cares if some company did it first?
I see many companies utilize good ideas done by other companies all the time. It's just simply keeping up with the competition. The company that has the black reflective floor that you've seen before has also taken good ideas before and have bought them, or just plainly gave their own implementation of it.
It's nothing new.
This is NEVER going to catch on. Video phones and teleconferencing are not going to be a big thing until all telephone companies start putting video cameras in ALL of their phones so that we have no choice but to have a phone with that feature already inside it.
No one wants people to be able to see them while they are speaking. People have a hard enough time just taking regular photos when they feel less than "attractive". Most new laptops have webcameras built into their frames and very rarely do people even bother to use them while chatting - mostly because they are chatting with multiple people at a given time and also because their environment lighting sitations may not be optimal.
Yeah, I don't want someone to see my picking my nose or at my toenails while I'm on the "phone" with them...
"Environment lighting situations may not be optimal"... in other words, they are beating off.
Actually, I use webchat a lot.
I use it every night actually =\
It's probably one of the most amazing things being able to see family in Japan live for free, when I'm all the way in the States. Plus it's free.
If something like hi-def streaming were available on a computer, where extra hardware wasn't needed, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Most people I know use webcam chat a lot. Probably because of the community I live in, this is a really important thing to us.
I'm sure we're not the only ones. Distant relatives would ogle at the technology if it were advertised more. Hell, my 80yr old grandmother can set this stuff up.
Companies have been putting cameras in 3G phones for years, just about everyone got one but most people don't use em since the visual part of the interaction doesn't add much, and sometimes it's just not handy to have to hold your phone in front of your face, I prefer to have it in my pocket using my wired headset.
WOW!
The future is awesome! Insanely white rooms!
Maybe they staged those shots in mental institutions... Though I don't see padded walls in the background.
They're simply in THX 1138 prison.
Sanjay is doing advertising now??
So when does this living room conferencing gadget will be ready..Currently we have http://www.rhubcom.com turbomeeting but this HDTV idea seems quite revolutionary ......
Robert: Hey Linda, this is Robert. Bad news, I'm dumping you for Jenny.
Linda: Wha!?!?!
Jenny: HAHAHAHA (evil)
This looks like a video conferencing unit from Creative I blogged about here: http://erichizdepski.com/blog/2008/02/creative_labs_inperson_video_c.html
I've used this system and also another hd system from Lifesize. Both are useful in business.
hiiiiiiiiiiiii i am khalid iwont knwo