Skype's group video calling beta now available for Windows

Mac and Linux users are still being asked to hold their horses, but Windows loyalists can begin testing out that hotly-anticipated group video calling feature today. Skype's latest beta, which was detailed earlier in the month, is now available to download for those willing to take the risk, with Skype 5.0 Beta adding support for "group video calls with up to four people." Hit that source link to get things rolling, and be sure to drop us a line once you and your four besties have had a chance to give 'er a go.

[thunderbollock Posted May 14th 2010 11:36AM]

I wonder how much this will cost once it stops being beta...

[BlackRock Shooter Posted May 14th 2010 11:39AM]

@thunderbollock
a lot probably if it calls to "phones with video call" functions
but free if you call other skype users on a PC

[thunderbollock Posted May 14th 2010 11:45AM]

@BlackRock Shooter
Early reports said that Skyoe will start charging for the service - even Skype to Skype video conferencing some time after it comes out of beta. It would be a shame if they did because its just not quite something that people would regularly pay for, especially when normal video calls are free.

[htd Posted May 14th 2010 11:45AM]

@thunderbollock it's been free but it's been kinda of buggy for the non-beta version, IMHO

[lookseehear Posted May 14th 2010 12:05PM]

@thunderbollock

Is anyone else concerned by that pic. It looks like the guy is undressing in front of a kid and a granny. And they're loving it.

[PBB Posted May 14th 2010 12:36PM]

@lookseehear
I think we're more concerned that the first thing you thought about was a man undressing...

Don't make it something its not.

[HellFlyer Posted May 14th 2010 1:28PM]

@thunderbollock
It might not cost anything directly but I heard that Skype is considering to add ads to the program like MSN or ICQ have

[engadgetcomexcludeengadget Posted May 14th 2010 1:28PM]

@lookseehear Wow, the first thing I noticed was that they all just happened to have HD webcams, and with perfect lighting. I'm glad I'm not in your head...

[jellotime91 Posted May 14th 2010 2:32PM]

@lookseehear
LMFAO.... I had to re-examine the picture... You truly have a stank eye. haha

[Dary Posted May 15th 2010 12:31AM]

@lookseehear
but his colleague kinda in shock
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/at-work/windows/

[teknoi Posted May 14th 2010 11:39AM]

Why not more than 4 ;)

[tonyprince Posted May 14th 2010 11:50AM]

@teknoi i think 4 is about right for circle jerk.

[dez Posted May 14th 2010 12:05PM]

@(Unverified)

how well does it go for you when you have 5+ people all trying to talk at once?

[Coufu Posted May 14th 2010 12:21PM]

@(Unverified) More like a square jerk.

[zangetsu2 Posted May 14th 2010 5:39PM]

@dez
I was on the board of a club that had regular teleconferences with about 6 of us scattered around the US. We took turns speaking. The hardest part was telling who was speaking by their voice (not a problem with video).

With 5+ videoconferencing, this thing could really be great for business meetings (for businesses that can't afford enterprise videoconferencing equipment).

[zeroinfinity2 Posted May 14th 2010 11:39AM]

Yes! Tired of having to restart my trial of oovoo!

[teknoi Posted May 14th 2010 11:41AM]

Why not >4 ;-)

[Almo Posted May 14th 2010 11:58AM]

@teknoi

Bandwidth issues I'd assume.

[Murkurie Posted May 14th 2010 11:46AM]

I like how you can see the old lady's sweater in the pic with the blonde kid,

[Polemicist Posted May 14th 2010 11:49AM]

Mac users have been doing multiway video chat for ages. iChat AV. So Skype is just meh.

[Almo Posted May 14th 2010 11:58AM]

But Macintosh is meh... So we're happy with this.

[Wesscoast Posted May 14th 2010 12:41PM]

@Almo

Well, then you don't like Technology.

PS. Obviously iChat AV looks way more slick. Obligatory eye candy ;)

[zeroinfinity2 Posted May 14th 2010 1:45PM]

@Wesscoast

He has a point. I say 'meh' as well.

[synthesis777 Posted May 14th 2010 10:09PM]

@Polemicist

Mac users have also been paying for that service. It only works with the service formerly known as dot mac.

[Kyle P Posted May 14th 2010 12:00PM]

I've been doing this in iChat for a while. Glad the feature it's made its way to Skype.

[Fritz Posted May 14th 2010 12:17PM]

Why was Dad changing on camera for Grandma and the kid?

[reallynotnick Posted May 14th 2010 12:44PM]

@Fritz
The guy's clearly going to work, he's in a hotel room and just had enough time to take out of his busy day to say hi for a few seconds.

[jinjin Posted May 14th 2010 1:15PM]

@reallynotnick i like how marketing pictures with all the details and cues still fail to reach the point to some people

dumb it down some more i guess

[Rendiggy Posted May 14th 2010 1:48PM]

@reallynotnick

Yeah, I was gonna make a snide remark about why Dad is stripping in front of Grandma and his son.

I actually thought that he was taking off his tie, considering it's already in a knot and the hotel room is dark. Seems like the end of the day, and it's daytime for Gramms and son.

Let's just say, I'm pretty good at those "What's different between these two similarly looking pictures" games. :)

[Fritz Posted May 14th 2010 4:36PM]

@jinjin

I feel like I've been taken too seriously...

[crescentdavid Posted May 14th 2010 12:47PM]

Thanks for the h/t to ichat. I'd completely forgotten about that. Probably should have been mentioned in this article ... especially since Murph brought up mac & linux ...

[xler8r Posted May 14th 2010 12:54PM]

Well... a bunch of my family has mac's and their version of skype totally bites. I'll be asking them to take a screenie, or do xyz, and they cant find it because everything is buried.
It gets frustrating after a while.

[Yoshi1080 Posted May 14th 2010 1:27PM]

@xler8r I have had the exact opposite experience: The OSX version of Skype seems much more streamlined and simple than the crowded Windows version to me. From what I've seen, in Windows you have a single huge window in which you have to find what you need.

That's only my feeling, though. Family has always trouble using their computers. There could be just a white screen with a single button in the middle of it and they still wouldn't get it.

[trj85 Posted May 14th 2010 12:58PM]

Come to OSX baby :D

[nando2323 Posted May 14th 2010 1:06PM]

@trj85 It's already there it's called iChat.

[Yoshi1080 Posted May 14th 2010 1:19PM]

So ... what's the difference to iChat's video conferences which have been available for years?

[krazygoat Posted May 14th 2010 2:02PM]

been there done that for free for ages, it is called iChat AV and the quality thus far blows skype out of the water.

[shishi Posted May 14th 2010 2:04PM]

Now love triangles will be able to sort it out online.

[rbj Posted May 14th 2010 2:08PM]

I have to correct one thing: these corporations may politely ask Mac users to hold their horses, but generally, to Linux users, they just say "Shut the fuck up and sit down. We'll get to you when we get to you."

It's especially cruel when Google says it.

[skiman Posted May 14th 2010 3:07PM]

Should be interesting to see the lag in time before the OS X and Linux versions come out.
I have been waiting for this functionality for a while.

I know iChat AV has it , but unluckly not everyone is on a Mac. Skype is multi-platform, which is very handy on the family side of things, AND on the business side of things.

Ski

[JTVD Posted May 14th 2010 3:20PM]

@skiman
Well, that's a silly comment, as this is the WINDOWS version, so you still cannot do it multi-platform and given that fact, I think we can all agree that iChat AV has the high ground here, given thatbthis is about 5-year old news.

[bernardino Posted May 14th 2010 3:14PM]

Middle aged guy is getting ready to go out on a date with Justin Bieber's grandma (she's a cougar).

[Xerxes028 Posted May 14th 2010 4:54PM]

I just want to know when skype is coming to ps3...

[Sil Posted May 14th 2010 5:18PM]

Hey does anyone know if a windows user can have the beta installed and call a mac user and another windows user? Would it still let you do the video chat? If the mac user cant start the video chat well can the windows user host it? I think it could anyone know for sure? This is a real question I'm not trying to make fun of either platforms