Friday, 24 May 2013
5 Ways to Improve Mobile Video Calling
when it comes to decent connections and clear image quality. This is too bad because it discourages a lot of people from taking video calling seriously and gives the technology an unnecessarily bad reputation.
Luckily however, if you do a few simple and easy to implement mobile tricks to your calling experience, you can forget about a lot of the problems associated with video conferences and start using these sorts of systems more seriously, saving yourself a lot of money. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you out:
1. Faster Internet Connection Speed:
Obvious but sometimes overlooked, the simple act of contracting a higher quality internet service will usually go a long way towards creating a much better video calling experience for you and your meeting partners, especially if they also have their own powerful connection.
You can either switch from a lower powered residential cable or DSL connection to a higher quality residential connection that offers more Mbps download/upload speeds (Megabits per second) or, if you’re talking about business related video calling, just go with a business class connection that really powers up your broadband velocity.
However, remember that any video call gives only as much quality as its weakest link allows, so encourage all of your other partners to at least get their own decent connections hooked up, if not try to match yours completely.
2. Invest in HD Screens and Cameras:
Video calling quality also has a lot to do with how good the cameras and screens being used to make a call or conference are. If you’re depending on your low pixel, low frame built-in Laptop or PC cam, you can’t really expect too much from it. However, if you go for a truly high grade conference camera that offers optical zoom, HD recording, dozens of frames per second and over 1000p of clarity, you’ve got a different story on your hands. Also useful, a camera with a rotating stand, letting you easily move it around to capture additional recordings –such as large presentation displays.
The same goes for your display screens; the higher their pixel count and rendering, the better. Ideally, you should use a large screen with HD quality video imaging capability. The difference you notice will be enormous –especially if working in tandem with high powered web connectivity.
3. Better Software, Better Calls:
Skype is fine and so are other services such as Tango and ooVoo, but they are all essentially free (at least in basic form) and with free you often get what you paid for. Thus, if you want to really maximize your video calling experience with one more step up the ladder, also try using higher end web conferencing and video calling platforms such as Intercall or Gomeeting; they charge fees for access but they are just as easy to use as a free video calling software application and give much better guarantees of quality.
Going with higher end video calling services is an especially good and prudent idea if you’re doing your calls due to work or business reasons –you don’t want to be left looking unprofessional over a flaky, pixelated free Skype video connection.
4. Set Up the Right Space:
Now, a tech free tip for improving the quality of your video calls: simply set up the kind of space where they can work best. This means that you shouldn’t just call from any random part of your house or office. Instead, arrange an actual video calling area with clear lighting, minimal external noise and all of the needed work accessories at hand if you’re doing this for business reasons. Thus, have a display board on hand, pens and pencils ready and anything else you might need so that you can avoid having to get up and look for it as you’re in the middle of your meeting.
Finally, make sure the area that’s inside the frame of your cameras video display is neutral and free of any embarrassing sights such as dirty clothes, open bathroom door or food that’s been left out.
5. Avoid Connecting Through Wi Fi:
As for a final and fairly simple tip, it’s also a good idea that you run your laptops or computers connection through a wired Ethernet cable that connects a hardline between your computer and your router or modem. This will give you much better connection clarity than using the sometimes unreliable WiFi coverage in your home or office, which can produce lag and choppiness.
About the author: Stephan Jukic is a freelance writer who generally covers a variety of subjects relating to the latest changes in white hat SEO, mobile technology, marketing tech and digital security. He also loves to read and write about location-free business, portable business management and finance. When not busy writing or consulting on technology and digital security, he spends his days enjoying life’s adventures either in Canada or Mexico, where he spends part of the year. Connect with Stephan on LinkedIn.
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