bytesize lock down and meet up · lock down and meet up video conferencing apps can help you keep...

JUL/AUG 2020 CHOICE COMPUTER

REPORT VIDEO CONFERENCING SOFTWARE 22

S taying at home doesn’t have to

mean missing out on getting

together with friends and family.

You can still see each other, chat and

even have parties all while at a distance

using video meeting software.

Free video conferencing apps are a

great way to get some human contact

without actual humans nearby or even

physical contact.

If you’re feeling the itch for social

interaction, or just want to know if there’s

a better option for online gatherings,

we’ve put together a list of the features

and limitations of the big names in free

video conferencing.

Keep in mind that, in the current climate,

competition between these services has

never been higher. Their included features

and specifications are changing often, so

by the time you read this some of their

Lock down and meet upVideo conferencing apps can help you keep in touch face-to-face,

at a distance. Here’s how the most popular ones compare.

inclusions might have changed. Here are

some of the most popular contenders (not

ranked in order, but keep an eye out for our

upcoming test).

What you need to get startedAn internet connection, preferably

10Mbps (megabits per second) or more.

A connected device with a camera –

built-in or attached.

A microphone – built-in or attached.

Video chat can use a lot of data. If you

have a limited data plan or are using

mobile internet (3G or 4G), keep an eye on

your data usage.

Skype Works on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Web,

iOS, Android, Xbox One.

Maximum participants: 50.

Video quality: High definition.

Good for large and small groups.

Microsoft’s Skype is a well-established

video conferencing app that’s available on

a wide range of devices and comes pre-

installed on Windows 10 PCs. Macs can

download an app, as can phones and

tablets. You can also access it via web

browser and even as a video chat app for

Xbox (though you’ll need an Xbox camera

such as an Xbox Kinect).

The participant limit of 50 is generous,

and there are no time restrictions on calls.

Video quality is advertised as high

definition (HD), but isn’t specifically

defined. It’s decent, but not amazing. We

found it looks fine on a phone or tablet, but

can become pixelated (blocky-looking) on

a large computer monitor or TV.

Bytesize Most conferencing apps work

on most platforms The participant limit varies Your device’s hardware

matters Play the field and see which

you prefer

CHOICE COMPUTER JUL/AUG 2020


PHONE CALL SUPPORTProbably Skype’s biggest strength is

its phone call support. If you don’t

have access to the internet, you can

join active Skype conversations by

dialling in (voice only), either locally

or internationally. Skype users can

also call you via the app.

This feature costs a flat monthly fee

for local calls – $9.02 per month – but

there are discounts if you sign up for

multiple months.

There’s a different flat fee for

international calls to eligible countries,

based on the country you’re calling –

e.g. $4.40 a month for unlimited minutes

to the US. You can also buy pay-as-you-go

Skype credits – e.g. $10 for 312 minutes

to the US. Not all countries can be called

via Skype, so check the ones you need

before getting excited.

LIVE TRANSCRIPTIONSkype’s automatic live transcription

(similar to live subtitling) can help

you keep in touch with friends and

family whose hearing might not deal

well with voice-over-internet sound

quality.

You can also share your screen with

other people and use text chat during a

video call.

ZoomWorks on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Web,

iOS, Android, Outlook plugin and

Chrome plugin.


Video quality: High definition

(720p).

Call duration: 40 minutes (for

three or more

people).

Good for large

and small

groups.

Until recently,

Zoom Meeting

was mostly

aimed at

business

users, but its

popularity took

Skype (above) is one of the most popular video conferencing apps, although Zoom (below) has become more popular since the COVID-19 lockdowns were enforced.

CHOICE CO

cipants: 100.

High definition

0 minutes (for

off with increased remote working and

social distancing. With this growing

familiarity, people started turning to it for

their social calls too. The large 100-person

limit is also a drawcard. Massive

widespread adoption of Zoom for private

calls following the COVID-19 lockdowns

soon led to widely publicised security

concerns, which Zoom says it has

addressed in updates, along with

improvements such as the ability to

transcribe calls (live video meeting notes)

via the Otter.ai service.

Zoom’s free tier has a 40-minute limit

for groups of three or more people. But

you can always create a new meeting

once your time’s up. For calls with just

two participants, there are no time

restrictions. It has a web app, and is

downloadable on Windows 10, Mac, Linux,

iOS and Android. Call quality is high

definition (720p), and there are group and

private text chat options.

CREATE YOUR OWN BACKGROUNDAn attraction of Zoom that no doubt

helped its meteoric rise is virtual

backgrounds. These let you set an

image or video from your device as the

backdrop, blocking out what’s behind

you, sort of like a TV newsreader.

Originally gimmicky fun for the office,

this feature gives at-home users a

chance to hide messy rooms without

manoeuvring their

camera into an

awkward angle.

However, virtual

backgrounds work

best with just one

person in the frame.

It struggles with two

or more when figuring

out where the

background begins and

ends. Your computer

will also need a decent

processor to enable

virtual backgrounds,

especially video

backgrounds.

JUL/AUG 2020 CHOICE COMPUTER


AVOID ‘ZOOM BOMBING’A privacy note – Zoom meetings are

shared via a link. If you don’t put a

password on your meeting or restrict

attendance to invitees only, anyone with

the link can join the call (so-called ‘Zoom

bombing’). So be careful to lock down your

gatherings if you’re posting the link to

social media or another public forum.

Google MeetWorks on: Android, iOS, Web,

Gmail plugin.


Video quality: Good.

Free (time limit after

30 September).

Good for large and small

groups.

No doubt spurred by the

success of Zoom, at the

end of April Google

announced it was lifting its

video conferencing game

by rolling out a new version

of Google Meet as its free

video option for businesses

and individuals, replacing

Google Hangouts. The

free Google Meet can

include up to 100

people and can last

any amount of time, till 30 September

when meetings will go back to a

60-minute limit.

Google Meet was formerly only part of

the commercial G Suite services for

businesses, organisations and schools.

There’s still a G Suite version of Google

Meet, with more advanced features,

repackaged under the title G Suite

Essentials, but this is also free for G Suite

users till 30 September.

Google Meet is available free for all

online at meet.google.com and via

mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Integration with Gmail and Google

Calendar means you can also start or

join meetings from there too, which

makes it easier to schedule meetings

ahead of time.

The more advanced version of Google

Meet, that’s part of the new G Suite

Essentials, is designed for team

collaboration. It includes the use of dial-in

phone numbers, more participants and

recording of meetings. It also integrates

with Google Drive cloud storage for real-

time collaboration via Google’s Docs,

Sheets and Slides.

Google DuoWorks on: Android, iOS, Web (for PC

and Mac), Google Smart Displays.


Video quality: Very good.

Good for small groups.

Google Duo is another successor to

Hangouts – sort of. More accurately, it’s

Google’s competitor to Apple’s FaceTime.

For devices with an unaltered Android

OS (operating system), it’s built into the

mobile app. When you open a phone

contact, you can choose to ‘Duo’ them as

one of your call options.

If your phone or tablet has a proprietary

version of Android, such as a Samsung

phone, then you might have to download

the Duo app. iPhones and iPads will also

need to download Duo from the Apple

App Store. Windows

PCs and Macs can both

use Duo via web

browser.

HIGH VIDEO QUALITYGoogle doesn’t specify

the video quality of

Duo, but it’s high. We

found it was only really

limited by the camera

we were using. For

example, both the

Pixel 3 and OnePlus 5

we used delivered

very good quality.

Another thing

to keep in mind is

that if you’re not

Google Hangouts (above) will be discontinued in 2020, with Google Duo (below) taking its place.

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CHOICE COMPUTER JUL/AUG 2020


Apple’s FaceTime is quite popular, however it only works on Apple devices.

on a Wi-Fi connection, then Duo will

lower your connection rate to one

megabit per second (1Mbps). This helps

save your precious mobile data but will

likely lower the quality of video. You can

turn this setting off if your mobile plan

has plenty of data.

Because it’s designed mainly for use

with phones, there’s no desktop app. But

Windows PCs and Macs can both use Duo

via a web browser.

For Android devices, the video can be

minimised to a picture-in-picture style

window, so you can keep using your

phone’s other features.

When you get a call, you can see the

person live streaming on the other end

before you pick up. This “knock knock”

feature not only lets you see who’s calling,

but also the context of their call (for

example, whether it’s professional or

private). If you can’t pick up, they can

record a video message for you to watch

when you have time.

JUST 12 PEOPLE AT A TIMEDisappointingly, Duo limits you to 12

people on a call at once. This is far fewer

than competitor FaceTime, which supports

32 (see below) but Duo has a leg up on

FaceTime because it’s available on a

much wider range of devices.

FaceTimeWorks on: iOS, iPadOS, Macs.


Video quality: Very good.

Good for large and small groups.

FaceTime is great for one-on-one calls and

group chats, but it only works on Apple

devices – iPhones, iPads and Macs. It’s

not directly supported on the Apple TV,

but you can FaceTime chat on your big

screen TV with a little workaround. Using

your iPhone or iPad’s built-in AirPlay

feature, you can mirror the screen of

your device to an Apple TV or AirPlay

2-compatible smart TV.

PRE-INSTALLED ON APPLE DEVICESFaceTime comes pre-installed on Apple

devices and if you live in an Apple-only

world it offers great integration into your

chat, contacts and phone apps. Apple

doesn’t specify resolution, but we found

video quality to be very good.

WORTH A LOOK

HousepartyAs the name implies, Houseparty puts the

emphasis on relaxed social connections

and you can even play games with others

within the app. Like Zoom, it rapidly

became a COVID-19 lockdown favourite.

However it suffered negative publicity

due to what its parent company Epic

Games (developer of game sensation

Fortnite) claims was a smear campaign.

The company offered a

$1.6 million bounty for proof of

such a campaign and said on

its blog “Houseparty is

secure. There have been

no data breaches and no

exposure of customer data

or third-party accounts.”

However, be warned: it’s

not set up like other services

with calling or invitations. If

you’re online, anyone can add you to

a conversation without warning. So make

sure you’re in a position to suddenly find

yourself on camera.

DiscordMostly known as a voice chat and social

media channel for gamers, Discord also

has video conferencing on Windows, Mac,

Android, iOS, Linux, and via web browser.

Video quality for the free version is HD

(720p) at 30 frames per second (fps) and

supports up to 10 participants, but if one of

you live-streams a game, the limit rises to

50fps. It’s more fiddly to set up than with

other group video chat apps, but offers

different features such as making your

own servers and granting specific

permissions to different types of users you

invite to your channel.

Facebook MessengerIf you have a Facebook account, you

have a Messenger account. That makes

Messenger one of the world’s most used

communication apps, so it’s a good

chance your friends and family

are already ready to go.

Up to 50 people can join

a single call. Messenger

has an app for iOS and

Android, and works with

Windows or Mac via web

browser.

Facebook has also

expanded its offerings with

Messenger Rooms, which works

similarly to Houseparty in offering virtual

socialising in a room for up to 50 people.

WhatsAppWhatsApp has a good video chat feature,

but only four people can join a video call at

once, making it one of the more limited

video conferencing options.

FaceTime is great for

one-on-one and groups, but it only

works on Apple devices – iPhones,

iPads and Macs

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