Virtually there, with ooVoo
This time of year really gets us excited here because we LOVE connecting friends and family over ooVoo especially when they aren’t able to be together in person. And since we’ve all probably seen the news reports of how people are avoiding expensive travel during the holiday season this year and opting for more economical ways to connect, there’s no better time to ooVoo!
We want you to have the best quality experience when you connect with your family on ooVoo for virtual cocktail parties, holiday dinners or to send out video message holiday cards (save a stamp and a tree this year!). You don’t want to have to think about adjusting your lighting or camera in these moments, so we thought it was a good time to remind you of some basic tips to set yourself up in advance:
Camera quality affects image quality
We recommend a camera that offers 640 x 480 pixels and 30 frames-per-second so you can use ooVoo’s high resolution mode (Windows users only right now but, sneak-peak: ooVoo will be adding high-resolution video to ooVoo for Mac early next year.) Creative Lab’s VF0400 is a good choice.
Broadband connection – wired, not wireless
ooVoo works on wireless networks and on AirCards, I’ve experienced ooVoo calls with people on a train, a plane and from the front seat of a moving car (they were in the passenger seat!) and whilst it was cool to see trees etc whizzing past in the background, for best quality audio and video we recommend a wired broadband connection. Also remember that if your downloading files from an online store such as iTunes or playing online video games during a video chat this will affect the quality. 
Audio – a headset reduces echo and background noise
ooVoo uses echo cancellation technology that helps to improve the sound quality of a call. Microphones and speakers that are close together generate echo and audio distortion, to avoid this we recommend using a headset or speakerphone such as Phoenix Audio’s Duet (we use these a lot in the ooVoo offices.)
Lighting – indirect light improves quality
Use indirect light to illuminate your face and close blinds, particularily those the appear on camera, that let in too much sunlight as ths washes out colors. You might also consider turning on the backlight feature setting in your camera. In an ooVoo video chat – click on the drop-down menu next to the camera icon in the bottom left-hand corner of your ooVoo conversation window to find the camera settings menu.
Optimize the computer - close applications you’re not using
Your computer is capable of running many applications at the same time but as you know when you are trying to do too many things at once, quite often it helps to focus on one task at a time. Closing applications you are not using on your computer will give you a better quality experience.
We hope you have a GREAT holiday season and that ooVoo helps you to feel closer to those that matter in your life!
Cheers,
Philip